the officiating and rules are getting ridiculous

[CowboyChris]

i gotta say this:

1st lets start with that dropped TD in the TB game vs Wash, i forget the guys name but he catches the ball in the endzone gets 2 feet, 2 knees, and his elbow down before the ball squirts lose, play reviewed....result incomplete pass. cost the Bucs the game.

2nd, Pitt vs Indy, Palamalu intercepts Manning, catches the ball gets both feet down, rolls on the ground both knees hit gets up to run and fumbles the ball then recovers it play reviewed.....result incomplete pass, at that point Pitt wouldve probably won the game right there.

3rd, Carolina and Chicago, i believe it was gage, catches a pass gets one knee down and the ball pops out, recovered by carolina, play reviewed.....result player was down before ball came out, call is reversed and Chicago keeps ball.

i know im missing a couple of other plays, but this is getting ridiculous.

[Bryan8284]

NFL Refs Admit 'Everything Just Happens So Fast'

TAMPA, FL - Just hours after officiating the Buccaneers-Redskins wild-card playoff game, referee Mike Carey admitted that "everything happens so fast out there it's a miracle we see anything at all." "Believe me, pro football is one quick game, and the rules are pretty intricate," said Carey, who admits he probably misses half the infractions that occur in a normal NFL matchup. "Especially the pass interference and defensive holding stuff, who can put hands on who at what point, I can hardly keep it straight - and I'm one of the quick ones. I have no idea how a guy like, say, Ed Hochuli keeps it all together." NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira stated Monday that Carey would not be reprimanded for his unusually frank comments, saying that he himself "almost never even sees stuff like clipping or hands to the face."

[CowboyChris]

NFL Refs Admit 'Everything Just Happens So Fast'

TAMPA, FL - Just hours after officiating the Buccaneers-Redskins wild-card playoff game, referee Mike Carey admitted that "everything happens so fast out there it's a miracle we see anything at all." "Believe me, pro football is one quick game, and the rules are pretty intricate," said Carey, who admits he probably misses half the infractions that occur in a normal NFL matchup. "Especially the pass interference and defensive holding stuff, who can put hands on who at what point, I can hardly keep it straight - and I'm one of the quick ones. I have no idea how a guy like, say, Ed Hochuli keeps it all together." NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira stated Monday that Carey would not be reprimanded for his unusually frank comments, saying that he himself "almost never even sees stuff like clipping or hands to the face."

Mike Pereira is crap, and always has a bias opinion on the calls

[Deacon Moss]

i gotta say this:

1st lets start with that dropped TD in the TB game vs Wash, i forget the guys name but he catches the ball in the endzone gets 2 feet, 2 knees, and his elbow down before the ball squirts lose, play reviewed....result incomplete pass. cost the Bucs the game.

2nd, Pitt vs Indy, Palamalu intercepts Manning, catches the ball gets both feet down, rolls on the ground both knees hit gets up to run and fumbles the ball then recovers it play reviewed.....result incomplete pass, at that point Pitt wouldve probably won the game right there.

3rd, Carolina and Chicago, i believe it was gage, catches a pass gets one knee down and the ball pops out, recovered by carolina, play reviewed.....result player was down before ball came out, call is reversed and Chicago keeps ball.

i know im missing a couple of other plays, but this is getting ridiculous.
The call in the Carolina/Bears game was the right call, the guys knee was down as he was being contacted!

[Sarge]

I said in another thread that this was one of the worst officiated years in the NFL I can ever remember.

Between bad calls and bad non-calls, seems we had a discussion on the officiating every week.

[Phoenix-Talon]

1st lets start with that dropped TD in the TB game vs Wash, i forget the guys name but he catches the ball in the endzone gets 2 feet, 2 knees, and his elbow down before the ball squirts lose, play reviewed....result incomplete pass. cost the Bucs the game.

Agree!

