Thursday night’s World Cup knockout-round match between Croatia and Portugal revealed, for better or worse, the extreme precision of the VAR system that FIFA has embraced. Watching it work, it becomes harder to understand how and why the NFL hasn’t already done the same.
Yes, the NFL now employs technology to determine whether the offense has reached the line to gain. (Which seems to be used less frequently than the no-tech sticks-and-chain — and maybe an index card — approach.) But the all-important spot of the ball continues to be determined the old-fashioned way: by trusting the best guess of the official who claims most convincingly to know the right location.
Supposedly, they’re working on it. They need to get it done.
Generally speaking, the NFL prefers to take baby steps when it comes to altering the status quo. That’s how the video replay system has evolved over the years, often with a new wrinkle being added only after the unavailability of replay in a non-reviewable circumstance prompts the league to change the rule to include that situation in the future.
Beyond the fact that careers (primarily of coaches) ride on the outcomes of games, full accuracy becomes critical for betting purposes.
It can be frustrating to see goals wiped out by a VAR ruling that a player was offside, especially since goals are scored so rarely and mean so much. But the rules are the rules; if technology can lead to the right outcome in soccer, it needs to be used in football.
If nothing else, seeing out it has performed in the World Cup should make the NFL put its foot on the gas when it comes to taking full advantage of the chip in the ball.
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