XFL official: League’s innovations could find way to NFL

The innovative system the XFL has put into effect to allow coaches to challenge any play one time per game worked exactly as it was designed during the Vipers’ road game in St. Louis last week.

That doesn’t mean the adoption of the rule is imminent in the NFL, but it does give the league some real-world experience with implementation the next time such a possibility is discussed.

Dean Blandino, the XFL’s head of officiating and himself a former rules executive in the NFL, was pleased with how the process played out.

“We wanted to give teams the opportunity to correct something that is going to have a major impact on the game,” he said. “Anytime you can do that and use the video to help get the play right, especially in a game-changing type situation, that is a good thing.”

The Vipers, who have a 9:30 a.m. road game Saturday against the Houston Roughnecks, threw a costly interception late in the first half in opposing territory last week against St. Louis that was run back into scoring position. Coach Rod Woodson successfully challenged the play, claiming a Battlehawks defensive linemen got his hands up into the facemask of a Vipers’ offensive lineman.

While the Vipers still fell to 2-6 with an eventual overtime loss, it was a big moment.

Penalties cannot be challenged under the current NFL system, but Blandino believes the NFL is taking notes.

“It was a foul and we were able to see that on replay,” he said. “I think the NFL is headed in that direction with replay and how they’re able to give the officials information in real time. I think we’re going to see more of that in the NFL. There might be a time in the near future where you can review some of those and have the opportunity to get those right.”

It’s just one of several experimental rules the XFL has adopted and Blandino believes many of them are working. There is a modified kickoff that cuts down on high-speed collisions and encourages returns, the replacing of extra points with 1-, 2- and 3-point conversions, an ability to try for a fourth-and-15 instead of an onside kick to keep possession in the fourth quarter and a running clock in far more situations that limits the length of the game.

“I think they’ve all worked really well,” he said. “Over 90 percent of our kicks have been returned and the injury rate isn’t substantially higher than other types of plays. With the timing rules, we’re averaging right around 2:46 per game, which is a good number so the fans are really engaged with less downtime. And our games are close. We’ve got right now the average margin of victory at 8.52 points, which is a one-score game in the XFL.”

That number was 9.8 in the NFL this season, the lowest on record.

Blandino said the NFL has inquired about how some of the tweaks have worked out. The XFL is expected to soon serve as a testing ground for some technological innovations, particularly focused on the game clock and how the officials interact with it. It’s part of an ongoing relationship between the brands.

Perhaps the best feature the XFL has introduced isn’t likely to fully integrate into the NFL anytime soon, however. Blandino is prominently featured on game broadcasts as the replay official and his discussions with the crews on the field are fully transparent, with cameras and microphones putting the entire conversations on the live broadcast.

While he admits he may be more detailed in his communications to make it clear to viewers what is being discussed and slightly more guarded at times, Blandino said he hasn’t thought much about the cameras.

He said there’s a chance some of that process could come to NFL broadcasts, but going all-in like the XFL probably isn’t on the horizon.

“There are times when you look at a play and you don’t know.” he said. “There are times it just doesn’t show clearly and you don’t have a clear angle. I don’t think the NFL should be scared of that, but I do think there’s a hesitancy to say everyone is going to know every single word you’re saying. I just don’t think that’s a bad thing because it goes back to that transparency.”

Blandino doesn’t expect many drastic changes for next season, maybe just a few slight adjustments here and there. One potential concern was that the shootout-style overtime hadn’t been employed, though there were finally two overtime games last week and the rules worked out well.

“I don’t think we have a ton of stuff we need to change,” he said. “There are areas we can continue to innovate, but probably moreso around technology and how people view the game and where we can provide more access. But our rules I think are in a good place. We feel our foundation is real solid.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.