Official officiating thread

[Jake]

I am neither naive nor petty enough to pin yesterday's loss to the Packers only on blown calls. But I cannot deny there was no equality. The Brice Butler penalty was an absolute joke and, if I didn't know better, something that the officials made a premeditated decision to call.

Later, Jason Witten gets grabbed from behind in the endzone and falls on his face. No flag. Then I see an Aaron Rodgers interception erased by a quick tug on the shoulder pads by Anthony Brown. Something has to be done.

 

[ksadler1]

Triangle choke on Irving last play, the spot foul PI which was highly debatable since it looks like ball was still in Rodgers hand. 0 offensive holdings.

Lets go back to the Seattle/Giants game last week where the Seattle CB tackled the Giants WR and they said the pass was not catchable when it obviously would have been without the mauling. Then yesterday, Brown gets flagged for PI on a very obvious uncatchable ball that Heath picks off and GB keeps the ball and kicks a FG. Worse thing about that play is that if Brown hadn't touched the WR, Heath would have still picked it. That's how uncatchable that ball was. Yet when the refs admit they screw calls up, it's like "oh well". I never fully bought in to the "bias ref" thing until the past two years, and I still can't believe there are some who still think it doesn't exist after watching this years playoffs. I'm not just talking about the Cowboys games. 20 years from now we're going to see some old washed up ref on his death bed admitting to sticking it to certain teams he didn't like or was betting on the other team and there will still be those here that don't believe it happens.....

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

All season we have heard the NFL's ratings are sagging. And I think a big reason for that is fans are growing tired of games being decided not by the players; but by judgment calls from the officials.

I am neither naive nor petty enough to pin yesterday's loss to the Packers only on blown calls. But I cannot deny there was no equality. The Brice Butler penalty was an absolute joke and, if I didn't know better, something that the officials made a premeditated decision to call.

Later, Jason Witten gets grabbed from behind in the endzone and falls on his face. No flag. Then I see an Aaron Rodgers interception erased by a quick tug on the shoulder pads by Anthony Brown. Something has to be done.

It's too the point I no longer immediately celebrate a big play by the Cowboys. I stop and scan the TV screen to make sure there's no penalty. If things were like this years ago, Drew Pearson's 1975 Hail Mary catch would have been negated by a push-off. I am nearing my breaking point with the men in stripes.

They need to get rid of the official in the booth judging them after every play.

 

[cajuncocoa]

In spite of what my avatar says, I'm toying with the thought of giving up the NFL altogether. I'm convinced the NFL will never allow us to get close to the Super Bowl let alone win it. So why should I put myself through this again?

 

[MRV52]

When the games started the Cowboys were still in bed. If they came out and played like the second half we would have won this game by 10+. You can blame the officials all you want but we beat ourselves. You have to be ready to play because in a game there is always going to be questionable Ref calls, and you have to have a lead so that a bad call doesn't kill you. We lost plain and simple all this whinning about the Refs is getting tiring.

 

[ksadler1]

When the games started the Cowboys were still in bed. If they came out and played like the second half we would have won this game by 10+. You can blame the officials all you want but we beat ourselves. You have to be ready to play because in a game there is always going to be questionable Ref calls, and you have to have a lead so that a bad call doesn't kill you. We lost plain and simple all this whinning about the Refs is getting tiring.

 

[GIFTS86]

That Guy is so stoned

 

[TheHerd]

I can't watch games besides Cowboys games anymore. The games have become unwatchable for me. At least our games aren't the only ones with crappy officiating.

 

[gmoney112]

When the games started the Cowboys were still in bed. If they came out and played like the second half we would have won this game by 10+. You can blame the officials all you want but we beat ourselves. You have to be ready to play because in a game there is always going to be questionable Ref calls, and you have to have a lead so that a bad call doesn't kill you. We lost plain and simple all this whinning about the Refs is getting tiring.

I get the mindset, but to me it boils down to 3 questions

1) Why was that penalty called for the first time in what, 30 years? Does anyone think Dallas doesn't get at least 3 points with 1st and 10 from the GB 15?
2) Does anyone not think Witten was interfered with? Does anyone think Dallas doesn't get a TD on 1st and Goal from the 1?
3) On a 3 man rush, with barely any time in the game, how is a DL that gets triangle choked leading to a loss, not called?

And those are just the blatant ones. That changed the dynamic entirely. The story that the "team was asleep", doesn't quite fit when the 10 points in the first half were negated by bad officiating. Being up 23-21, or even being down just 21-17 at end of the first half, is a completely different game.

