In Sunday’s Broncos-Panthers game, Denver coach Sean Payton activated the replay process at a key moment, turning a miss into an interception.
It turns out the NFL also used replay to determine whether replay should be used to give the Broncos possession after the Panthers tight end threw the ball in the air in the end zone and Broncos safety Devon Key recovered it before it hit the ground.
In a pool report, NFL vice president of instant replays Mark Butterworth explained that replays were viewed to determine whether Payton threw the challenge red flag before the next snap.
“Replay can come in to make sure the head coach throws his challenge flag before the next snap,” Butterworth said. “We were able to use angles to show that the flag was out before the ball was snapped, and so we allowed the challenge.”
Although the rule book does not specifically state that replay may be used to determine whether replay may be used, the NFL relies on the first sentence of Rule 15, Section 9: “The replay official or designated members of the officials department may provide information regarding the proper application of the rules of play.”
And although Section 9 lists several specific examples of when such consultation is permitted, the list is preceded by the phrase “including, but not limited to.” This means that there may be other situations in which the replay official and/or league office may assist the on-field officials.
One such situation is whether a coach has properly activated the replay process. Which allows replay to be used to determine whether replay should be used.
Gn sports
