When reports surfaced that the NFL was considering a vote on whether to add a sky judge as part of the in-game officiating process, I got excited.
So you can bet I was surprised — and disappointed — when I saw this update from NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero:
Both “sky judge” proposals are being withdrawn prior to tomorrow’s virtual meeting on rule changes, sources say.
Expect the NFL to still test some expanded booth-to-official communication system in the preseason. But no officiating personnel added for 2020.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 27, 2020
Getting geeked up about better officiating isn’t normal. But sky judge was something I was looking forward to getting passed by the league. Because as players and the game itself evolve, so do the challenges of officiating. Let’s face it, friends. Calling a fair game when things are happening as quickly as they do in the NFL is one of the toughest things to do these days. So as far as I was concerned, adding a potential eighth official to monitor was a logical and sensible idea. That proposals regarding sky judge have been pulled the day before a vote was to take place is disappointing, to say the least.
At least Pelissero offers up a nugget that the NFL is still expected to test some sort of eye-in-the-sky officiating aspect during the preseason. Ideally, it will grow into something usable in the not-too-distant future. If not, we’ll always have that time the NFL appeared to have a good idea on its hands, only to to toss it aside for reasons unbeknownst to anyone.
UPDATE: Maybe Sky Judge isn’t dead?
So having talked to a couple of guys on the committees, the SkyJudge proposals as they were written were pulled in favor of this recommendation from the competition committee. It, in essence, is a SkyJudge.
If it works in preseason, they could implement it for the 2020 season. pic.twitter.com/vmD6PzxefA
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 27, 2020
Well, maybe tomorrow’s vote will be interesting after all.