Steve Czaban beats down the NFL's video replay fraud.

Once Again, The Videotape Has Let Us Down

It is a constant wonder to me why so many football fans are in love with a deeply flawed system that creates as many injustices as it supposedly corrects. But yet, Instant Replay fans still abound in the NFL, and the owners aren't ready to throw it out. Yet. But give us a few more travishamockeries like the Polomalu play, and you could see the tide turn.

Once again, why even bother with Instant Replay in the NFL? Less than 24 hours after the “worst call in replay history” by Pete Morelli in the Indy-Pitt game, Director of Zebras Mike Pereira said essentially….

Um… “oops.”

"The definition of a catch -- or in this case an interception -- states that in the process of making a catch a player must maintain possession of the ball after he contacts the ground," Pereira said.

"The initial call on the field was that Troy Polamalu intercepted the pass because he maintained possession of the ball after hitting the ground. The replay showed that Polamalu had rolled over and was rising to his feet when the ball came loose. He maintained possession long enough to establish a catch. Therefore, the replay review should have upheld the call on the field that it was a catch and fumble.

"The rule regarding the performing of an act common to the game applies when there is contact with a defensive player and the ball comes loose, which did not happen here."

The NFL almost never makes public the result of its reviews, although it did three years ago, when Pereira said officials should have called pass interference against San Francisco on the final play of a wild-card game with the New York Giants. The correct call would have given New York a second chance to kick a game-winning field goal in a 39-38 loss.

REACT: So there ya go, replay fans. The system designed to “save” teams from a grave officiating injustice, just delivered one instead. For the last time, let the refs make the calls the best they can as they see them on the field. 99% of the time, they are dead on. Controversy and injustice will never go away entirely, so lets stop this absurd chasing of our tails after a mythical notion of perfection.
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