NFL
Notebook: Rule makers hoping to make replay permanent

By The Associated Press

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PALM BEACH, Fla. — The league's rule makers want instant replay to be added permanently.

But if they cannot get their way, they will settle for their next-best option: extending it for five years.

"There's always plan 1-B," John Mara of the New York Giants said yesterday as the league's annual meeting opened.

"We think we have more than enough votes to get it in permanently, but if we feel there's enough opposition, we're open to compromise."

Given the history of replay as an officiating aid, it looks as though there will be a compromise, in this case the fallback position of extending it for five years.

Replay was first implemented for the 1986 season, voted out in 1992, then brought back in 1999 in its existing form, with the coaches' challenge system.

It was put in for three years in 2001. This year the competition committee, which includes Mara, voted 8-0 to put replay in permanently.

But that requires approval from at least three-quarters of the teams — 24 of 32. So if replay goes in permanently, it would need 24 votes to remove it. That makes some owners nervous.

The committee also voted to make a slight change to replay, adding a third challenge for a team that has used its first two challenges successfully.
 
But the committee voted against two other proposals: modifying overtime to give each team a shot at the ball, and adding two teams to the playoffs, raising the number to 14.

In addition to replay, items to be discussed at the meeting include upcoming negotiations to extend the collective-bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association beyond its expiration date after the 2007 season. The owners also will discuss negotiations on a new television contract — the current TV deal has two seasons left.

Owners also are expected to add to the rules a 15-yard penalty for excessive on-field celebrations and discuss extending by two days the one-week postseason period to interview assistants for head-coaching positions.

Gibbs starts quickly

ASHBURN, Va. — LaVar Arrington said it felt more like August than March. The offensive coaching staff met past midnight on the first day.

No one does the offseason better than the Washington Redskins, and Joe Gibbs' first minicamp was no exception.

"That's about as well as I've seen this team play — in or out of season," linebacker Arrington said after the three-day camp ended yesterday.

About 5-1/2 months before its first game, Washington already has the clock ticking on the 2004 season.

The usual get-to-know-you first minicamp was more like a trial-by-fire audition, and players are expected back in a couple of days for classroom meetings — even though the Super Bowl ended less than two months ago.

"It's very important for us, this offseason," Gibbs said.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company