If instant replay survives after this season, it will be over Michael McCaskey`s no vote.
The Bears lost the first National Football League game so directly and dramatically decided by instant replay officiating Sunday in Green Bay, but that isn`t what convinced Bears President McCaskey it is ”an experiment whose time has passed.”
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Blame Pete Rozelle and sentiment. Instant replay would have died before this season if several owners hadn`t reversed their feelings as a retirement present for the commissioner.
Opponents had the necessary eight votes to kill it until Rozelle made his surprise announcement to quit. Because he had been a staunch defender of replay from its inaugural season in 1986, several owners, including McCaskey, changed their votes and the measure passed 24-4. A three-fourths majority of 21 is necessary.
”It passed because of the wishes of the commissioner,” said Raiders managing partner Al Davis. ”It is fitting at this time.”
With both Rozelle and former Dallas General Manager Tex Schramm now gone, instant replay would appear to have no champions left, save for the entire population of Green Bay. Schramm, called the ”Godfather of replay,”
helped shoot down a suggestion by McCaskey to alter the structure at league meetings last spring. The 24-4 vote marked the third straight renewal of the
”one-year experiment,” so it will come up for another vote next March.
In 1986, instant replay passed 23-4-1. In 1987, it was renewed 21-7. In 1988, it passed 23-5. A total of 10 different teams have voted no during the four years.
Less than 24 hours after Rozelle officially passed the commissioner`s baton to Paul Tagliabue, the same arguments swirling around instant replay surfaced in Green Bay. The debate centers on one word: ”conclusive.”
For a replay official to overturn a call on the field, he must have
”indisputable visual evidence available to him that warrants the change.”
”That`s not what they had (Sunday),” McCaskey said.
To the Bears, the mere fact replay official Bill Parkinson required four minutes to decide is evidence enough that the right answer hardly jumped out at him.
Explained Parkinson: ”This was a very important play. The ballgame hinges on this play. We took our time and looked at both feeds.”
The rule about passing over the line of scrimmage further complicates the issue. Where the passer`s feet are is irrelevant. They can be past the line of scrimmage. The official must judge whether the ball itself has crossed the plane of the line of scrimmage, a difficult task.
According to McCaskey, who looked at more replays Monday, it is impossible to see exactly where the ball is as it leaves Don Majkowski`s hand in relation to the line of scrimmage.
It was McCaskey`s contention at league meetings last year it is wrong to structure instant replay as a policeman in the sky waiting to catch mistakes. Instead, McCaskey wanted the referee on the field to maintain complete control of the game. The replay official would be part of the crew and could be called upon by the referee for help if needed.
”But the referee would have the final say,” McCaskey said. ”Give the officials on the field authority and provide them with all the help they can get. Instead, we went with a form of quality control, catching people making mistakes.”
In this case, McCaskey maintained line judge Jim Quirk had a better angle to make the call he is paid to make on the field.
”We make the assumption replay is always going to be right,” McCaskey said. ”Instead, it has introduced new mistakes.”
Among the mistakes:
– Oct. 8, 1989-San Francisco`s Jerry Rice prematurely celebrates a touchdown and loses the ball before crossing the goal line against New Orleans. The ball squirts through the end zone, but is called a touchdown by the field officials.
Replay official Gaylord Bryan fails to signal the field that the play is being reviewed, so it stands. It should have been a touchback, but the 49ers go on to win 24-20. Bryan is suspended for two weeks.
– Sept. 18, 1988-New York Giants beat Dallas Cowboys 12-10 when referee Pat Haggerty rules a safety against Cowboys kick returner Darryl Clack, who muffed a catch and was tackled in the end zone. Replay official Armen Terzian fails to review it because he thinks an interpretation by Haggerty on the field took precedence.
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Terzian later admitted the play should have been a touchback. He subsequently quit.
Schramm, a victim of the system he advocated, said: ”The criminal part of it all is all the money and planning and travail that has taken place with instant replay and this kind of mistake is still made.”
– Nov. 27, 1988-Giants beat Saints 13-12 after replay official Royal Cathcart overruled a New Orleans touchdown pass early in the game because the receiver had only one foot inbounds.
The inconsistency of the system is obvious. Even if Parkinson were correct in his judgment in Green Bay, Gaylord Bryan or Armen Terzian or Royal Cathcart might have made a different decision, or no decision.
If McCaskey has his say next spring, the inevitable ”human element” in the replay booth will have made its final decision, mistake or not.