Nfl Teams Favor Instant Replay, But Not Likely To Hit Rewind Button

Once again, a majority of NFL teams favor instant replay. Once again, there’s a good chance it will be voted down, largely because league officials can’t agree on a way to implement it.

The league’s owners, coaches and general managers discussed it Tuesday and once again adjourned in semi-confusion - with two proposals on the table and coaches split on what system they want to use.

“We had a straw vote and it ended up six to six to six or something like that,” said Ralph Wilson, owner of the Buffalo Bills in an attempt to demonstrate the confusion in the room.

Both the proposals will be voted today with 23 votes needed for approval. Last year, replay got 20 votes, three short.

One proposal, approved 4-3 by the competition committee, is last year’s version - the “challenge” system, with one change.

Coaches will be allowed two challenges per game on disputed calls with the referee to determine the outcome by viewing a monitor on the field. The one change: instead of automatically losing a time out if they challenge, the teams will lose it only if the challenge fails.

The other proposal was made by the Atlanta Falcons and is basically the same as the league used from 1986-91. There again would be a replay official to determine when replay should be used but he won’t make the decision - the referee will from the field monitor.

In both systems, the plays subject to review will be possession plays - out of bounds, fumbles, and catches - along with touchdowns. Penalties do not come under the replay system.

The only other action taken by the owners was to second a committee recommendation to tighten up on illegal chucking by defensive backs.