AP

As mentioned on Tuesday (but thereafter forgotten by me), the NFL’s new replay rule has one specific facet that merits closer attention. The twist in question resulted either from shoddy rule-drafting — or from a subtle but nevertheless deliberate effort to make a potentially dramatic change to the rules.

Here’s the key portion of the provision, which expands last year’s practice for the postseason to all games: “The Replay Official and designated members of the Officiating Department at the League office may consult with the on-field officials to provide information on the correct application of playing rules, including appropriate assessment of penalty yardage, proper down, and status of the game clock.”

As written, it’s not entirely clear whether “appropriate assessment of penalty yardage, proper down, and status of the game clock” represent the only circumstances in which consultation is permitted. While that’s likely the intent, the rule as written arguably allows consultation with on-field officials “to provide information on the correct application of playing rules” generally, with the list following the term “including” being only examples of what is permitted.

On one hand, if the new procedure were intended to have broader relevance, the word “including” would have been followed by “but not limited to.” On the other hand, if the rule were intended to be restricted solely to the “appropriate assessment of penalty yardage, proper down, and status of the game clock,” it should have been written more clearly.

For example: “The Replay Official and designated members of the Officiating Department at the League office may consult with the on-field officials to provide information regarding the appropriate assessment of penalty yardage, proper down, and status of the game clock.”

Or: “The Replay Official and designated members of the Officiating Department at the League office may consult with the on-field officials to provide information on the correct application of playing rules relating to the appropriate assessment of penalty yardage, proper down, and status of the game clock.”

Or: “The Replay Official and designated members of the Officiating Department at the League office may consult with the on-field officials to provide information on the correct application of playing rules, including appropriate assessment of penalty yardage, proper down, status of the game clock, and nothing more.”

So either someone did a subpar job of writing this fairly important sentence or someone knew exactly what he or she was doing, with the goal of allowing the league office to provide real-time assistance to on-field officials on any and all matters relating to “the correct application of playing rules.”

On one hand, I was reluctant to point this out, because I fully support the unlimited use of the communication system between the league office and the officiating crew in each and every stadium, in an effort to get every call right. On the other hand, if that power is going to be woven into the rules, it needs to be done in a way that is clear to everyone — including the 32 folks who voted on the new rule.

Again, there’s a chance the someone simply didn’t write the rule as well as it could have been written. Either way, it’s a situation the cries out for clarification at some point before the 2016 football season commences.