Instant replay is a fairly recent addition to NFL football. Instant replay is great, because important games should not turn on mistakes or non calls by the officials. It does, however, have some problems.

When it started out, the officials had 30 seconds to review the play, and issue a ruling. That system was removed, because rushing the official did not accomplish the goal of getting the call right. In the current system coaches have 2 challenge flags they can throw. Throwing a flag triggers a review of the play.

The problem is, these flags are being abused. It is possible to throw a flag on a unchallengeable call. Pass interference, for example, cannot be challenged. If the coach throws the flag and finds out he cannot challenge the call, the flag is returned.

So what happens is the coach basically gets a free conference with the official while everyone picks around. Coach throws the flag, finds out he can't challenge, and gets his flag back.

Jacksonville's coach Jack DelRio took it a step further. He just help up the flag and got a conference with the zebras while his team was on defense. What this does is slow down the game, lets his defense get a breather, and throws the opposing offense off balance. (DelRio is not the only coach to do this, just the most recent.)

Football is not Shakespeare, there should be no long, drawn out "to challenge or not to challenge". Play should continue, and if a coach wants to challenge, he should throw the flag. Can't challenge it? Lose the flag. Mis-throw? Lose the flag. You get two a game, use them wisely.

Take the game out of the officials hands, and let them play football.

Why is Travis Henry still playing football? Is smoking pot ok in the NFL now? Is the NFL getting its drug policy cues from MLB?

Shanahan vouched for Henry yesterday, saying,  "If I thought the test was positive, Travis would not be on our football team" after the team administered it's own hair test and polygraph. Thanks coach, like no one thinks you wouldn't do whatever it takes to keep your star running back on the field. Henry failed a random drug test in early October. Setting up a non-random, team sanctioned test 6 weeks later does not inspire a lot of confidence.

Travis Henry was suspended in earlier in the year, but went to court for an injunction to keep him playing. The league already has an appeals process, so I'm not sure why this judge sent down an injunction, but the NFL can't be to happy with its players going outside the union for redress. The whole point of a union (well, at least 50% of the point) is to solve problems internally. If Henry's appeal is overturned, look for him to be done with the NFL.

The NFL does a pretty good job keeping players out of trouble, and trouble players out of the league. Once this comes back from the courts they need to send a clear message that drugs, and external court appeals will not be tolerated. The NFL scores should be the headlines, not the conduct of its players.

When is the NFL going to let the defense play again and keep games out of the hands of refs?

I just watched Green Bay vs Kansas City and Indianapolis vs New England and the refs were mugging the defenses.

The calls against Green Bay on Woodson that setup the Chiefs 2nd touchdown and the call on Bush in the back of the end zone on the two point conversion were non-existent.

Then the zebras give Indy 2 chances for a touchdown in the first half, the second of them being the most offensive.

Let them play the game already, quite having the refs decide the games.

The Patriots SHOULD have run up the score against the Redskins on October 28th.

This is football, not ice skating. The Patriots are as good as they are because they play 100% every time, every down. They are dominating right now. They don't take plays off, and they punish people.

If the Patriots start taking it easy, or going soft on teams, it could become a habit, or they could get a little too much of an ego and start playing at 99%. As good as they are, not many teams in the NFL can win at 99%, and The Patriots have the Colts coming up this week, they need every edge they can get. Maybe they were practicing new plays to use against the Colts. Maybe they were showing the Colts some new looks. Who cares why, they have a right too.

The Redskins do not get to ask the Patriots to tone it down. The Redskins have to get off the field on their own. This is football, this is America, you get up and off the field on your own, with the team you came with. Don't ask the other team for help, or mercy, or pity.

To the Redskins credit, they did not say anything ill too the Patriots, it was mostly the media.

I say, let em play.

As everyone knows by now, the Giants beat Miami in London today, marking the first time a regular season game was played outside of the US.

Good idea? Bad idea?

I love it. I hope the NFL gets popular over seas. I hope England gets a team, I hope India and China get a team. I want to see this thing go worldwide.

Then I want to see US teams punch them in the nose.

Dear NYTimes, don't ever write about football again.

This drivel about Aaron Brooks is the worst kind of victimization writing I have ever seen.

Quote :"I have no doubt that Brooks’s stinging criticisms played a role in his difficulty in returning to the N.F.L."

Are you kidding me? NFL players rape, drive drunk, do drugs, beat people up in bars, murder people, and get caught with hookers the night before the Super Bowl, and they get to play. If you are better than the other players available, you get to play in the NFL, no doubt about it. You think a few comments about Katrina are going to keep you off the team?

This tool, William C. Rhoden writes

"He(Brooks) felt Tagliabue should have visited the Saints' players in the weeks after the hurricane." For what? Hugs? I'm sure whatever Saints players lived in LA were fine, they could probably afford a plane ticket or a hotel room. It was the people not making at least $250,000 a year who needed help.

Poor Aaron Brooks. According to the Times, just another victim being persecuted for speaking his mind.

Tell ya what NYT, stick to writing about fashion and Broadway celebrities and politics or even baseball, and don't ever write about football again.