Rooney: Expansion of replay for pass interference only was “a compromise”

[Steely McBeam]

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The expansion of replay review to include pass interference (offensive and defensive) means that replay review won’t expand to include roughing the passer and illegal contact with a defenseless receiver, at least for now.

As explained by Steelers owner Art Rooney II, the decision to limit the growth of replay to one foul and one foul only was aimed at getting any expansion through.

“It was pretty narrow and from our perspective,” Rooney said after the session culminating in the new rule, via Mark Kaboly of TheAthletic.com. “We weren’t that interested in having a lot of expansion of replay. It kind of represented a compromise.”

That’s good. It’s also a first step that could, in time, result in more fouls being included within the replay system. Which would be even better.

The goal should be to get everything right, and to ensure that all clear errors made in real time by game officials can be fixed. As teams, media, and fans realize that expanding replay for pass interference won’t lead to four-hour games and other supposed “unintended consequences,” maybe more types of fouls will be added to the list of obvious mistakes that can be fixed — because they should be fixed.