The network has hired recently retired NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira as a rules analyst and will have him at the Fox compound in Los Angeles on Sundays, where he'll have access to feeds of all games Fox is showing and have the ability to be patched in to any telecast when a rules interpretation or explanation is warranted. Sometimes he'll communicate only with the announcers, other times he will be brought into the discussion on the air. St. Louisan Joe Buck, who will team again with Troy Aikman on Fox's lead NFL crew, is raving about the plan.

"I think its a brilliant move by Fox, I think it's groundbreaking,'' said Buck, who is entering his 17th season doing NFL play-by-play for Fox. "There's nothing we concentrate more on going into a season, within a season, than the rules. It's a complicated part of the job for any broadcaster. So to have the guy who is the authority on that ... is invaluable.''

Buck said when some confusing rules situations or coach's challenges arose in the past, either he, Aikman or statistician and info man Steve Horn often would call Pereira during a commercial break for help. But Buck said, "It becomes the dinner-table game of 'telephone,' where the information has changed by the time it gets to you.'' But this season it will be "right from his mouth right into our ears and right to the TV audience, which is great.''

Pereira, who last season had a segment on NFL Network in which he discussed disputed rulings, said he won't hold back to protect his former colleagues.

"I've already jumped the fence" to the broadcast side, he said. "I'm not going to call out officials by name, but I'll say if (the call) is correct and why or incorrect and why."

Fox usually televises multiple games at once, meaning Pereira could be in demand on more than one telecast at a time. But Buck estimates Pereira will be called upon an average of less than once per telecast. Still, a backlog could arise.

"We'll stand in line,'' Buck said. "Eventually we'll get it right before we go off the air.''

Fox has the Super Bowl this season, and Buck expects Pereira to be in the booth then, so that "if anything comes up he pops on with us and explains what's going on and then it's not left to Troy and me. Everybody's better served.''

Buck said he spends a lot of time studying rules, as Fox Sports President David Hill is a stickler about his broadcasters doing that. But there still are times when confusion exists.

"To have the fail-safe of Mike available makes it great, you're never exactly sure what they're looking at when watching a replay,'' he said. "Once they go under the hood, any aspect of the replay is under review and it can become a mess (for the broadcasters). We're up there giving it our best and it's only going to be made better. It takes the heat off the officials as well, because it's being explained better to the general public than Troy and I could do without his help. It's great, and a relief, really.''