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Oct 15, 2017; Denver, CO, USA; New York Giants president, CEO, and co-owner John Mara before the game against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
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John Mara: Instant Replay Changes Unlikely

Connor Lynch News NFL

John Mara and other NFL competition committee members have dampened talk of changes to instant replay during this offseason.

After a missed pass interference call in the NFC Championship game, there has been public demand to enhance instant replay.

Last month, Roger Goodell confirmed that the NFL competition committee would discuss it. At the time, he seemed unsure if it would lead anywhere. The results of the latest committee meeting echo that sentiment.

According to John Mara, there likely won’t be any changes coming soon. He puts it down to a lack of support and above all, a lack of new ideas.

 

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John Mara said he’s “not sensing a lot of support for making changes.”

“Calls are just missed,” Mara said. “Officials are just human. They’re going to miss calls from time to time. … To think that we’re going to be a system where calls are always going to be corrected from New York or from upstairs, I just don’t think we’re there or even close to being there.”

The committee spent their time, from the sounds of it, rehashing old ideas. Classics like expanding the remit of instant replay and adding an eight official to the crew were discussed again. Mara again outlined that it’s difficult to see how those ideas work without causing more problems.

“Are you going to look for one area or check the entire offensive line?” Mara said.

“I think you get into a lot of areas with a lot of unintended consequences, and I just don’t think there is a lot of sentiment for going in that direction at this point.”

 

Related: Roger Goodell to ‘Look Again’ at Instant Replay

 

Green Bay Packers president Mark Murphy echoed Goodell’s earlier sentiment that mistakes are an unavoidable part of the game.

“I think there is still a concern about reviewing judgment calls,” Murphy said.

“We’ll study, but I don’t think anything is imminent that something will change. … Unfortunately, the reality is that officials are human. They make mistakes. Coaches make mistakes. Players make mistakes.”

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