Any semi-competent football fan of any amount of time over a year has noticed during the first 3 weeks and preseason that the replacement refs blow ass. However what just happened tonight is legitimate, certifiable insanity. 4 awful, inexcusable calls, 2 of which are all time lows.. the worst calls in NFL HISTORY! I won't bother with the first 2 calls, but the last two must be addressed. The lesser evil was the call against Sam Shields on 3rd and like 30.. textbook perfect coverage (on Sydney Rice I believe) flagged as defensive interference, BULL SHIT! No real ref would EVER have made that call, it is thee worst pass int call I have ever seen The second and most blatantly terrible call in the history of the league. A real fucking shame on every level. The hail mary at the end of the game. It was crystal clear OFFENSIVE pass interference on Tate, and a crystal clear interception. Even if there was no replay this was an unacceptable call BUT because they do have IR and the head official 'went under the hood'... this is truly FUCKING INCOMPREHENSIBLE!!! Everyone needs to let that cheap ass clown Goodell that he is ruining the sport. The real refs are OBVIOUSLY worth more money than the idiots they have now, and that Goodell is worth nothing, he is shit and doesn't deserve a fraction of his pay. GET THE REPLACEMENTS THE FUCK OUT NOW!!
I can't disagree with anything that you said. BUT, at the same time, I think this is poetic justice for Goodell. The guy has been running the league like a dictator for years now. He is arrogant beyond words. The whole tone of the NFL has been changing since he took over. Alot of the crap the past few years with the "illegal hits" was "pc" enough that the media let it slide and some of the media pundits were on board with the crap (nevermind that the union officials absolutely sucked at making those calls). So now we have these third tier ref's making some shit calls...well, this will be the straw that breaks Goodell's back. The league needed a real issue to challenge Goodell's leadership and this is it. Just as an aside, I do think the replacement ref's are in over their heads and have made some abysmal calls. However, we all quickly forget just how bad the regular ref's can be and often are. The number of spineless calls I witnessed the past two seasons as a result of Goodell's "pussification" of the league has made them almost as worthless.
As a Green Bay fan, that one hurt. It sucks to lose because of a bad call, but holy cats, those calls were just nasty. One thing that makes me feel a little bit better is that many other teams are going through this same ordeal. Also, Mike Tirico Was seriously criticized last week for calling the refereeing "embarrassing". I bet he and John Gruden are praised tomorrow for bringing such a high amount of attention to it. My team lost. But this was definitely a wake up call.
I swore for a couple of minutes, one because my team lost, and two because Goodell hasn't fixed what has been an obvious problem that could change the course of the season for teams affected by horrible calls. Goodell has ridden the NFL gravy train, and he has made the NFL a fortune with most of his decisions. The "but" is, he is failing miserably on critical issues that may cost the NFL fans for awhile. He could have stepped up to the plate with the concussion issue and been a leader, but instead they have pussyfooted around, and now look like idiots who don't care. He allowed the issue to get out of control. The other big one was apparent last night as well as the last 3 weeks and preseason. I'd bet he could have settled and maybe gave a bit more to the refs, but instead he has allowed the game to fall apart. Yes, I said fall apart. Last night being another example. The refs had no control over what was happening at the end of the game, they were lost, and I am guessing afraid. A player is going to get hurt seriously as a result of this crap and the lack of control these guys have during the game. I lost my love of everything pro sports awhile ago. Now I like to watch and enjoy the strategies and play, but I also love watching my kids games even more. I still swear and pitch a fit when the Packers, and Brewers are playing, but I walk away when it is over and am back to reality, unlike too many who think somehow this has an impact on their life after the tv is off. Anyway, time to go swear at what is really important. All you a-holes on the other sides of my trades.
Much like Green Bay the refs will get better latter half of the season. These refs should focus on making calls that are fundamental to the game ie. pass interference, blatant holding, and offensive catches. That's 90% of ref calls that matter right there. Also, they need to be decisive wrong or right. MAKE THE CALL. Stop the 5 min "powwows" between the refs on every other call. That's why we have the 'challenge'. At beginning of the season I actually thought these refs would do better not be so picayune let them play football. These refs are trying to do too much...get the basics right and they'll do just fine. Much like trading I suppose
The MSM is reluctant to tell you what the deal is with the lockout. The main sticking point is not money . . . well, not directly. The main issue is the refs do not want to be evaluated: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-nfl-fiasco--why-referees-are-like-chicago-teachers.html
Like any negotiations, that is a point. It is one point and if the NFL could do a better job could work around it and maybe even include some clause or whatever for some kind of evaluation. Instead they have picked their issue and the refs have probably picked theirs, maybe evaluations, but the reality is the NFL is losing this battle and should have figured it out before now. Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of the refs, but I am not a fan of the NFL and the costs to the individual fan to enjoy them these days either. The real refs made plenty of mistakes, but the difference has been made apparent by a factor of .....geez I don't know what this season.
You would think so, but I have heard from many ex refs (talk radio. I don't know any) that it takes 20 years to become very proficient at it. And in case you haven't noticed, the refs are getting worse as the season goes on. The refs will suck through the entire year if the real ones aren't back.