They are getting worse (NFL Replacement Refs) (Page 2)

The Detroit / Titans game today was a very difficult game to ref. They probably had 15 calls reviewed by the booth (went to overtime, it's required), and the refs got all but one right. One was reversed. 

Plus, during the non-OT part of the game, they didn't miss a call. Everything called was valid, confirmed by instant replay. I though they did an outstanding job. 

Give them two or three more weeks, and you'll never know the difference, league-wide.  Plus, they're bearing the brunt of the public's reaction to the tighter concussion rules, which would have been there under any set of refs. The statistics back up the fact that they're no worse than the regulars. I do know that games take longer, but they generally get it right. That will improve over time. 

I feel the 'regular' referees' platform crumbling. Despite the fact that their union, and the players union, and espn have a monopoly on reporting the 'horrible officiating'.  They appear to be very replaceable. 

ETA: I can't see the strike lasting more than 2 more weeks. And ending on league terms. 

I know that the statistics say that these officials aren't having their calls overturned anymore often than the past officials, and that the overall percentage of calls going in favor of the home team is the same. The problem with these ones is the nuances of the game. It just moves too fast for them.

PI has been called incredibly inconsistently so far this year. One play will be a mugging and the next will be PI on some hand fighting. A shoulder graze will be called a pick but the Lions receiver leveled a 49ers DB late in the game last week with no call.

The personal foul calls have been horrendous. The officials are not controlling the game and then throw flags for minor pushing and shoving. Heyward-Bay was hit under the chin today in the Raiders game on a clear defenseless receiver situation yet no flag. The officials did manage to throw a flag 2 plays earlier for a minor squabble after a fumble they failed to rule decisively on.

During the 49ers game, the officials ruled Gerhardt down by contact with 3 minutes to go as the Vikings were running out the clock. The officials then gave the 49ers a challenge, even though the 49ers had no timeouts left to do so. They gave the 49ers the football even though the play had been whistled dead a full second before the ball came out.

There is a large difference between not having the few things in the game deemed reviewable overturned and actually calling the game well. The replacement officials are falling well short of that standard.

Well in the Saints game today it was the opposite. Many plays reviewed and it seemed like every one overturned the ruling on the field, At one point the refs weren't even making a ROTF but going straight to review. At least they weren't sharing the ROTF with the crowd, the viewers, or rhe TV announcers.

And the time added to the game, especially the second half. I have Red Zone, so I can tell you this was the second early game to get to halftime. But by the time regulation ended we were at the 3:40 pm mark, and it was well over four hours when the game finally ended.

I will give them credit, seems like every overturned call I agreed with, even if most of them went against the Saints (three overturned TDs). So they did eventually get the call right.

But, in the same game, a penalty was called for 27 yards instead of 15, and that allowed the Titans to kick a field goal and win the game...  Single worst call by a ref so far, because it changed the outcome of a game.  Personal foul on Tulloc after an incompletion from the titan's 44, but the penalty was assessed from the Lion's 44, putting the ball on the lions 29, within field goal range, instead of the lions 41 where it should have been.

In the 49ers/MN game, the 49ers got 2 extra, free reviews, which is really bad too, but it didn't change the outcome.

Can someone please tell me where the replacement refs are coming from?

Obviously, they can't be from college ball, because those refs are busy overseeing college games.  But I would be hard pressed to think they are far from under qualified.

And though the Eagles game last night was a bit rough, I think it could be a lot like a substitute teacher.  If you took the best teacher in the city and turned him into a substitute, children still wouldn't listen.  Essentially, if the main refs were to make some calls like that, the announcers wouldn't make insulting comments out of respect.

The reason they get all of the comments isn't because of the bad calls. Regular ref's make those all the time. It's the little nuances of the rules that they don't know. Giving Harbaugh an extra timeout and a challenge. The real ref's know those rules. The replacement's don't.

Someone at work had a great idea. Just fine all of the people who will get fines for commenting on the refs and the Belichick issue and use that money to settle the real ref's demands.

A lot from NAIA college, some from DIII.  If you were a ref for the Big 10 or SEC, you wouldn't answer the ad, but if you were spending your time in BFE reffing, you might send in your resume for a shot.

Some from high schools.

That brings up a good question: how do refs get selected for D1 college ball?  Since there are more of those teams than NFL teams (120ish, versus 32), it stands to reason they have a large pool of applicants.  Wouldn't it make sense for the NFL to look there first for replacements?

I don't recall ever hearing this kind of uproar over major college games as a whole.  Sure a bad call here or there but not system-wide.

Get ready for the BIG shocker!!!

"What would it take to end the officials' lockout? My colleague Peter King wrote  today that the gap between what officials want and what the NFL is offering is  around $3.3 million per season."

You read that right.  This could all be fixed for a mere $3.3 million (the total AGGREGATE amount the Refs are asking for).  That's frickin' NOTHING!!!

The owners must be on crack.

From this good (and funny article):  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/09/24/refs/index.html?xid=cnnbin

Then the refs got it right by calling it good.  Above the post, the ball has to pass within the outside edges of the posts.

That's why my colleague's idea of using all of the fine's from ref comments to cover this is so great. Just fine Belichick a $1,000,000 and you're a 1/3 of the way there.

I understand. 

But I also am old enough to remember tons of phantom pass interference calls, inconsistent calling of the 'make a football move' rule (Calvin Johnson), at least 20 teams that got a 5th down, refs missing homer timekeepers letting clocks run down, etc. We see the mistakes clearly because we've been told to look for them by every media outlet, everywhere. 

Given that the game you see, and the game I see are anecdotal incidents, I'd look to the numbers to see whether they're doing ok, ON THE WHOLE. And they are. 

And just like college players need time to get used to the speed of the game, the system, so do the refs. If they get half a season into this, they'll be fine because they'll have it figured out. Maybe sooner. I just don't think this makes for a great negotiating platform for the regulars. 

ETA: It's 3.3M to solve it this year. But over the term of the agreement, it would be a lot more . The refs are asking to keep their pensions. My pensions (and I'm well off and work at a very profitable company) was eliminated in 1996. Not uncommon, I give it a big 'meh'. 

Ok, help me with something. I think this is the 3rd or 4rth wrong spot after a foul that I have heard. Wouldn't the team that is being affected realize this? They have people everywhere, are anal about everything, and don't realize that the ball is being spotted 12 yrds farther (in this case) that it should???? Specially in overtime????

Not to go gentle on the refs, but even when I play a pick up game with my friends I know where the ball is supposed to be placed at, you want to tell me professional teams (and players)  do not?

The refs aren't the ones making demands.  They just want the status quo.  It's the league that wants to demand a change in their pensions.

I thought the Bull... chant in Baltimore was hilarious.

But I agree that the officiating is getting worse.  The real refs aren't perfect, but for the most part, the focus of the game stays on the two teams playing.  Each week, the focus is more and more on the refs.  The cameras are pointing on them instead of the players.  And while the NFL may be the 800 pound gorilla, and many of us will still watch...it's going to get old pretty soon.  Especially for gamblers and fantasy football team owners who have an invested interest in the games...not just following their favorite team(s).

Here's a decent article summarizing the key sticking points.