Steinberg’s MMQB: Why expanded replay is good for the league

The CFL made some big waves this past week. With the Board of Governors voting to expand video review, the league remains on the cutting edge of innovation in the sport and in pro sports period. This expansion, though, has caused a great deal of debate. Some people despise the growing use of technology in sports while some are very much for it. You can count me as part of the latter because, for me, it’s all about getting things right.

Leading the pack

I’ve always been a proponent for more use of video review in professional sports. For me, it seems pointless to have the technology available and not to be using it. Officiating is a hard job and it’s impossible to get every single call right. When games are on the line, the ability should be there to get things right.

First off, I think the creation of a video official in the Command Centre is awesome. It’s cutting edge and it’s something I fully believe will be instituted by other pro sports leagues in the near future. The “eye in the sky” is innovative and it’ll speed up the game in very subtle ways. Good on the league for being out front on this and I’m fascinated to see it action in a few months.

But let’s get to the contentious part of this. Right from its institution, video replay has always been a touchy subject in some circles. Knowing that, any decision to increase its use was going to raise familiar objections. There seems to be two main objections to the concept, so let’s address both of them today.

‘It’ll slow down the game’ 

The changes coming for the 2016 season really won’t slow down the game, and I’ll tell you why. Yes, the league has voted to allow more penalties to be challenged; no yards, illegal blocks on kicks, roughing the kicker/passer, and more can now be challenged. But just because more is ALLOWED to be challenged doesn’t mean we’ll see more challenges.

RELATED: ‘Eye in the sky’ approved for 2016

Coaches aren’t getting more challenge attempts here. Teams will still only get two challenges per game which makes them even more valuable and adds even more of a strategic element to them. Coaches will have to be even smarter with their challenges, so I really do believe we’ll see next to no change in the amount of video reviews seen per game.

Furthermore, the brand new video official is going to help speed up the game. Officials won’t have to confer for minutes at a time about infractions because they’ll have a partner working off the field to help expedite certain calls.

So, yeah, on the surface I get why there’s a fear even more video review will slow things down. But when you look at things a little deeper, my argument is it’ll actually be the opposite.

‘It’ll eliminate all human error’. 

I am not to be mistaken for someone advocating for a CFL run by robot overlords. Human error is a crucial part of sports, for both players and officials. I don’t want to see the human element of officiating eliminated or anything of the sort. We need officials on the field because judgment calls and up close eyeballs are crucial to the governance of the game. These new rules don’t put any of that in jeopardy.

Again, coaches still have the same number of challenges per game and I think it should stay that way. I’m all for the continued expansion of what can be looked at, but I’m staunchly against increasing the number of times things can be examined. The number of review opportunities has to stay where it is now for two reasons: the speed of the game and to keep the game in the hands of the officials, who remain the most important decision makers here.

I believe the video changes voted on by the Board of Governors will make the CFL better. These changes are aimed at making the flow of the game better and giving officials more power. Both of those are good things.

Hungry Lion

“I don’t say rehab, because that’s in the past. Rehab means I have to get back from something. It’s more training. I am in my regular regiment now.”

That quote from one of the league’s most feared defenders should put everyone on blast. Solomon Elimimian is back to 100 per cent and he’s ready to reclaim his title as the most electrifying defender in the CFL.

In Matt Baker’s great BCLions.com column last week, that quote from Elimimian jumped out more than any other. As the 2014 Most Outstanding Player gets ready to return from last year’s season-ending torn Achilles tendon, he seems as motivated and hungry as ever.

Elimimian will return to a team that needs him, too. While Adam Bighill and Alex Hoffman-Ellis did the job just fine in Elimimian’s absence, the latter has departed for Hamilton now. Elimimian returns to reunite one of the league’s most feared and productive linebacker duos with Bighill, and the Lions couldn’t be happier.

No one is sure what Elimimian will look like after major surgery and after missing so much time last season. Knowing the type of competitor he is, though, I was going to put good money on him returning just as effective as he was before. After that quote above, that seems like a pretty smart bet.

Adding it up (Part IV)

Five down, three to go when it comes to our biggest off-season additions around the league. With an odd number of teams remaining, we’ll just focus on one today before finishing it up with the two Alberta teams next week. Below is what we have so far and who our nomination is in BC:

BC Lions:
Mike Edem, DB

The Lions have made some interesting additions this off-season and I gave both Brandon Stewart and Nick Moore a lot of consideration before finally deciding to go with Edem. The University of Calgary product has a lot going for him, but two things pushed him over the top.

First off, he’s got something to prove. The guy had a banner rookie season with Montreal in 2013 but then ran into injury issues and was traded to Hamilton prior to the 2015 trade deadline. After recovering from injuries, he was used sparingly with both the Alouettes and Tiger-Cats. At 26, I think Edem can still ball and a little chip on his shoulder isn’t a bad thing at all.

I also really like the fit for Edem in BC. He joins a talented defensive group lead by coordinator Mark Washington. Edem likes the fit too, as he told the Vancouver Province in February: “I wanted to play for Mark Washington,” Edem said. “I was looking forward to getting drafted by B.C. in 2013, because I wanted to play for him then.

“Mark has a good reputation. He’s a good coach, but he’s also a good person. People can forget sometimes how important that is.”

With the aforementioned Elimimian and Bighill in front of him, and with Ryan Phillips leading the way in the secondary, I think Edem enters a really good situation fit for him to succeed. The fact he’s Canadian and eager to prove people wrong is just an added benefit.