Question: Why are illegal formation penalties non-reviewable?

[RollTider]

I was watching some of the NFL games and saw a couple illegal formation penalties and wondered why this penalty is something that cannot be reviewed (especially the too many/few men on the line penalty). I don't believe these plays are blown dead in the way a false start penalty is, so theoretically the play could either stand or assess the penalty and repeat the down.

It seems like just about every other "line" or "boundary" call is reviewable (goal lines, out of bounds, spotting the ball, etc.) and this does not seem to be any more subjective than where a ball should be spotted. Just curious if there is a definitive answer as to why these aren't reviewed, as there seem to be multiple cases where they were called incorrectly and were costly.

 

[BamaSteve999]

I am not enough of an expert to answer this, but I would not be surprised if it had something to do with the wiggle room of "within a yard of the line of scrimmage." I've watched several teams' tackles line up in such a way that their big toenail on their inside foot is the only part of their body that could possibly be within a yard of the line of scrimmage.

 

[UAME]

The simple answer is that if games weren't being televised in high zoom, high definition clarity, we still wouldn't have instant replay in place. The reason that replay review is limited to boundary spots, fumbles, etc. is that these are where the most apparent, most egregious mistakes are made that impact the course of the game.

If the goal of replay was to get every call in every game 100% right, then every play would be reviewable. Hindsight, especially in slow motion HD, is better than 20/20. The truth is, though that unlimited replay would extend games to unbearable length. Therefore, the rules committee has simply chosen to review the non-judgement calls that work toward quelling the most fan riots and let everything else slide.

 

[Queasy1]

Penalties aren't reviewable period.