The NFL’s foolish quest for perfection

[Bobhaze]

IMO NFL executives continue to foolishly believe that a football game using human referees can somehow be called without human error. This year the NFL game has “evolved” to the point where the guys wearing the stripes and their “bosses” in a TV booth in New York are becoming the centerpiece of the game itself rather than the actual players of the game.

In its quest to see every penalty (or non-penalty), every catch, every fumble or now even every possible pass interference called correctly, we now have a mess each game. Penalties this year are up astronomically and it’s making the game less enjoyable.

I have watched pro football since 1964, when my dad took me at 6 years old to see the Cowboys play in the Cotton Bowl. Here are some truths I believe about football and sports in general that we should all accept:

• There will ALWAYS be blown calls because human beings are involved. With or without instant replay.
• 99.9999% of the time, the refs don’t cause a team to lose. Losers usually find a way to blame losing on something beside the plays they didn’t make.
• The current use of looking at countless plays over and over in slow motion is not making the game officiated better.
• Holding (offense and defense) and pass interference could be called almost every play. If it’s not at the point of attack or not affecting the play at all, I would rather see less penalties than more.
• We as fans need to accept that just as in life, sports are NOT always fair.

Some may disagree but I would rather see a much simpler solution to all this:

• Get rid of the new PI rule. It hasn’t made the game better.
• Stop with the parade of holding penalties. It’s ridiculous!
• Keep the challenge flag rule as it was in the past to limit how many times it can be used.
• The NFL executives need to stop pretending that a perfect game can ever be called.

I would rather watch a game where less penalties are called, even to the point where the refs miss a few calls than this ticky-tacky flag parade we are getting each week.

 

[Praxit]

..good post, Bullet. I must say in same regards. I've never seen so many penalties in a year that I can remember. Its making the game petty and yes, not enjoyable. I hope it blows up in their face. ..

 

[aikemirv]

on the PI... I think it should be like the turnover rule where if they see a huge error, they can review it and call a penalty - no coach challenge. Nobody knows what to challenge - they will only reverse if egregious even though it was technically interference or not.

 

[Hennessy_King]

What they should be doing is exactly what the NBA does. Use replay to get the calls correct. Doesn't matter what call it is. No coaches challenges etc. There should be a supervisor in a booth to assist the referees to maybe have them re look at a play or a call that was made to GET IT RIGHT! They don't understand people are ok with the human error just use the technology to correct it.

 

[JoeKing]

As long as we have jerks like Scott Edwards as refs in the NFL, I'd rather have a process in places to challenge their poor refereeing.

 

[KingintheNorth]

Get rid of the new PI rule. It hasn’t made the game better

It was added to address egregious errors like the Saints/Rams playoff game. Refs are not going to overturn anything close. Coaches need to understand that and stop wasting challenges.

Stop with the parade of holding penalties. It’s ridiculous!

Agree.

Keep the challenge flag rule as it was in the past to limit how many times it can be used

That hasn't changed. Teams can still only challenge twice per game (a third if they win the first two) and must burn a TO if they are wrong. The PI challenge option hasn't effected that.

The NFL executives need to stop pretending that a perfect game can ever be called.

It is never going to be perfect but there certainly could be more transparency and accountability. I've always believed that the teams and media should be able to submit questionable calls, and the officials involved should have to come to the New York office each Wednesday and answer calls in front of the media. The same way coaches and players are mandated to attend press conferences. I guarantee that calls would improve if officials knew they were accountable to explain themselves to a national audience.

 

[Bobhaze]

..good post, Bullet. I must say in same regards. I've never seen so many penalties in a year that I can remember. Its making the game petty and yes, not enjoyable. I hope it blows up in their face. ..

I think it is blowing up in their face. I started watching that Chicago-GB game on opening night and the flag parade just whipped me into changing the channel.

 

[erod]

Call the game like they did in the early 90s.

Get rid of the illegal contact and defensive holding nonsense except when it's blatant.

Get rid of replay on interference.

Stop throwing penalties on punts and kickoffs when the penalty is far from the play.

Knock off all the illegal helmet calls that are borderline at best.

Get rid of the formation penalties like "the receiver covered up the end." Who cares? There's literally no advantage.

I could go on and on.

One thing I do like is the emphasis on offensive pass interference now. That's good.

 

[Bobhaze]

It is never going to be perfect but there certainly could be more transparency and accountability. I've always believed that the teams and media should be able to submit questionable calls, and the officials involved should have to come to the New York office each Wednesday and answer calls in front of the media. The same way coaches and players are mandated to attend press conferences. I guarantee that calls would improve if officials knew they were accountable to explain themselves to a national audience.

