Jimmy Jeong/CFL.ca
I am a firm supporter of video review in the CFL. The technology is available in this day and age and it’s important to have a mechanism in place to ensure the right calls are made at the most crucial of moments. But there needs to be a balance so video review doesn’t disrupt the flow and pace of the game. I think this week’s decision to immediately cut back the number of coach’s challenges to one helps do just that.
“(Video review) was put in place to fix egregious and indisputable mistakes that could affect the outcome of the game,” stated Commissioner Randy Ambrosie on Wednesday. “It’s not being used that way now. Too many challenges and reviews are interrupting the game.”
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CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie announced the change Wednesday afternoon (CFL.ca)
It would be a little ignorant and backwards to not use the technology available to assist the on-field officials in making correct calls. But as the commissioner said, the balance had been lost recently. Video review wasn’t being used solely to ensure crucial calls were being made correctly. Instead, it was being used as a tool to try and change momentum.
In a lot of cases, a coach would challenge a play if it was even close to being ambiguous, and that was really slowing things down. By cutting the number of challenges down to one for the whole game, we aren’t going to see that anymore. Coaches will still have the option to challenge, but they’ll have significantly more selective with what plays they opt to have reviewed.
The spirit of having video review is to give the group of on-field officials an extra eye. This league is being played as fast as it ever has and it’s truly impossible to make sure every call gets made correctly. The spirit of of the rule had been lost in recent years and this week’s revision helps rectify that.
