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CFL governors approve 10 of 11 rule changes, including "eye-in-the-sky" official

Andrew Bucholtz
Another video official will be added to the CFL's Command Centre this season to correct obvious unreviewable errors. (dvsport.com.)

The CFL's officiating team for each game is increasing, and doing so in a historic way. The league announced Thursday that its board of governors has accepted 10 of the 11 changes proposed by the rules committee last month, including bringing in a new video official in the CFL's Toronto command centre with access to a camera feed that will be able to show all 24 players on any given play. This new "eye-in-the-sky" official, a first for any North American league, will be charged with communicating with the on-field officials to overturn obvious errors that wouldn't normally be challengeable. The league's release cites a possible situation where this could help as an offside call where both teams jump; the "eye-in-the-sky" official should be able to tell which team jumped first and quickly communicate that to the referee, both speeding up the game and getting the call right. There are undoubtedly plenty of other situations where this could come into effect, though, and it seems like a smart move to help get some of the non-challengeable calls right without drastically expanding replay.

That's far from the only change here. Another key one is that after a two-year wait, offensive pass interference will now be reviewable (since 2014, defensive pass interference has been reviewable, but offensive pass interference hasn't been). Illegal contact and illegal interference on pass plays will be reviewable too, and coaches will also be able to call for a review on no yards penalties, illegal blocks, roughing the kicker or passer and illegal interference at the point of reception on kickoffs. Expanding what's challengeable could potentially lengthen games, but newly-appointed CFL senior vice president (football) Glen Johnson, a former referee and the former director of officiating, said in the league's release that he doesn't expect that to happen.

“Expanding what can be reviewed will not result in a slower game because coaches are not being provided with additional reviews per game,” Johnson said. “In fact, we are are looking to reduce the number delays, and the number of penalties, while improving the quality of the game and protecting the health of our players.”

On the penalty-reduction front, the league's now modified the illegal procedure definition to let players move slightly, point or make signals before the snap, as long as they remain set for a second prior to the snap. The CFL's release says this could eliminate two to three penalties per game. As high penalties have been a chief complaint for many fans for the last few years, this may be an exceptionally popular change if it works as advertised.

Another notable change is the expansion of illegal peel-back blocks. Players now can't go low on opponents when moving towards their own goal line anywhere on the field, not just in the tackle box. That, combined with making it illegal to push players through the line on conversion or field goal attempts, is a safety-focused change, which vice-president (football operations and player safety) Kevin McDonald said is essential for the league. “It’s vital to continue to eliminate dangerous plays from our game to ensure the safety of players,” he said in the release. We'll see how this works out, but that could help too.

The other changes are mostly minor (as is the one change not made yet, on allowing linemen blocking further downfield on pass plays, which has been tabled for further study), but forcing teams to return a kickoff after conceding a field goal in the final three minutes instead of scrimmaging at their 35-yard line could have some interesting effects. This could make for exciting kickoff returns, but it might also hinder comebacks, as a kickoff return will take up more time and won't necessarily put the team in any better of a position. This could enhance the importance of having a good kick returner, though; he might be more crucial to comeback chances than before thanks to this rule change.

It's the eye-in-the-sky official that will get the most attention here, though, and as with the CFL's change to make pass interference reviewable two years ago, you can bet the NFL will be watching. There doesn't seem to be a big downside here as long as the communication between this new official and the on-field crew works well; if they're only stepping in to correct obvious mistakes that are clearly visible on replay, that's averting errors without diminishing the importance of on-field officials and perhaps even speeding up the game. It also provides further benefits of replay without making it possible for coaches to challenge everything. We'll see how this plays out in practice, but it sounds like a good idea, and one that may soon go beyond the CFL.