NFL owners are slated to discuss potential replay expansion at the Annual League Meeting, which runs Sunday through Wednesday in Phoenix.
When asked about the possible changes during a conference call with local beat writers Friday, Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II voiced his disdain about adding another item to mull at the meeting.
"We have a lot that's reviewable in the game and not that excited about adding to that list," Rooney said. "I would not want to see the length of the game be expanded. We need to continually go in the other direction. If anything, try to shorten the game a little bit. It really is the pace of game ... that's something we have to keep in mind."
The call to reevaluate the league's replay protocol comes on the heels of the NFC Championship Game pass-interference non-call on Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman. Owners are expected to consider expanding replay to allow pass interference (and possibly roughing the passer and defenseless player fouls) to be reviewable.
Rooney added that the replays are still interpreted by people and there's still room for error no matter how many individuals are reviewing it. The lack of guarantee that every call will be correct is the reason for his hesitation on expanding the rule.
"Replay, at the end of the day, is another human being interpreting the play," Rooney said. "While it can be helpful in a lot of cases, but when you start talking about judgment calls, pass interference in particular, you are still putting another human being in the spot of making that decision. You never are going to get it perfect no matter how many people are looking at it. That's another hesitation I have to expand it even further."
As Judy Battista highlighted in her primer, a few other rule proposals have generated buzz ahead of the league meeting.
Rooney hinted the Steelers would be in favor of the Kansas City Chiefs' proposed rule to change overtime possession to give both teams a possession even if the first team scores a touchdown, per The Athletic. He is opposed to the addition of an eighth official on the field. As for Broncos' proposal to grant an alternative to onside kicks, Rooney prefers to keep the rule "similar to what we have now."
