Mike Tomlin against expanding replay review despite ref's call in Steelers loss
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, all but ending their playoff hopes. The Steelers made a number of mistakes, but one call with 1:56 left is bringing up questions about replay review in the final two minutes of NFL games, and on specific calls.
If the rules were different, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would have been able to challenge a defensive pass interference call that gave the Saints a first down, and eventually led to the touchdown that gave them the win. But Tomlin, who is on the NFL competition committee, is opposed to expanding replay review, even though it could have changed Sunday’s outcome.
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Tomlin says the ball wasn’t tipped
The call in question was a late-game defensive pass interference. Drew Brees threw a pass on fouth-and-2 that was broken up by cornerback Joe Haden. (Watch the full play) Haden was called for grabbing from behind even though it looked like the ball was tipped before Haden did anything. The play was quickly reviewed by the NFL’s head of officiating and the call stood.
no way this can conclusively be viewed as a tipped pass. ZERO! #Steelers pic.twitter.com/MJeDJhg1gV
— Steelers Depot (@Steelersdepot) December 24, 2018
It’s hard to tell if the ball was tipped. The rotation of the ball changes slightly as it passes by Stephon Tuitt’s arm, but the call could have gone either way. Even Tomlin first said he thought the ball was tipped, and later told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he no longer thought it was. But he has another opinion on that call, of course.
“But I don’t think it was a DPI either.”
Should replay review be expanded?
Tomlin says no. He told the Tribune that he’s not in favor of giving coaches their challenge flag back in the final two minutes of the game.
“I think we have enough components to get things right inside two minutes.”
Tomlin also told the Post-Gazette that he doesn’t want replay expanded to include pass interference calls, even though a longer review on that play could have eliminated the penalty.
“I have a firm position on that,” Tomlin said. “I just worry about the entertainment component of it and what it might do for fans and the viewership and what it looks like. But given some of the things that have happened, I’m sure it will be up for debate as it always is and has been in recent years because technology and the amount of coverage that our game at this level gets – not only on Sundays, but seven days a week, which allows for that type of scrutiny and review.
The shouts of fans who have recently been wronged by a questionable pass interference call will always lean toward “getting it right.” But with the subjectivity of many of these calls, and the entertainment value of the game on the line, there are a lot of things to consider.
Tomlin is on the NFL’s competition committee, and so his opinion on this carries weight. He said that the committee will probably discuss it again this offseason, but we already know which side of the debate he’ll fall on.
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