I have some friends who have been high school football and basketball refs. Most people would not believe what those guys have to put up with from parents and other fans in the stands who somehow can never accept that their vantage point from the stands is not as good as the guy who is 5 feet away.

The NFL referee pool used to be made up of guys who had regular jobs during the week but “moonlighted” on the weekends as refs. We finally have full time refs, but it almost seems that these guys aren’t as effective as the part timers were years ago. I think the over-reliance on instant replay and slo mo has made the refs less confident in making calls.

 

[shabazz]

Just as long as they don't disparage China in any way the NFL will survive

 

[Diehardblues]

I don’t have as much issue with the reviews as I do the time it takes to review them. Surely they can expedite the process.

 

[Diehardblues]

I’m thinking at some point the NFL will review every play after the fact for any violations. We’ll only need refs to spot the ball and make the verbal announcement.

But we’ll need more cameras and almost Instant Review. As long as the process is swift it actually takes all of the human element out.

 

[Whirlwin]

When it comes playoff time. You let the teams play. But does it stop you from making the playoffs.

 

[anava]

I’m thinking at some point the NFL will review every play after the fact for an violations. We’ll only need refs to spot the ball and make the verbal announcement.

But we’ll need more cameras and almost Instant Review. As long as the process is swift it actually takes all of the human element out.

I think your signature image might be a tad large.

 

[Ranching]

IMO NFL executives continue to foolishly believe that a football game using human referees can somehow be called without human error. This year the NFL game has “evolved” to the point where the guys wearing the stripes and their “bosses” in a TV booth in New York are becoming the centerpiece of the game itself rather than the actual players of the game.

In its quest to see every penalty (or non-penalty), every catch, every fumble or now even every possible pass interference called correctly, we now have a mess each game. Penalties this year are up astronomically and it’s making the game less enjoyable.

I have watched pro football since 1964, when my dad took me at 6 years old to see the Cowboys play in the Cotton Bowl. Here are some truths I believe about football and sports in general that we should all accept:

• There will ALWAYS be blown calls because human beings are involved. With or without instant replay.
• 99.9999% of the time, the refs don’t cause a team to lose. Losers usually find a way to blame losing on something beside the plays they didn’t make.
• The current use of looking at countless plays over and over in slow motion is not making the game officiated better.
• Holding (offense and defense) and pass interference could be called almost every play. If it’s not at the point of attack or not affecting the play at all, I would rather see less penalties than more.
• We as fans need to accept that just as in life, sports are NOT always fair.

Some may disagree but I would rather see a much simpler solution to all this:

• Get rid of the new PI rule. It hasn’t made the game better.
• Stop with the parade of holding penalties. It’s ridiculous!
• Keep the challenge flag rule as it was in the past to limit how many times it can be used.
• The NFL executives need to stop pretending that a perfect game can ever be called.

I would rather watch a game where less penalties are called, even to the point where the refs miss a few calls than this ticky-tacky flag parade we are getting each week.

Times have changed! Get with the program..

 

[xwalker]

IMO NFL executives continue to foolishly believe that a football game using human referees can somehow be called without human error. This year the NFL game has “evolved” to the point where the guys wearing the stripes and their “bosses” in a TV booth in New York are becoming the centerpiece of the game itself rather than the actual players of the game.

In its quest to see every penalty (or non-penalty), every catch, every fumble or now even every possible pass interference called correctly, we now have a mess each game. Penalties this year are up astronomically and it’s making the game less enjoyable.

I have watched pro football since 1964, when my dad took me at 6 years old to see the Cowboys play in the Cotton Bowl. Here are some truths I believe about football and sports in general that we should all accept:

• There will ALWAYS be blown calls because human beings are involved. With or without instant replay.
• 99.9999% of the time, the refs don’t cause a team to lose. Losers usually find a way to blame losing on something beside the plays they didn’t make.
• The current use of looking at countless plays over and over in slow motion is not making the game officiated better.
• Holding (offense and defense) and pass interference could be called almost every play. If it’s not at the point of attack or not affecting the play at all, I would rather see less penalties than more.
• We as fans need to accept that just as in life, sports are NOT always fair.

Some may disagree but I would rather see a much simpler solution to all this:

• Get rid of the new PI rule. It hasn’t made the game better.
• Stop with the parade of holding penalties. It’s ridiculous!
• Keep the challenge flag rule as it was in the past to limit how many times it can be used.
• The NFL executives need to stop pretending that a perfect game can ever be called.

I would rather watch a game where less penalties are called, even to the point where the refs miss a few calls than this ticky-tacky flag parade we are getting each week.

Perfection is NOT the goal of the NFL.

