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Coaches aren’t challenging as much as last year

There are a few interesting trends that have emerged in the replay statistics over the first eight weeks.

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With the kickoff of Thursday night’s game between the Falcons and Buccaneers, the 2016 season is already past the halfway point. There are a few interesting trends that have emerged in the replay statistics over the first eight weeks. There have been 69 coach’s challenges and 151 total reviews to this point. If these rates continue both numbers will fall well short of those in 2015, in which there were 201 coach’s challenges among 406 total reviews.  

The percentage of reversals is also down this year. While the coach’s challenges are down only about 1 percent, the total is down nearly 7 percent. This can be attributed at least in part to Dean Blandino’s edict that there must be clear and obvious video evidence in order to overturn. A good example of this is Cincinnati Bengal’s receiver Tyler Boyd’s fumble against the Steelers in Week 2 (video). Although circumstantial evidence suggests Boyd may have been down, there is no clear shot of the football from the point of contact until the fumble, so the call stood.

2016 replay statistics through Week 8

   Coach       Reversals Challenges Success %
1 Ron Rivera   CAR 2 2 1.000
   Gary Kubiak   DEN 2 2 1.000
   Gus Bradley   JAX 2 2 1.000
   Bill Belichick   NE 1 1 1.000
   Mike McCoy   SD 1 1 1.000
6 Mike McCarthy   GB 3 4 .750
7 Chuck Pagano   IND 2 3 .667
   Chip Kelly   SF 2 3 .667
9 Rex Ryan   BUF 2 4 .500
   Sean Payton   NO 2 4 .500
   Todd Bowles   NYJ 2 4 .500
   Jack Del Rio   OAK 2 4 .500
   Dan Quinn   ATL 1 2 .500
   John Harbaugh   BAL 1 2 .500
   Bill O’Brien   HOU 1 2 .500
   Doug Pederson  ¹ PHI 1 2 .500
   Mike Mularkey   TEN 1 2 .500
18 John Fox   CHI 2 6 .333
   Hue Jackson   CLE 1 3 .333
— Replay booth    NFL 27 83 .325
20 Marvin Lewis   CIN 0 1 .000
   Jason Garrett   DAL 0 1 .000
   Jim Caldwell   DET 0 1 .000
   Andy Reid   KC 0 1 .000
   Mike Zimmer   MIN 0 1 .000
   Ben McAdoo  ¹ NYG 0 1 .000
   Pete Carroll   SEA 0 1 .000
27   Bruce Arians   AZ 0 2 .000
   Mike Tomlin   PIT 0 2 .000
   Jay Gruden   WAS 0 2 .000
30   Jeff Fisher   LA 0 3 .000
— Coach’s total       31 69 .449

No challenges:  Adam Gase (MIA) ¹,  Dirk Koetter (TB) ¹

(2015 final replay statistics)

Totals including the replay official: 58/151, .384
 ¹-First-year head coach, not including interim assignments. Source: NFL game statistics, regular season only.

Patrick Weber is a four sport official working at the high school and college levels in football, baseball, basketball and soccer. He currently resides near Chicago, Illinois.

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