2nd, Pitt vs Indy, Palamalu intercepts Manning, catches the ball gets both feet down, rolls on the ground both knees hit gets up to run and fumbles the ball then recovers it play reviewed.....result incomplete pass, at that point Pitt wouldve probably won the game right there.

Agree!

3rd, Carolina and Chicago, i believe it was gage, catches a pass gets one knee down and the ball pops out, recovered by carolina, play reviewed.....result player was down before ball came out, call is reversed and Chicago keeps ball.

Agree!

However, consider the hundreds of plays during games that occur throughout the NFC all season long (pre-season, regular-season, and in the post season); multiply the number of legitmate calls that the officials make comparatively. I said all that just to even the field a little. But I do agree that while instant replay helps, it doesn't seem to be the ultimate answer -- especially during critical games that decide the outcome.

I'd guess that perhaps there should be a mechanism in-place to neutralize a call if it cannot be determined beyond a shadow of doubt that a call should be reversed. Taking into consideration that the naked eye of officials, nor the angle of cameras cannot always effectively pick up what happened during every single play on the field. While I'd Like to think that these are frequent isolated situations that are accentuated by "big games," a neutralized call would at least place things back on equal playing ground, without giving either team an advantage.

Agree, something should be done to decrease human error!

[superpunk]

PT, I kind of like the human factor. Yeah, it can be awful when it costs your team the game, but it seems to eventually all even out. For instance, in the Colts game, prior to Polamalu's INT, which was definitely an INT, the refs missed a false start by Faneca, on a 4th and inches play that extended Pitt's drive for several more minutes. Think the game wouldn't have played out different if they had made the right call there? I just think it makes it interesting.

[Juke99]

Officials have always made bad calls. Mostly, I'm amazed at how much they catch...but when the blow a call, they don't kid around....Do the name Fred Swearingen mean anything to ya? :(

[Rack Bauer]

The call in the Carolina/Bears game was the right call, the guys knee was down as he was being contacted!


Sorry but it was a bad call.

The guy's knee did touch the ground, but he picked it back up BEFORE he got touched by the defender. That was a fumble and that crap call cost the Panthers 7 points.

[ghst187]

Sorry but it was a bad call.

The guy's knee did touch the ground, but he picked it back up BEFORE he got touched by the defender. That was a fumble and that crap call cost the Panthers 7 points.

i agree. If he would've gotten up and ran for a touchdown, they would've reviewed it and given him the TD. Not saying biased towards one team or the other just that the instant replay system sucks and the refs using it have no nuts.
In reality, Gage got back up, fumbled the ball, Peppers returned it for a td.
In reality, Troy intercepted the ball.
In reality, the TB guy caught the ball and got the necessary feet and knees down.
When you use instant replay and go back and analyze the play pixel by pixel and come up with cockamamie interpretation of a play that doesn't fit any of these realities....your system is obviously broken and WRONG....be it rules or official.

The commentators have the replay reviewed 10x before the review official even gets under the hood. There should be two guys upstairs that have a play reviewed before the red flag is thrown and a verdict in about 10 seconds. The college replay system is 10x better.

OBVIOUSLY, replay is not eliminating the phenomena of HORRIBLE calls, it is actually magnifying it.

Do I agree that there needs to be some replay involved so critical calls are correctly made....YES
Do I agree that the refs should continue to use replay to avoid making a tough call on the field...NO
Do I agree that the replay should be used about HALF of the times it is in the current system so as not to continue to grossly interupt the flow of a game...YES
Do I agree that replay should take less than HALF of the time it does in the current format....YES

[CowboyChris]

its not like they are missing these calls, the replays clearly show what transpired, its these rules!! since when does a player have to catch a ball, and make a football move? btw what exactly is a football move?

[godofwar]

I think the only way to decrease the factor of human error by officials is to decrease the amount of rules they have to enforce.

[StanleySpadowski]

What really gets me is that with all the internet tools available so many "fans" don't take the time to read the rules and try to get a grasp on them. Go to NFL.com and spend a few hours looking at the rules.

