I feel like much of what is being expressed here is frustration with the replay system itself and/or length of games as opposed to the feasibility of penalty reviews. I hate when politicians call for "common sense" solutions, but I believe there are some common sense solutions!
- Keep replay reviews to 1:30 or 2:00. I understand the games yesterday were of greater magnitude than a regular season game, but there's no reason a review should drag on for 5-7 minutes. Two minutes of video, and that's it.
- The two minutes of video rule should make sense because the point of replay is not to determine what happened but to apply the "clear and convincing" standard. If you can't see something clearly in two minutes, it's over.
- This part will never happen with spendthrift owners, but have another official on the sideline who is the "clock" official. This eliminates the need for the NY review center to buzz in to have the clock reset because the officials were busy adjudicating too many other things. Should save some time.
- Re-emphasize that replay is meant to overturn the call on the field only when there is clear and convincing evidence. I feel like the NFL has really departed from this standard; maybe it's just me, but it feels like they are going into reviews looking to make the call, not review the call.
- The length of games issue shouldn't be too much of a problem because replays are already used for TV timeouts. To further help, replays right before the two minute warning, when all of the TV breaks but one have been used, should use the two-minute warning TV break, and have there be only an announcement of the two minute warning.
- Replays after the two minute warning, just grin and bear it!
- As for reviewing penalties itself, I think we'd have to accept you can't review everything. No holding reviews, for the love of whatever deity you worship. It would have to be factual-based reviews. Like in this case - did the defender initiate contact to the receiver while the pass was in the air without turning his head back to the ball? Yes. OK, we move on.