The overturned OPI on review was a very succinct and direct injustice from the NFL to New Orleans.
I think it is rather obvious the refs have been instructed to change these calls as infrequently as possible....because the NFL wants to be able to say they have reviewed this rule change and upon their expert analyzation (or something) they can do away with the rule next year....
I think sfidc3 nailed the bullseye! Looking back at league meetings, there was discussion about this potential rule change, but Roger saying there wasn't a consensus amongst owners yet, so didn't think it would happen, but they'd continue to "study it" to come up with something. Next thing you know, Coach Payton is on TV discussing his proposal and apparently lobbying behind the scenes with other coaches....none of whom want to be the next powerless victim of a non-call in pivotal moment. All of a sudden, there's a consensus and TADA....rules change passes.
This couldn't have sat well with Roger. Once again, Coach Payton went around him; once again, refusing to kiss Roger's ring. But instead of implementing the rules change with proper intentions, Roger has once again co-opted an NFL process to suit his ego-driven agenda. Please don't quote me on EXACT numbers, but I read an article in the past week regarding coaches PI challenges and something like 6 out of 76 have been successfully overturned. The coach only has 2 per game, so he is saving his PI challenges for apparently egregiously WRONG calls that he'd like remedied in pivotal situations. Statistically, I'd think reviews of EGREGIOUSLY INCORRECT calls would be successful no less than 50% of the time; for a 38-38 ratio of overturned/upheld calls. Instead, the ratio of overturned/upheld is 6-70. Given the scenario, and the implied strategy of only challenging the most egregious errors, how is this possible?
I can only think of 2 scenarios. 1 is that coaches are challenging "less than egregiously obvious" incorrect calls. But this defies logic. Given the scarcity of challenges (you only get 2!), why waste it on an iffy scenario? Much like the limited number of timeouts, it's often best to save them for the most advantageous moments, and live with the delay of game or similar penalty, than waste a precious timeout. Consider how reluctant coaches are to call timeout, instead preferring out-of-bounds and other "stop the clock" strategies; then consider that PI challenges are even more valuable than timeouts. So I don't think coaches are being frivolous with them, IMO.
The 2nd scenario is that the refereeing really IS that bad, necessitating a challenge. But instead of viewing the challenge/replay as a tool for the opportunity to "get it right"...which would be a beautiful thing for the integrity of the game...the NFL and the referees view it as a challenge to referee competence, which they view as a threat to the status quo. Generally speaking, I don't think referees are corrupt or incompetent; I think they're human, and humans make mistakes. I would have NO PROBLEM with a referee calling it as he sees it on the field, even in a "bang bang" moment, and reviewing the play in slo-mo real time if challenged with the intent of using technology to get it right. But when you start denying the technology in order to support your "bang bang" judgement in the moment, then I start to question their integrity and competence.
So, as the self-appointed protector of the shield and the integrity of the game, why would Roger allow this contradiction to continue? IMO, it's not about protecting the shield nor the integrity of the game. Those are just cute buzzwords that Roger utilizes as tools for his ego-driven power-mongering. And once again, Sean Payton has refused to kiss Roger's ring; in fact, he even went AROUND Roger this time. Roger don't like that, and we're seeing the results of this in the numerous failed challenges, despite slo-mo video evidence to support the challenge. In the spring meetings, they'll cite the overwhelming ratio of upheld calls and decide that the lack of successful challenges, along with extended game times, do not warrant continuing this rule. Unless Payton works WITH Roger on this matter, and allow some credit to flow to Roger, it ain't getting any better...