Yes, there was questionable game management, as there is in every game. But, even calling the obvious hold sends it into OT. In a game that was decided as time expired, bad officiating changed the game.

In a well called game, accurate game, we win. Even just a slightly "less bad" called game, and we probably win. There is no "plain and simple" if that's the case. Rodgers was easily the best player on the field, but the better team lost yesterday. And until someone can prove that's incorrect, those are the facts.

This goes beyond Cowboys football, this is a league issue. When "overcoming terrible calls" and discounting calls that directly influence the game becomes unimportant, the product that we all know and love is going to continue to be a big pile of garbage where Champions are crowned not by skill, but by how hard the officiating decides to screw you.

 

[YosemiteSam]

Why not have everybody start flooding the NFL site at once to try to get dos attack

Lets do it!

 

[TheHerd]

When the games started the Cowboys were still in bed. If they came out and played like the second half we would have won this game by 10+. You can blame the officials all you want but we beat ourselves. You have to be ready to play because in a game there is always going to be questionable Ref calls, and you have to have a lead so that a bad call doesn't kill you. We lost plain and simple all this whinning about the Refs is getting tiring.

The Boys certainly made their bed and slept in it. But had the obvious holding call been made to negate that last play, would you be saying the Packers didn't deserve to win?

I'm in no way saying thy Boys didn't blow opportunity after opportunity, and they made plenty of mistakes. But to pretend officiating doesn't influence the outcome of these tight games is laughable.

I have no dog left in the fight, and the officiating is the ONE and only reason I won't be watching any more football this year. I can't watch a game without the star anymore, and I used to be glued to the TV if there was any NFL game on.

I really wish I could turn off 50 years of Cowboys fanhood and totally unplug, and that day may come, but for now I'm still invested if the Boys are playing.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I was thinking a Cowboys Nation boycott until next season. Their ratings would plummet. *** em.

Dallas is out. To think GB,ATL,NE,PITTS will win the superbowl make me not want to watch.

I think I will do something more fun like watching paint dry and then watching a snail crawl across a 12 foot wide driveway

 

[TheHerd]

I get the mindset, but to me it boils down to 3 questions

1) Why was that penalty called for the first time in what, 30 years? Does anyone think Dallas doesn't get at least 3 points with 1st and 10 from the GB 15?
2) Does anyone not think Witten was interfered with? Does anyone think Dallas doesn't get a TD on 1st and Goal from the 1?
3) On a 3 man rush, with barely any time in the game, how is a DL that gets triangle choked leading to a loss, not called?

And those are just the blatant ones. That changed the dynamic entirely. The story that the "team was asleep", doesn't quite fit when the 10 points in the first half were negated by bad officiating. Being up 23-21, or even being down just 21-17 at end of the first half, is a completely different game.

Yes, there was questionable game management, as there is in every game. But, even calling the obvious hold sends it into OT. In a game that was decided as time expired, bad officiating changed the game.

In a well called game, accurate game, we win. Even just a slightly "less bad" called game, and we probably win. There is no "plain and simple" if that's the case. Rodgers was easily the best player on the field, but the better team lost yesterday. And until someone can prove that's incorrect, those are the facts.

This goes beyond Cowboys football, this is a league issue. When "overcoming terrible calls" and discounting calls that directly influence the game becomes unimportant, the product that we all know and love is going to continue to be a big pile of garbage where Champions are crowned not by skill, but by how hard the officiating decides to screw you.

Well said. My apathy for non-Cowboys games started after the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl. The game made it crystal clear to me.

 

[cajuncocoa]

When the games started the Cowboys were still in bed. If they came out and played like the second half we would have won this game by 10+. You can blame the officials all you want but we beat ourselves. You have to be ready to play because in a game there is always going to be questionable Ref calls, and you have to have a lead so that a bad call doesn't kill you. We lost plain and simple all this whinning about the Refs is getting tiring.

History books are full of stories where teams got off to a slow start and then had The. Most. Amazing. Comeback. Ever. (without the refs interfering with the comeback effort, of course.)

Yes, the Cowboys had a dismal start, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the refs showed ridiculous bias....again.

 

[Hawkeye19]

Best shot is to get a guy like Skip Bayless or some other sports media celebrity that has enough of a voice and media savvy to put together a side by side highlight of calls against Dallas and non-calls against the opponent (from the same games). Have to show clear inconsistencies. Also should do it for several teams-- not just Dallas-- and start to raise some questions about the integrity (or at least competence) of the officials employed by the NFL.