I realize that people see what they want to see but of the three examples given, the Tampa/Washington call was correct, the Pitts/Indy call was correct -- I haven't rewatched the Carolina/Chicago game so I won't comment on that yet.

I have my problems with officiating, specifically how certain players/teams get way with things while others don't, but there are some simple solutions.

First the NFL should go to full time officials. The league generates more than enough revenue to compensate them well. They would have more time for training, physical fitness etc. and could give rules symposium in NFL cities during thier down time.

Next, they should add two more officials to each crew. They should be stationed deep at each end, fifty or sixty yards from the LOS or at the goalpost when that's not possible. Their basic responsibilities would be PI on deep balls, end zone on long plays and calls on defensive returns. No officials in the world is going to run a hundred yards with Champ Bailey to be in position to make the correct call, but they could go fourty or fifty yards to his one hundred.

Lastly, I think each coach should have one penalty review flag per game in addition to the regular two reviews. They may challenge any call or specific non-call. If overturned, they get the call corrected, if upheld, there is a 15 yard "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty.

[ghst187]

What really gets me is that with all the internet tools available so many "fans" don't take the time to read the rules and try to get a grasp on them. Go to NFL.com and spend a few hours looking at the rules.

Who needs to see the rules when we saw what happened. Catches were made, if the rules don't support that, then the rules are wrong and that's ridiculous. Why indict people for calling an apple an "apple" when we see it?


[/QUOTE]Lastly, I think each coach should have one penalty review flag per game in addition to the regular two reviews. They may challenge any call or specific non-call. If overturned, they get the call corrected, if upheld, there is a 15 yard "unsportsmanlike conduct" penalty.[/QUOTE]

Penatly review flag....puuleeease. Understand your intent, but PI calls are bad enough without reviewing every one of them and adding more nonsensical replays and wasted time, added commercials, and more game-changing bad replay calls.

I do agree that they should go full time, silly that the NFL doesn't want to pay these guys when there is more than enough money for God floating around in revenues. I agree that they should have bigger crews to get more angles also. I think they should more closely scrutinize each official with penalties (against them) and probations for bad officiating.
I also agree that there are more bad penalties called that change games and go unchanged than bad calls that can be reviewed. But, no more replay please until they get a system that works.

[AmericasTeam31]

The TP play was RULED correctly. I don't agree with the rule, but I agree with the RULING. The ref made the right call in that situation. Remember he doesn't make the rules, he just upholds them. TP wasn't down by contact, and didn't complete "making a football move" because he still had a knee on the ground and didn't get back to his feet. So in that sense, he didn't complete the catch. Same as the TB reciever. Again, the rule sucks, but it's the rule, and it was interpreted correctly by the refs.
The Chicago play, I thought was a good call. In fact when watching the last replay before the challenge was over I told the room I was in that he was down when the guy hit him. Let's not forget that the official only has a tiny monitor to look at, not a 42" plasma screen with HDTV....

[JackMagist]

This rule of "make a football move" is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Whatever happened to control the ball with both feet down in bounds and it's a catch? That rule is the hardest to interpret and the hardest to officiate of any in the books. I have seen so many good catches or hard hits causing fumbles or other really good football plays go for naught because of that stupid rule. The competition committee really needs to take a look at this one.

[notherbob]

This rule of "make a football move" is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Whatever happened to control the ball with both feet down in bounds and it's a catch? That rule is the hardest to interpret and the hardest to officiate of any in the books. I have seen so many good catches or hard hits causing fumbles or other really good football plays go for naught because of that stupid rule. The competition committee really needs to take a look at this one.

Now there's the real culprit - the Competition Committee. If someone doesn't like a rule, just wait a season or two, it'll change.

[juck]

its all starting to get very shady.

