NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell indicated Wednesday that the league is considering making fundamental changes with how in-game replay reviews are handled.
"I think our officials do an incredible job, but there's always room for improvement," Goodell told NFL Media's Albert Breer at the Special League Meeting in Irving, Texas. "We've had some errors that we think we need to correct. Some of the things we're discussing is how to do that, whether there are changes to replay, or to how we train or what we do on the field."
Breer asked Goodell about potentially expanding the role of NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino on Sundays when it comes to replays. ProFootballTalk reported Sunday that the league will consider bringing all replay reviews in-house.
"With respect to replay ... we're going to look at everything," Goodell said. "Our No. 1 focus is to make sure we're providing the best officiating. We always think we can improve. Consistency is important. By bringing it into the league office on Sundays and having one person actually making that decision, you can make an argument there's consistency.
"This is something the competition committee will be studying. It's something we discussed with the membership today. They'll come back with a report, and we'll make an adjustment from there."
Goodell also addressed protecting defenseless players against low hits. Goodell indicated the competition committee will look at possible rule changes, but those changes would not address hits like the one that shelvedNew England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski on Sunday. Proposals are more likely to be centered on hits like the one that took out Miami Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller. Keller was hit while in the act of catching the ball.
The competition committee is expected to discuss rules on low hits at February's Scouting Combine.
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