Does anyone else find the command centre seemingly ruling on everyother play a bit annoying. I am not convinced that they “see” the play better than the onfield officials and then they miss obvious things. They seem to pick and choose when they are going to step in and it is not consistent. An example is the trip on Shiltz that they missed in the Hamilton game. the D-lineman clearly stuck his foot out. It was caught on camera and shown several times in the TV replay before the next play. I have seen several times where o-lineman have pulled up early and that does not seem to be noticed. I would also appreciate knowing what the penalty was called before the offical announces that the command centre has over ruled the call and there is no infraction, there must have been some reason the official threw the flag. I may be wrong but I do not see this as an improvement so far.
I generally agree with you and just finished criticizing the command center on another thread which post is linked below. A lot if improvement is needed in my opinion.
https://forums.cfl.ca/t/lions-get-elusive-road-win-over-bombers-on-thursday/86546/50?u=jon
I guess I am just a rebel because I am very satisfied with how the games are going in this regard. As we all know, nothing is perfect.
One would be much happier if one just enjoys what is good about the games and not nitpick on any negatives.
Negatives are always going to happen no matter how they do it
It doesn’t look like they can actually call for a penalty, like the tripping or illegal procedure penalties you referenced. They can only overturn a penalty that they did not feel was merited in certain situations.
No one likes nitpicking but clearly blowing calls that could decide a game isn’t nitpicking. If the command center is going to be a thing it should be done properly. It would be better to scrap the command center than continue at the current pace which saw at least 5 egregious missed calls this week alone.
But better yet, fix it. Right now my hypothesis is that the command center is run by a retired official in need of frequent and lengthy bathroom breaks who only has an unpaid intern assisting him.
One of the biggest hurdles facing the league is a public perception that the CFL is, shall we say, less than premier. Glaring errors in officiating add to that perception.
On-field calls, as you said, will always be imperfect, which is why we have the replay system and command centre. The CC, however, has the benefit of angles, slow motion, and presumably an open copy of the rule book. They have no excuse for the frequency of mistakes that we see from them.
I can recall several egregious mistakes by the command centre in the past few years but they do get it right a huge majority of the time. With the time and ability they have to watch multiple angles under review they should be at 100%.
New this year, I think, is the onsite official review for quicker reviews and is an improvement and the reason you aren’t getting the call before the announcement.
I’m not sure if the trip was intentional or if he tripped on a leg planted while blocking.
If you go back and watch it. The d line-man dileberately sticks his foot out because hewad fully engaged wih the o-lineman blocking.
But that would be on the ref, not the CC as they cannot call a penalty.
No they can’t correct everything but it’s my understanding that this weekend alone they could have corrected the non catch in the BC/WPG game and the phantom TD punt return by Montreal. Both were pretty important plays at the time.
On the Als punt return TD, they corrected the no yards penalty that was called by saying the Hamilton player was pushed into the 5 yard zone by an Als player. But if blocking from the rear was not called by the ref, the CC does not have the mandate to call a penalty. If it was a missed call that’s on the ref, not the CC.
Ok I stand corrected that it wasn’t on the command center. Still, it should have been called.
Pretty sure the leg was just planted.
Is that new ? Last year on 2 occasions the riders had the command centre call a penalty
One was a challenge from the riders which they lost and the command centre not only dismissed their challenge but called a penalty on them
Command centre was right in both cases so the issue is regarding them inserting themselves as another on field official and actively participating in a game
Pros and cons to it , consistentcy being one.
If they can’t call a penalty, theyshould not be allowed to reverse one UNLESS a coach challenges. That is just my opinion.
I’ll correct what I previously said-they can call roughing the passer & roughing the kicker if they are missed by the ref. Perhaps that is what you are referring to.
I’m not a fan of the CC being able to call selected penalties only. It should be all or nothing. As long as they do it consistently.
I don’t think they should be allowed to call any penalties.
A player CAN be pushed into the 5-yard zone without being blocked from the rear.
I don’t have the play to review, but it seems what people are saying is that Dequoy pushed the Hamilton player in the back. An Als fan has said it was on the side.