After the Bryant missed call, Refs are another big concern of mine....

[Snake]

10 hours ago, KillerKat said:

There was even a replay behind Bryant that obviously showed the ball moving when he went to pin the ball behind his leg. It didn't stop moving till he only had 1 foot down. There was just no excuse to miss that call at all.

Could solve this all by having someone review plays other than the refs. I think that would work out really well. 

[rippadonn]

2013 home playoff game confirmed what I already knew. When a defensive player jumps into your backfield and isn't flagged you know what it is and the whole game was like that. The NFL wants to control the narrative at the expense of certain markets. Their cheating at the league level has been exposed already, especially when it comes to the patriots and their Northeastern markets. Somebody ask Marty Hurney about 2003, he has a lot to say

[CRA]

13 hours ago, KillerKat said:

The NFL VP of officiating is now saying the Bryant catch should've been incomplete. I saw it as incomplete right after it happened. The refs even reviewed it and still got it wrong. It was fuging obvious as hell. The ball was still moving and by the time he had control he had only 1 foot down then jumped in the air. Incomplete. If I could see it immediately, why couldn't they?

Makes you wonder how many other games the NFL is going to rig during these playoffs. Hopefully they're not against us and they don't make a huge blown call that turns things in favor of the other team. Without that TD, Bengals would've won. Even with their bonehead decisions at the end. 

http://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/937404

There are 4 games this weekend.  So I guess at least 1 has a mindblowingly horrible call. 

[Bartin]

9 hours ago, lightsout said:

Here's my thing with officials. They receive a LOT of training before making it to the NFL. Most have officiated collegiate ball, some just high school, and some come right off the street (though few). They are evaluated on their knowledge of the game, fundamentals, rules, etc. as well as their character. And yet, we still get officials making bad calls. I get that it is a part time job....but why is it? These guys have to travel to the games, take time off their careers, away from family, etc. Why not make it a decent paying job that allows them to focus on their craft full-time? In the offseason have a set amount of offseason training, mandated for all officials, that rehashes the obvious and breaks down the most controversial or difficult calls from the previous season and an explanation of the correct call, in detail.

The NFL has PLENTY of money that they can afford full time officials. And as seriously as any player, coach, and fan takes the game, the officiating (which can drastically effect the game) is HIGHLY important. Now you've given them more incentive to work harder and be better, and you can levy out punishment to fit the big errors. Not a suspension for EVERYTHING, but for instance, the Bryant catch. That altered the game. Let's say the head official's name were Steve and Bob was the one who made the initial ruling of a catch. Steve and Bob get suspended without pay for a game next season. Sure, these guys work in crews, but just like the players....next man up. If you have to, setup a pool of reserve officials that fill those gaps if a ref is sick, injured, suspended, etc. Pay them per game and let that be that. Those who are full-time can't afford to screw up in big things.

Let's say Bob just missed a holding call and one PI call, both occurring RIGHT in front of him where any reasonable person would say that he had to have seen it. Bob gets a write up. You get so many write ups before stiffer consequences follow.

You can set up something LIKE this at least. Hold the officials accountable beyond just "do your job well, and you get to officiate playoff games". Because then you end up with the same crap you got in the regular season, just in smaller doses and with bigger stakes on the line for the teams than a week 3, non-conference matchup.

The problem is that the referee Union has the strongest CBA in maybe all of sports. The NFL was forced to give in to pretty much every single demand they had in the last labor negotiations in order to get them back on the field after the disastrous replacement ref experiment. What you're suggesting is great and what we should have and a lot of what the NFL wanted, but they weren't able to get any of that in the CBA. There is barely any recourse for punishment against the refs.

[Carl Spackler]

7 hours ago, Zaximus said:

The NFL is an entertainment company, certain refs push games certain ways.  I don't understand how anyone could deny it at this point, there is more evidence every year.   Why else are bad refs not held to any consequences?   Why is the rule book harder to figure out every year (and what is a catch)?   There is only one thing that makes sense, they WANT the "what is a catch" question to get more muddled every year so they can have plausible deniability.   For over a decade the NFL has feasted on "storyline" games, and they try to move games toward that end, not always successful, but usually are.  They can legally push games one way or the other as well, since they are an entertainment company just like the WWE.

I only hope maybe the NFL is subscribing to the Panthers vs Patriots revenge storyline for the Super Bowl and the game is clean.  I don't think it's a conspiracy between players, coaches, etc.  I think the players are giving it their all.  But just ONE crooked ref, as we've seen, can dictate the outcome of a game.   That's why we need to just whoop them and not make it close.  

This is all correct.

My bigger concern than the refs, though the refs are up there, is still Seattle's pass rush and secondary. Cam engineered the comeback in October but historically has not done well against Seattle. Those assholes have murdered everyone in their wake recently with the exception of Minnesota, and that concerns me. I don't wanna see another fuging Cardinals 2009 game on Sunday. We've got to come out strong, not 3-and-out or pick and touchdown. If we come out, get up on them early, I'll feel a lot better, and the refs will be out of the equation for the most part.

[tiger7_88]

NFL "You're not old enough to get those calls" refs *always* concern me.

ALWAYS.

[KillerKat]

7 hours ago, Zaximus said:

The NFL is an entertainment company, certain refs push games certain ways.  I don't understand how anyone could deny it at this point, there is more evidence every year.   Why else are bad refs not held to any consequences?   Why is the rule book harder to figure out every year (and what is a catch)?   There is only one thing that makes sense, they WANT the "what is a catch" question to get more muddled every year so they can have plausible deniability.   For over a decade the NFL has feasted on "storyline" games, and they try to move games toward that end, not always successful, but usually are.  They can legally push games one way or the other as well, since they are an entertainment company just like the WWE.

I only hope maybe the NFL is subscribing to the Panthers vs Patriots revenge storyline for the Super Bowl and the game is clean.  I don't think it's a conspiracy between players, coaches, etc.  I think the players are giving it their all.  But just ONE crooked ref, as we've seen, can dictate the outcome of a game.   That's why we need to just whoop them and not make it close.  

It's all become more obvious ever since Goodell has taken office. 

[bigdog10]

The only thing I've noticed in officiating lately is the tendency to stay with the call on the field. 

I believe that has given the officials a bit of an out since most of the calls are so close

 

if a game is being fixed it will show up in the penalties being called not judgement call plays. Watch for drive killer penalties on offense (like bogus holding calls, when the crew hasn't called holding all day) of illegal contact calls on defense when they have been letting the interaction between receiver and def back play physical. 

[Icebox]

There have been mind-blowing calls (and even a magic coin) almost every game this post-season. It's tough to discount the perception that these games have been fixed to achieve a certain result. Add to that the fact that all the late money bets (1) have been shockingly accurate and (2) went en masse to Seattle... that's concerning.