I know this has been discussed already on this site but I am referring more to the blatantly obvious calls or not knowing the rules not judgement calls.
I have never seen this happen more often than this year and it seems to happen in almost every game.
My feeling is this stinks from the head down and I believe Blandino is the culprit. As former ref Scott Green noted, Blandino has never been on the field as an official. He is a bureaucrat, a paper pusher and it seems to me something is terribly wrong.
It's not just some bad calls, it is blatant calls...such as last night. I would have to think this is the worst I have ever seen the NFL admin or front offices. There seems to be a real issue with how the league is being run in terms of game operations.
The only difference between the replacement refs and the regular guys was controlling the pace of the game, and ultimately having the respect of the players.
It's not easy to do, but man when a guy rolls out of bounds, give him the clock stoppage.
The inadvertent whistle was just a bizarre play, though I have no idea what Rex was doing there. I could understand the conferencing there, but several of the others were ridiculous. Though at least for the most part I felt the crew got the calls correct with the last play being the exception. No clue how the clock wasn't stopped there.
The inadvertent whistle was just a bizarre play, though I have no idea what Rex was doing there. I could understand the conferencing there, but several of the others were ridiculous. Though at least for the most part I felt the crew got the calls correct with the last play being the exception. No clue how the clock wasn't stopped there.
Beyond that, on the last drive, how does a nine yard pass eat up nearly 30 seconds?
And after a sack and respotting the ball on the last drive, it just took forever!!!!! Then came the sideline pass to end the game.
Brutal.
But there are several reasons:
1) Aging head ref. Hochuli, anderson, Coleman guys who really should be home grandparenting, not judging athletes half their age
2) Confusing rulebook. The catch definition is a perfect example. Nobody knows what a catch is, including the refs
3) Inconsistent messaging. The refs are told to let certain things go on on the field and let replay handle them - like borderline fumbles, but yet, they will call an inconsequential illegal contact on the opposite side of the field on 3rd and 18. I've said many times that if they are going to relax calls in certain areas, then they should also make a penalty on 3rd and long be a blatant one.
4) Faster, stronger players. Goes back to point 1, but it is damn hard to police 100 yards of real estate with guys who may struggle physically or from an eyesight standpoint.
STOP ANALYZING EVERY LITTLE RULE AND FOCUS ON IMPROVING THE LEVEL OF OFFICIATING!
You can start by pairing down their play book.
Blandino is an asshole
Beyond that, on the last drive, how does a nine yard pass eat up nearly 30 seconds?
It's now the refs fault that Buffalo sucks and couldn't get the play in? That was clearly due to the Bills, not issues spotting the ball.
Blandino is an asshole
How about ESPN not showing any angles that could go against the Patriots? Why not some audio on the blown whistle call or show the defense holding on Brady's int that went back 50 yards?
More than just the officiating was suspect last night.
There are just too many rules and too much subjective interpretation of the rules, so there all they've done is create more penalties.
Some of them are petty. I've seen a lot of illegal formation penalties because a player isn't lined up on the line of scrimmage. I'm sure there is some sort of reason why 7 people have to be on the line of scrimmage, but it's a penalty because a WR lined up half a yard off the line? Come on! How does that affect the play? Crap like that needs to be taken off the books.
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Replay is out of control
Blandino is an asshole
How about ESPN not showing any angles that could go against the Patriots? Why not some audio on the blown whistle call or show the defense holding on Brady's int that went back 50 yards?
More than just the officiating was suspect last night.
The whistle clearly blew early and they did replay it at least once with audio. I thought the ball was in the air at the time, but I also had no problem with them giving the Pats the ball at the spot of the catch seeing how the Rex Ryan caused whistle likely cost the Pats 20+ extra yards.
2.) I think the league needs to get rid of the auto first down on a holding penalty, such a b.s call. A defense can have a team at 3rd and extra long, some ticky tacky penalty at the discretion of refs calls a contact with a player holdng and auto first down. Such B.S, it really waters the game down. It should be a 5 yard penalty, no auto first down.
3.) An extra Challenge to teams, and the ability to challenge penalties. There are so many bad calls against players, that this is needed to correct the human error of refs to not blow games. Love when there is some phantom penalty at a crucial moment that just keeps teams in it, really need to be challenge-able.
2.) I think the league needs to get rid of the auto first down on a holding penalty, such a b.s call. A defense can have a team at 3rd and extra long, some ticky tacky penalty at the discretion of refs calls a contact with a player holdng and auto first down. Such B.S, it really waters the game down. It should be a 5 yard penalty, no auto first down.
3.) An extra Challenge to teams, and the ability to challenge penalties. There are so many bad calls against players, that this is needed to correct the human error of refs to not blow games. Love when there is some phantom penalty at a crucial moment that just keeps teams in it, really need to be challenge-able.
The automatic 1st down can be frustrating but think about it for a minute. Why wouldn't a defense hold at the LOS on 3rd and long if it wasn't a 1st down? On 3rd and 15 you would see a lot of grabbing within 5 yards.
This is part of the problem I have with the NFL. There is no way that Watkins gave himself up. He caught the ball while going to the ground and got out of bounds without being touched. But there are so many rules in the rulebook that an official can point to, even when it doesn't make a lick of sense, and it'll be accepted as what the officials saw.
This is part of the problem I have with the NFL. There is no way that Watkins gave himself up. He caught the ball while going to the ground and got out of bounds without being touched. But there are so many rules in the rulebook that an official can point to, even when it doesn't make a lick of sense, and it'll be accepted as what the officials saw.
Dean Blandino doubled down on it too. Scary thought right there.
