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Set the Edge NFL referees have been a source of anger for thousands of NFL fans since the league's earliest days, but in recent years it's felt like NFL officials are incapable of getting out of the way and just letting football games play out without awful interference. Today I try to find out what's causing this new epidemic of incompetence and attempt to find a solution. With science. |
Riveron should have been fired right after he blatantly abused the PI review last year. The owners implemented the change. He works for the owners. If you ignore the owners, you should be fired. Either that, or the owners were placating the Fans(N.O. especially) and told him to ignore it was much as possible so they could get rid of the rule after the season.....Where was the media on that?
They are tasked with the impossible......wrap a written rule made up of text written and documented, prior to something happening on the field that could address any possible scenario that happens in the fraction of a second, before it happens.
It's way too subjective. Instant replay, Ultra HD digital content and modern technology (like being able to simulate, or extrapolate, 3D, from any point of view has only magnified what we never saw before....this combined with the huge rulebook makes this impossible. The NFL has arrived at a point of no return.
I mean it only gets worse as time goes on...in the future, once technology can determine if there was cellular contact between a players jersey and the football, we are really in trouble, but my guess is, unfortunately, that the NFL will literally self regulate itself until its slow unavoidable death. I hope I am wrong
At the moment this is not possible. However, with some innovations in technology and with the expenditure of funds for research, it CAN be done. Unfortunately, innovation is not a strong suit of the NFL and the lords of football really don't want to spend money on research because those expenses get subtracted from their profits.
In any case, don't blame the refs. There are only 7 of them watching 22 guys who have no incentive NOT to break the rules if they can get away with it.
For judgement calls, the plays would need to be reviewed at regular speed.
Riveron will now focus solely on the league’s replay review process.
I found this quote, regarding the shelving of the rule permitting challenges to pass interference, the implementation of which was worse than the evil sought to be ameliorated, hilarious:
“That dies a natural death,” Rich McKay, the chairman of the competition committee, said in a SiriusXM interview this month. “We were trying to apply something that we’ve been wary about,” he added, “putting a totally subjective play into replay.”
While the overly technical rule book is a culprit, the refs have enough trouble with the mundane rules to not get a pass. Even with replay they manage to get the call wrong and that is the problem. MLB gets just about every call correct through replay. NFL, meh. It seems the zebras are more interested in protecting each other than the game.
I agree this is a huge part of the problem and this is seen clearly in the Dez none catch play. By the rules, no catch was right call but by the spirit of the game that was a great catch and a TD. Calls will always be subjective and this is why the replay is a poor adjudicator as the camera only ever give another subjective view.
The refs on the field are part of the game and they will always be the best judge of intent and “spirit of the game”. An additional ref in a skybox at the game with access to the various angles could advise the ref on the field. Make the rules more simple and give officiating back to the officials on the field.
I had difficulty agreeing with both the Dez and OBJ calls.