So how does the NFL fix this? My flawed, first pass at defining the Hail Marys that should be exempt from coachesвЂ™ challenges Moving parts arenвЂ™t exactly the NFLвЂ™s strong suit when it comes to on-field rule changes, either - as evidenced by the last decade of debating what is and is not a catch.ДЇiguring out a Hail Mary should be slightly simpler, but it will still be a sticky wicket for the competition committee. There are a lot of moving parts to consider in order to keep this rule from becoming an albatross strung around the neck of the final seconds of seemingly decided games. Unfortunately for the NFL, the essence of a Hail Mary may be closer to Potter StewartвЂ™s threshold for obscenity - words struggle to articulate it, but you know it when you see it. The league needs to figure out all these scenarios to avoid a nightmare like last yearвЂ™s Tommylee Lewis no-call derailing a meaningful game, which eventually led the owners to allowing pass interference to be reviewable in the first place. If you apply a catch-all net of вЂњany play in the last seven seconds of a one-possession game,вЂќ youвЂ™d also exclude higher percentage plays that begin closer to the line of scrimmage in the process.Дoes a pass have to make it to the end zone to make the argument it is worthy of review? Is there a minimum spot the ball has to reach in order to be considered reviewable and not just a last-chance effort for coaches to extend a game they would have otherwise lost? Do you institute a sliding scale of how far a pass has to travel in the air to define a Hail Mary based on a quarterbackвЂ™s arm strength or the height and reach of his receivers? Teams shouldnвЂ™t be bailed out on desperation plays with little chance of succeeding unless the interference is blatant enough for officials on the field to see - and as retired offensive lineman and SB Nation writer Geoff Schwartz says, itвЂ™s one of the few areas where defenses retain a bit of an advantage in a league thatвЂ™s made passing easier and easier in recent years.Д«ut how do you define that high-risk, high-reward play that can shift the fortunes of a gameвЂ™s final seconds? These last gasps at the end zone are mostly the high-arcing passes Aaron Rodgers has turned into an art form, but thereвЂ™s no set mold for the Hail Mary. What exactly constitutes a Hail Mary?Д®xempting Hail Marys from pass interference reviews makes sense whether these are initiated from the booth or by a coach. Members of committee indicated they will likely have to define what a Hail Mary is and include that in the rule.- Judy Battista May 22, 2019 The leagueвЂ™s answer to this, presumptively, will be to exempt these plays from review.ДЄnd if NFL changes PI challenge rule, one issue is how they exempt Hail Marys from challenge - league does not want every Hail Mary challenged. The most obvious way to overthink this new reform is to point out how the jostling and jockeying for low-percentage, last-ditch Hail Mary passes could easily be flagged for pass interference upon replay. And because this is a league with a single-spaced, size 10 font, 89-page rule book, this will not be simple.

Coaches will be reticent to risk a valuable timeout in a close contest without the obvious video evidence to make a game-altering change.Д«ut it only takes one instance of a bent or broken rule to make the NFL look stupid. Any replay flag in the final two minutes would already be filtered by one set of officials or possibly two - the ones on the field and the ones in the replay booth if the committee keeps the booth review intact on top of the coachesвЂ™ challenge. ItвЂ™s a small change that shouldnвЂ™t have much of an impact on the field. didnвЂ™t change the policy themselves, they effectively kicked it back to the rules committee for tweaking - likely giving coaches the unprecedented power to challenge interference calls and no-calls in the final two minutes of either half. And while Robert Kraft, Jerry Jones, et al. NFL owners gathered at their annual May to discuss rule changes and other proposals, with the complicated PI rule at the top of their to-do list. It lasted less than two months before getting its first adjustment.

The NFLвЂ™s plan to make pass interference penalties (and non-penalties) reviewable by instant replay was voted into existence at a league meeting in March.

Update: The NFL wisely decided (at least for 2019) that a Hail Mary wonвЂ™t be treated any differently than other pass plays.

What does a hail mary football