• If they wanted perfection, they would not have an on-field Ref viewing a replay on a Tablet Computer.
• They have the technology already in place such that people sitting at a desk with big high def monitors can review the plays.
• The studio replay official can review plays multiple times before the on-field Ref sees the 1st replay.
• Even from home using a DVR, fans can rewind and review multiple times before the on-field Refs sees the 1st replay.
• The networks show multiple replays before the on-field Ref even gets to the tablet computer.
• It's an absurd concept to have the on-field Refs reviewing replays.
• A big part of the issue that fans don't realize, it that the replay rules are very political because of the Refs Union.
• The on-field Refs are in the Union. The "booth" or home office (studio) replay officials are not in the Union.
• The on-field Refs do not want to give power to the studio officials.
• The 2 entities of the studio officials and the on-field unionized Refs being at odds prevents the replay process from ever being perfected.

New Rules & Focus

• Most new rules by the NFL are for purposes other than getting accurate calls.
• Reducing injuries is a huge goal of the NFL.
• It's actually more about being able to show in court that they've focused on reducing injuries.
• Addressing issues each year from owners that complain about specific issues is another big reason for rules changes.
• Some owners complained about too much holding by Offensive Linemen and the NFL told the Refs to call more holding penalties.
• In reality, the Refs could call holding on almost all snaps but they pick and choose when to call it.

Holding Penalties

• I would like to do a study to review the specific plays when the Refs call holding.

• My Theory
  • Offense Gains 1 yard on 1st & 10: Minimal Holding Penalties.
  • Offense Gains Huge Yards: Holding Penalty more likely than average.
  • Offense Converts a big 3rd Down: Holding Penalty more likely than average.
  • Offense Scores: Holding Penalty more likely than average.

 

[Ranched]

A lot of games are fixed. Good teams are setup at the begining of the season, over hyped and picked as favorites, and then over penalized, obvious calls are missed, and arbitrary penalties are called to save points.

The officials are being paid off by Vegas. It's still Mob rule, they are just able to keep it quiet. Vegas is right there each and every NFL week giving you their combined points for each game. They're spot on and it's not because of a crystal ball either. You can't hide the inevitable.

 

[Jake]

IMO NFL executives continue to foolishly believe that a football game using human referees can somehow be called without human error. This year the NFL game has “evolved” to the point where the guys wearing the stripes and their “bosses” in a TV booth in New York are becoming the centerpiece of the game itself rather than the actual players of the game.

In its quest to see every penalty (or non-penalty), every catch, every fumble or now even every possible pass interference called correctly, we now have a mess each game. Penalties this year are up astronomically and it’s making the game less enjoyable.

I have watched pro football since 1964, when my dad took me at 6 years old to see the Cowboys play in the Cotton Bowl. Here are some truths I believe about football and sports in general that we should all accept:

• There will ALWAYS be blown calls because human beings are involved. With or without instant replay.
• 99.9999% of the time, the refs don’t cause a team to lose. Losers usually find a way to blame losing on something beside the plays they didn’t make.
• The current use of looking at countless plays over and over in slow motion is not making the game officiated better.
• Holding (offense and defense) and pass interference could be called almost every play. If it’s not at the point of attack or not affecting the play at all, I would rather see less penalties than more.
• We as fans need to accept that just as in life, sports are NOT always fair.

Some may disagree but I would rather see a much simpler solution to all this:

• Get rid of the new PI rule. It hasn’t made the game better.
• Stop with the parade of holding penalties. It’s ridiculous!
• Keep the challenge flag rule as it was in the past to limit how many times it can be used.
• The NFL executives need to stop pretending that a perfect game can ever be called.

I would rather watch a game where less penalties are called, even to the point where the refs miss a few calls than this ticky-tacky flag parade we are getting each week.

The challenge flag rule is the same. Two challenges, a third if you go 2 for 2.

 

[Jake]

I have some friends who have been high school football and basketball refs. Most people would not believe what those guys have to put up with from parents and other fans in the stands who somehow can never accept that their vantage point from the stands is not as good as the guy who is 5 feet away.

The NFL referee pool used to be made up of guys who had regular jobs during the week but “moonlighted” on the weekends as refs. We finally have full time refs, but it almost seems that these guys aren’t as effective as the part timers were years ago. I think the over-reliance on instant replay and slo mo has made the refs less confident in making calls.

I still don't know what people expect to get from "full time" refs that they can't get from part timers. It's not like other sports that play 80 (or 162) games - NFL teams play once a week for 4 months.

Do people think "full time" refs are sitting in a room 300 days a year studying?

 

[G2]

The challenge rule is the dumbest thing I've seen in the NFL.

Let's see, the refs suck at their job, collectively as a group.
A coach has to sacrifice a challenge to correct their mistake and that challenge is taken.
Complete BS.

If the refs are wrong, and challenged they need to give back the challenge because there's more than likely another F up around the bend.