Oakland Raiders: FOXSports More Worried About Time Than Getting It Right

Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio is being taken to task by FOXSports.com columnist Sid Saraf for having the temerity to suggest that replay should be more expansive.

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In a recent column that appeared on FOXSports.com, writer Sid Saraf took exception to Oakland Raiders HC Jack Del Rio’s suggestion that the current NFL replay system is flawed and isn’t expansive enough. Saraf took extreme umbrage to Del Rio’s belief that coaches, in an effort to get things right, should have the ability to challenge any play they see fit – more or less whitewashing the fact that it’s not a new suggestion and Del Rio isn’t the only one of that opinion.

Saraf even titled his angry little missive, “Raiders’ Jack Del Rio Wants To Waste Your Whole NFL Sunday With Replays.” The title is a little bit aggressive, isn’t it? Almost like he’s trying to work through some deeper issues with Del Rio in his own psyche or something?

Why Saraf directed his vitriol at Del Rio is unclear. What’s even more unclear is why Saraf would sacrifice the integrity of the game just to save a few minutes of his day. Perhaps he’s afraid that if NFL games go any longer than they already do, he’ll miss the first few minutes – or more – of The Walking Dead perhaps?

Again though, Del Rio’s comments are hardly a new idea. It’s a position that’s being advocated by Cardinals HC Bruce Arians as well as Carolina Panthers HC Ron Rivera. It’s not an original thought – and he even said that in his remarks at the Scouting Combine.

"“You know, Bill Belichick brought up a great point in our owners meetings last year about allowing a coach to challenge any play if he decided it was worthy enough. So I’m in favor of that. If we have an opportunity to get something right, let’s use that opportunity and let’s get it right.”"

Obviously, there is a fine line that needs to be walked. Coaches shouldn’t be allowed to challenge every single play on the field because obviously, there are some who might abuse that to gain some sort of competitive advantage — year, we’re looking at you Bill Belichick.

Allowing each and every play to be challenged would make games entirely too cumbersome and unwieldy. On that part, Saraf is probably right.

But there has to be some sort of middle ground or happy medium that can be struck that will allow the correct calls to be made rather than allowing obvious errors to stand in the name of expediency. As Del Rio stated:

"“If it’s wrong, and we all know it’s wrong, and we have an opportunity to make right under the same criteria — indisputable — then why not? So makes all the sense in the world to me and I’m supportive of something along those lines and we’ll see where it goes.”"

It sounds absolutely reasonable and probably makes all the sense in the world to football fans around the nation — except for folks like Sid Saraf.

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Clearly, people like Saraf would rather rush through the game and allow terrible calls to stand without challenge simply because they don’t like the pace of the game – which they consider far too slow as it is. Folks like Saraf often cite the Wall Street Journal study from 2010 that concluded on average, there are eleven total minutes of action within the typical game as evidence that your whole day is being wasted by the NFL.

But here’s a novel idea – rather than sacrifice the integrity of the game, how about we find other ways to shorten the broadcast? How about cutting down some of those commercials – which the same Wall Street Journal study indicates takes up about an hour of viewing time. How about shortening the length of time between plays by reducing the time on the play clock and cut down on the 67 minutes of time players are shown to be “standing around” by the WSJ study.

How about we do something other than sacrifice the integrity of the game?

Look, football fans know that sitting down to watch a game in the comfort of their own living room is going to be a time commitment. As it stands, games average around three hours. Presumably, there really would only be a handful of plays per game that a coach might feel compelled to review. So how much more time would actually be added to a broadcast by allowing a coach to advocate for his team?

And perhaps more importantly, how many football fans out there would rather see the league do something to get things right rather than rush through the game so that people like Saraf can get to Applebee’s in time for the early bird special?

Next: Raiders Could Benefit From Disgruntled Janoris Jenkins

If Saraf is so upset about the length of the standard NFL game as it is – and he certainly seems to be – perhaps he should think about changing professions. Or at least, think about covering something other than football since he obviously has better things to do with his time.

And oh yeah, he should probably get over whatever strange grudge he’s holding against Del Rio.

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