Music: {allcanada} CFL RULES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CHANGES TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Friday, March 4, 2011

{allcanada} CFL RULES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS CHANGES TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS

TORONTO -- The CFL's rules committee is looking to give its instant replay command centre more say in determining the outcome of questionable on-field plays this year.

"Some of the toughest calls for on-field officials are what the media sometimes calls 'bang-bang' plays," Tom Higgins, the CFL's director of officials, said in a statement, "when a decision has to be made on a potential change of possession in what can seem like the blink of an eye.

"The rules committee is looking to give the use of instant replay more say in two of the most prominent examples: When the ball comes loose as a quarterback is hit in the pocket, and when officials have to decide if a pass was caught, not caught, or caught and then fumbled."

The CFL's board of governors will have final say, deciding whether to approve the recommendation when it meets in April.

Presently, when a quarterback drops back to pass and is hit and fumbles, the play is ruled an incomplete pass with the defensive team able to challenge the call. The rules committee is recommending the CFL command centre, which examines all instant replays, be allowed to overturn the call on the field, declare the play a fumble and award possession to the defensive team if it had recovered the ball immediately.

Right now, the command centre can only review whether the play constituted an incomplete pass or fumble and not award possession.

When a play is ruled incomplete, the offensive team can challenge the ruling and hope the command centre reverses the decision. Under the proposed rule change, a defensive team believing the ball was caught and then fumbled can also challenge the on-field ruling. If the command centre agrees, it could award the defensive side possession but currently can only rule if the pass was complete and not award possession.

Other proposed rule changes include:

-- Blocking above the defender's waist be allowed following a pass completion across the line of scrimmage. Blocking below the waist on such a play would result in a 10-yard penalty.

-- When a punt goes out of bounds in flight in between the 20-yard lines, the receiving team has the option of taking the ball where it went out of bounds plus a 10-yard penalty against the kicking team or have the ball re-kicked 10 yards behind the original line of scrimmage.

-- If a player is pushed out of bounds by an opponent, he can return to the field of play and make a play. But if he goes out on his own or is bumped out by a teammate, the player would be ineligible to participate in the play.