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NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino has acknowledged that referees botched the execution of the phantom pass interference call in Detroit's playoff loss against Dallas. But that won't be enough to convince the league to expand instant replay.

(AP File Photo)

PHOENIX -- The NFL was considering 13 proposals to alter instant replay. It passed one of them.

It was not Detroit's.

The league approved Tennessee's proposal to make the game clock reviewable at the end of a half, game or overtime. Every other replay-related issue either failed or was tabled at the owners meetings this week -- including Detroit's proposal to expand replay to all plays on which a flag was thrown.

Detroit never had much hope the proposal would be ratified for the 2015 season, but hopes it builds momentum for approval in future years.

"I think that there will be changes in the next few years on that," general manager Martin Mayhew told reporters last week at Michigan State's pro day. "There were a number of proposals. I think there were (13) different proposals on how to sort of revamp it or make it more efficient, and I think there'll be some changes that happen eventually. And we're going to be open to those things. Whatever gets proposed, we're going to be open to supporting something that we can all agree on.

"Clearly, something needs to be changed, or there wouldn't be that many suggestions on how to change it. From my standpoint, we're open to other ideas."

Detroit believes it was hosed by the officiating crew in its playoff loss against Dallas in January. After initially ruling that tight end Brandon Pettigrew had been interfered with, the all-star crew elected to overturn the penalty even though it had already been announced and assessed.

The Lions were forced to punt, and Dallas scored a game-winning touchdown on the subsequent series.

Detroit was upset with the reversal. Even the mild-mannered Jim Caldwell, known for his reluctance to question the officials, voiced his disapproval over the execution of the call.

Dean Blandino, the NFL's head of officiating, said pass interference is a subjective penalty, but acknowledged the referees botched the execution of their call in the Detroit game. But admissions of wrongdoing have done little to allay the Lions' fury over getting eliminated in such a controversial -- and in their eyes, preventable -- way.

Caldwell said he wants to see technology start to phase out the human element in officiating, and the Lions' proposal would have done that. But they won't get their way, at least for a year.

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