[aikemirv]

The TP play was RULED correctly. I don't agree with the rule, but I agree with the RULING. The ref made the right call in that situation. Remember he doesn't make the rules, he just upholds them. TP wasn't down by contact, and didn't complete "making a football move" because he still had a knee on the ground and didn't get back to his feet. So in that sense, he didn't complete the catch. Same as the TB reciever. Again, the rule sucks, but it's the rule, and it was interpreted correctly by the refs.
The Chicago play, I thought was a good call. In fact when watching the last replay before the challenge was over I told the room I was in that he was down when the guy hit him. Let's not forget that the official only has a tiny monitor to look at, not a 42" plasma screen with HDTV....

So, are you telling me that by rule the guy could roll 10 times with possesion of the ball and then when he tries to get up his knee hits the ball and it comes out, that that is incomplete.

By the way, a roll in football, is a football move. If a defender touches him while he is rolling then it is an interception, even if he had done the same thing after the touch by the defender and got up and knocked the ball out.

If it would have been an interception if a defender would have tapped him when he was on the ground then common sense would tell you it has to be one even though he tried to get up.

Stupidest call I have seen all year and as the announcers said, anyone who knows or watches football knows that was an interception - plain and simple.

The rules were not meant to make that an incomplete pass, I know that for a fact. No one in the NFL will tell you that the rules make that an incomplete pass. Bad interpretation by the ref!!!!

[Wheat]

NFL Refs Admit 'Everything Just Happens So Fast'

TAMPA, FL - Just hours after officiating the Buccaneers-Redskins wild-card playoff game, referee Mike Carey admitted that "everything happens so fast out there it's a miracle we see anything at all." "Believe me, pro football is one quick game, and the rules are pretty intricate," said Carey, who admits he probably misses half the infractions that occur in a normal NFL matchup. "Especially the pass interference and defensive holding stuff, who can put hands on who at what point, I can hardly keep it straight - and I'm one of the quick ones. I have no idea how a guy like, say, Ed Hochuli keeps it all together." NFL director of officiating Mike Pereira stated Monday that Carey would not be reprimanded for his unusually frank comments, saying that he himself "almost never even sees stuff like clipping or hands to the face."


Don't even bother to say that's from "THE ONION"

jeez.

[AmericasTeam31]

So, are you telling me that by rule the guy could roll 10 times with possesion of the ball and then when he tries to get up his knee hits the ball and it comes out, that that is incomplete.

By the way, a roll in football, is a football move. If a defender touches him while he is rolling then it is an interception, even if he had done the same thing after the touch by the defender and got up and knocked the ball out.

If it would have been an interception if a defender would have tapped him when he was on the ground then common sense would tell you it has to be one even though he tried to get up.

Stupidest call I have seen all year and as the announcers said, anyone who knows or watches football knows that was an interception - plain and simple.

The rules were not meant to make that an incomplete pass, I know that for a fact. No one in the NFL will tell you that the rules make that an incomplete pass. Bad interpretation by the ref!!!!

Again, the rule sucks, but it's the rule. He didn't complete his "football move" which was getting up off the ground, because his knee was still down. I guess we'll have to watch Total Acess and see what is said about it, although I've never seen him disagree with an official....

[aikemirv]

Again, the rule sucks, but it's the rule. He didn't complete his "football move" which was getting up off the ground, because his knee was still down. I guess we'll have to watch Total Acess and see what is said about it, although I've never seen him disagree with an official....

That is why I believe it was a bad inetrpretation, because he did not have to make a football move, if he was touched as he rolled he would have been down by contact and it would have been an interception. It happens all the time. Players make interceptions and never get up and it is still an interception - no football move had to take place.

You dont have to make a football move when you catch a pass and get two feet in at the sideline. The football move came into place to help with the two feet down and possession for a WR.

Anyway, if you want to use the football move issue on that play then the "roll" was the football move and he had pssession throughout the roll.

Will it be on Total Access tonight, I am not familiar withe segment on Total Access you are talking about - I don't watch it much.