Rash of Steelers injuries shows need for NFL refereeing changes

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell (9) . Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell (9) . Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
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Steelers
Shawn Smith (14)  Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Sky Judge

Between the 2020 and 2021 seasons, NFL owners discussed the possibility of adding the sky judge. The Baltimore Ravens suggested; however, owners scrapped the idea, at least for 2021. The basic idea of the sky judge was to create a booth with an official that had all video access to every angle of a play, plus they would have an open line of communication with the on-field officials.

The sky judge would be reviewing each play, and if the officials missed a call, the sky judge could notify the on-field referees that they missed a penalty, and then the officials could then throw the flag. Or the converse could occur on-field officials could throw a flag the booth could review, and if the call was wrong, they could inform the other refs just to pick up the flag and say there was no foul on the play.

In Chris Boswell’s case, had the sky judge been in place, it would not have prevented his injury; however, the referees would have gotten the call correct and called the ensuing penalty for leading with the head.   Of course, if you go back to the blown pass interference no-call in the Saints-Rams playoff game. In this case, the Sky Judge could have reviewed it and called down to the field, and told the refs to call pass interference.  In a game that large, it should never be decided by blown calls when the NFL has the technology to fix the problem. The same applies to regular-season injuries as well, and it will help to protect players as well.

If the NFL can not agree on the sky judge, there is still a third intermediate option.  Of all the suggestions out there, the sky judge seems the most popular fix.