Lions coach Jim Caldwell: Expand replay for playoffs, big games
Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said the league should add expanded replay for the playoffs and other late season games, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Caldwell's comments come after the Lions lost in the playoffs on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. The game was marked by a bizarre no-call after a pass interference flag was thrown against the Cowboys and then picked up with little explanation.
On Monday, Caldwell said the league should make getting the call correct its first priority even if it means a longer game.
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"I think it may have to be, for the sake of time and those kinds of things in a game, how long a game lasts, that you have to have some boundaries," Caldwell said. "But I do think, particularly in big games and down the stretch in playoffs and things of that nature, I'm not certain there should be a limit on when you can review, when you can look at to make certain that you got the call right.
"I just think that we're all human and we're all affected by our surroundings, our environment, big-game issues, noise, etc., and it's going to be hard for anybody to convince me otherwise. And I think, in that particular case, we should try to take as much of the human factor out as much as we possibly can."
After the game, the referees explained that they conferred with each other and decided to pick up the flag.
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The flag would have given the Lions a first down, but instead Detroit punted. The Cowboys scored the game-winning touchdown on the ensuing possession.
NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told Around the NFL that it was a "debatable" decision and he would have preferred if the crew stood by its initial call.
- Paul Palladino