Make enough of a stink and maybe the NFL does something-- maybe. But probably not.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Best shot is to get a guy like Skip Bayless or some other sports media celebrity that has enough of a voice and media savvy to put together a side by side highlight of calls against Dallas and non-calls against the opponent (from the same games). Have to show clear inconsistencies. Also should do it for several teams-- not just Dallas-- and start to raise some questions about the integrity (or at least competence) of the officials employed by the NFL.

Make enough of a stink and maybe the NFL does something-- maybe. But probably not.

Screw Skip. Hes a fake cowboy fan.

 

[hornitosmonster]

All season we have heard the NFL's ratings are sagging. And I think a big reason for that is fans are growing tired of games being decided not by the players; but by judgment calls from the officials.

I am neither naive nor petty enough to pin yesterday's loss to the Packers only on blown calls. But I cannot deny there was no equality. The Brice Butler penalty was an absolute joke and, if I didn't know better, something that the officials made a premeditated decision to call.

Later, Jason Witten gets grabbed from behind in the endzone and falls on his face. No flag. Then I see an Aaron Rodgers interception erased by a quick tug on the shoulder pads by Anthony Brown. Something has to be done.

It's too the point I no longer immediately celebrate a big play by the Cowboys. I stop and scan the TV screen to make sure there's no penalty. If things were like this years ago, Drew Pearson's 1975 Hail Mary catch would have been negated by a push-off. I am nearing my breaking point with the men in stripes.

I made a decision to not watch this upcoming weekend and I'm seriously thinking of skipping the Superbowl. Enough is Enough, I hope ratings for everyone but the Cowboys continues to fall

 

[gmoney112]

Best shot is to get a guy like Skip Bayless or some other sports media celebrity that has enough of a voice and media savvy to put together a side by side highlight of calls against Dallas and non-calls against the opponent (from the same games). Have to show clear inconsistencies. Also should do it for several teams-- not just Dallas-- and start to raise some questions about the integrity (or at least competence) of the officials employed by the NFL.

Make enough of a stink and maybe the NFL does something-- maybe. But probably not.

Hahah. I can see it now.

The argument against it will be, "But EVERYBODY gets screwed!", and everyone will nod like that's reasonable and acceptable, then keep watching.

And that's the point they'll all miss. It's not cool. The NFL CAN do something about it. First would be not to hire some random dude for one of the most important parts of enforcing the games integrity. Second would be getting full-time guys who actually do this year round, and don't lose their minds in real time action. For a third, I'd just add a guy who's the "tech" guy. Whenever they're huddling up talking and debating, they can have the best angle for the play already pulled up via booth relay. It'd take 5 seconds, and that'd only be for the "oh crap no one got a good angle" plays. Shorten the damn commercials by 5 minutes and the time becomes a non-issue.

The only real reason I can think of why they've done nothing to address it is because they don't really want to. I'm hoping for more stupid calls in the playoffs because there only thing that's going to get them to anything is bad PR.

 

[aria]

I'm playing Devils advocate here. I'll start off by saying I think th officiating league wide is horrendous and not only are the officials a problem but some of the rules in general. I too have given up watching most NFL games because I'm sick of watching 3 hours of good football just to wacth it be decided by the officials.

Having said all of that, I don't think we are puprposely getting screwed and I'm sick of listening to all of the excuses, complaints and whiners. Bad calls and/or non calls happen every game and it's not just against us. A lot of us bring up the Dez non catch against GB in the playoffs but for those conspiracy theorists that think the NFL is out get us what about the game prior to GB when the Detroit receiver was pretty much getting tackled? The officials even threw a flag and then picked it up. That PI call would have put Detroit in FG range and they probably would have won the game. That same play Dez came running out on the field with his helmet off and started arguing with officials. Again, no flag. What about the clear offensive pass interference against Dez a few games ago or the hands to the face of Bradford when he was going for the two point conversion and the tie? What about Adams having is jersey tugged off his shoulder pad with the official looking right at him (that resulted in GB punting from inside their own 10 and us getting points).

The point is, officiating is a huge problem and it's definitely a turn off. Something need to be done and it starts with that loser Goodell but to blame our loss on the officiating or act like we're the only ones getting bad calls is ridiculous. We lost, end of story.

 

[Cowboys_22]

We didn't get penalized this much when Jimmy Johnson was in charge.

I think it points to coaching and possibly no accountability. But what do I know. I'm just a fan.