This is part of the problem I have with the NFL. There is no way that Watkins gave himself up. He caught the ball while going to the ground and got out of bounds without being touched. But there are so many rules in the rulebook that an official can point to, even when it doesn't make a lick of sense, and it'll be accepted as what the officials saw.
that's indefensible and incredibly disingenuous.
I mentioned in the game thread that last night was the most bizarre officiating I've witnessed. Completely bush league.
Brad Allen, Bryan Neale, Steve Patrick (okay that is 3) have looked good and they have all significant bowl experience. On the other hand you have officials like Hugo Cruz and Sarah Thomas (both out of C-USA) who have, at best, worked mid level bowl games and look woefully unqualified to be in the NFL
In essence, even when the Pats get screwed, they still have a positive outcome!
I agree re:Thomas and others. There are a few other new officials including Shawn Hochuli and Novak who are also solid officials. Many others not so. It is well known that the NFL is not seeking the best. There is another C-USA female official in the developmental pipeline who should be working high school at best. But there are other factors as well too numerous to go into on a site like this.
I agree re:Thomas and others. There are a few other new officials including Shawn Hochuli and Novak who are also solid officials. Many others not so. It is well known that the NFL is not seeking the best. There is another C-USA female official in the developmental pipeline who should be working high school at best. But there are other factors as well too numerous to go into on a site like this.
Novak was one of the top Big XII Referees before he was hired so that really does not surprise me (haven't gotten to see him as much as some other officials so wouldn't pass judgment). Someone like Mike Defee was one of the top BJ in the country in the Big XII and has been a very good R but heaven forbid the NFL hire him because he is a little older than some of the others they have in the pipeline.
It doesn't make sense from that aspect and I don't think it would improve performance substantially.
It doesn't make sense from that aspect and I don't think it would improve performance substantially.
What do MLB, NHL and NBA officials do in their offseasons? If you include offseason training, which starts for officials before NFL Training Camps start, the season for NFL officials is not that much shorter than other sports.
I agree re:Thomas and others. There are a few other new officials including Shawn Hochuli and Novak who are also solid officials. Many others not so. It is well known that the NFL is not seeking the best. There is another C-USA female official in the developmental pipeline who should be working high school at best. But there are other factors as well too numerous to go into on a site like this.
So true Bob. There is absolutely no substitution whatsoever for experience. If I want to move up in basketball I go to camps. They have you officiate, video tape it, then sit down and evaluate everything with you. As we always say, the tape never lies. Making them full time will do nothing to improve the situation. They already get a tape each week with the breakdown of what happened in their game. They need experienced guys with great leadership at the league level to work through what the hell is going wrong with these calls. We've all had that sick feeling of blowing a huge call and taking the knowledge home with you that you jobbed a team(hopefully un-intentionally). Its learning from that and taking that experience into the situation and getting it right that is vital, and that only comes with experience and the proper mentoring/evaluation system in place. I'm sure you have plenty of stories to tell of just how flawed that process is right now. A good first step would be freeing up Blandino to pursue his true passion- hooking up with a Cowboys cheerleader on their party bus full time.
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of having full-time refs, but what do they do for the period of time where there are no games or practices?
It doesn't make sense from that aspect and I don't think it would improve performance substantially.
What do MLB, NHL and NBA officials do in their offseasons? If you include offseason training, which starts for officials before NFL Training Camps start, the season for NFL officials is not that much shorter than other sports.
Seriously - for the richest sport in this country .... their approach to officiating is atrocious. I don't understand it ... they have NO problem paying the commissioner MULTI MULTI MILLIONS of dollars (including the Coaches and Players), yet they seem to want a discount on the refs/judges. MAKES NO SENSE.
One would think that (with ALL THE MONEY at stake) - NFL Refs/Judges would be a full time position (like other sports).
It doesn't make sense from that aspect and I don't think it would improve performance substantially.
Totally agree.
Overseeing a game is a tough deal...in what sport are we actually happy with those who do it?
Integrating younger people into these roles is probably the way to go...........but again it's no guarantee the product would be improved.
Some things need to be left on the field for the discretion of the officials. That's always been the rub of replay - you can get some things right - did a player cross the goal line - and you can get some things wrong - did OBJ catch that ball?
There's concern about player safety. Haven't seen too many bad calls regarding late hits and blows to the head - defenseless receiver.
It doesn't make sense from that aspect and I don't think it would improve performance substantially.
But, maybe it will bring younger and quicker/smarter minds to the sport (who can and/or will consider it a career) instead of semi-retired guys who do it part time on the weekends.
Someone once wrote an article or made a statement about there being a death on the field during a professional football game ... IT MIGHT NOT BE A PLAYER.
Some of those guys are so old - I am surprised one of them has not had a heart attack yet.
I think one of the biggest problems is the rules are so confusing I think a lot of these guys are either anticipating or running down a check list in their heads as the action is going on and it leads to bad decision making. I think if what is a catch or not a catch was simplified would be a huge weight off the refs on the field. Go back to eighties and look at how it was called.
When a guy goes out of bounds no matter what the clock should stop. That call at the end of the game last night was ridiculous. The NFL constantly makes the rules more and more difficult to interpret as the speed of the game gets faster and faster. The refs can't keep up with the pace of play when it to comes to officiating it efficiently. They have too much to think about and we as fans sit and just shake our heads when we see them make rulings that make absolutely no sense whatsoever.
Tell me this. When you have two referees, one says incomplete and the other says touchdown and then they briefly confer and say yes it was a touchdown and then, big Ed has to go to the guys in the situation room and gives a totally different interpretation, I guess those two who said touchdown didn't get the memo.
Tell me how the fuck do you have two guys in complete agreement and then have the head ref say otherwise because someone in the booth says it was a a catch but just not long enough and say they are doing a fine job. I guess you haven't watched too many games this year.