It may be too late to offer up some advice regarding what Halloween costume trick-or-treaters might want to wear this week as they go door-to-door, seeking the sweet treats. But, if their intention may include ringing the doorbells of National Football League fans, I would suggest they not masquerade themselves as NFL referees.

Indeed, I may be in the minority on this one, but it seems that all too many NFL games this season are bordering on the unwatchable. Unless you are a fantasy football league devotee and are rooting for numbers rather than concerned with which team is winning or the flow of the game, you may be leaning to a similar conclusion.

Even the most casual NFL fan is aware of the ‘non-call’ of what was obvious defensive pass interference in the closing seconds of last year’s New Orleans/LA Rams NFC championship game that sent the Rams to the Super Bowl. The outcry was loud and long, causing the NFL Bigwigs to take action.

By a vote of 31-1, prior to the 2019 NFL season, team owners voted to allow offensive and defensive pass interference penalties, including non-calls, to be subject to challenge and replay review. Consequently, this season, coaches can challenge any flags or missed penalties until the final two minutes, when such instances are subject to booth review only.

At the time of the vote, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated, “I personally believe it was the fact that every club wanted to get, and the league wanted to get these plays right. Replay is to get it right, and ultimately people compromised, I think, on long-held views because they wanted to get the system right. They want to get the play right.”

I would doubt there is any sports fan out there that doesn’t want the plays called right, whether they are in favor of instant replay or not. Commissioner Goodell’s comments are right on. Sports officiating can be a difficult business and those who second-guess always have hindsight on their side. Most all calls made during any sporting competition involve the judgment of the game official made instantaneously at the height of the action. Instant replay was devised to help the officials get the calls right.

But oh, it is indeed becoming tedious to watch.

The National Football League has been criticized for many reasons over the years. One such admonishment was that it should be called the ‘No Fun League’ due to its crackdown on player’s on-field celebration (which in many cases was a justified concern). In this instance, perhaps the league should become known as ‘Numerous Flags Launched,’ as the frequency of those yellow cloths thrown into the air has taken away from the flow of the game.

The instructions NFL game officials have received differ from other seasons, and if in their judgment they see a foul, they should certainly call it. But the replay system has provided them a safety net if they are perceived to be wrong; the boys in the booth will be there to bail them out. But why does the whole process have to take so long?

Of course, it is the golden goose — television. On a simple replay that might take 30 seconds to review, those thousands of fans in the stands, the millions more watching at home, and the teams themselves are forced to wait so that TV can slip in another 2-minute commercial.

In one Sunday Night game, I watched this season, which was close right down to the end, there were penalty flags thrown on six of seven plays within the two-minute warning. In another instance, league officials admitted that a wrong call was made during a Green Bay/Chicago Bears game that was instrumental in determining the game’s outcome.

Be there no doubt that the safety of the participants and getting the calls right are most important to those who play and the integrity of the games. But it certainly seems like there are just too many flags thrown and too much delay going on in today’s NFL. An NFL game produces some exciting moments, but the pace of play defies the perception of a fast-paced game. Each five or six-second play is followed by a thirty-second huddle mixed in with yellow flags on the field and increased time-consuming reviews.

With the season approaching its halfway point, the NFL has only been reminded why it didn’t want to allow challenges on judgment calls in the first place. Coaches have no clear idea of what will cause calls to be changed, and given the subjectivity involved, it’s doubtful they will.

The issue becomes even more muddied, given the opinions of former referees who have been hired by the TV networks to provide their analysis regarding game penalties that have been called on the field. Many times those opinions aired differ from what the replay system concludes.

Tony Dungy, former NFL coach, and NBC analyst describes the system as “If I am a coach, I don’t know what to challenge. I thought this was going to be a disaster when it started, and I believe it is.”

On the other side of the coin Dallas Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones feels, “Replay should be for a very egregious situation that was blatantly missed, like the call in New Orleans that started it all. But to have it on every play and have it at the will of the coach is not as succinct as I’d like to see officiating be.”

In the meantime, all these reviews provided extra time for potty and refreshment breaks. Happy Halloween!