During their annual meetings in Orlando, NFL owners on Tuesday passed a proposal allowing referees to consult with an officiating department in New York on replay reviews.
The referees will continue to be responsible for making the final ruling and will only reverse the call if there is indisputable visual evidence. But the league hopes that consulting with a command center in New York will help improve the consistency and accuracy of the replay decisions and shorten the time for a review, which is supposed to be a maximum of 60 seconds.
NFL owners also passed a new rule making it illegal for blockers to "roll up" on the side of an opponent's leg. Previously, it was only illegal to roll up on the back of an opponent's leg. The infraction will result in a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness.
In addition, it reportedly will now be illegal for a player to dunk the ball over the goalpost in celebration due to a rule already on the books against using the ball as a prop. The NFL's head of officiating, Dean Blandino, made that revelation on the Dan Patrick Show, according to ProFootballTalk.com.
