Quote Originally Posted by daveyt25:
I am going to play Devil's Advocate here...Referees are asked to make split second judgement calls with 6ft+200-300lb athletes fighting it out. They don't get the benefit to see 4 different angels of instant replay which could make the original call at game speed look false...I am not saying there are not blatant blown calls. But if you have ever officiating anything in life, it would put things into perspective. Some are better than others no doubt, but I think the real issue is the NFL rule book...The way they are cracking down on hitting the QB and all of these illegal contact penalties is sickening. The owners are to blame, they are trying to protect their investments, but really are making a box sport out of it..And the rules themselves are left open for interpretation...Too much inconsistancy throughout the league...IMO, what they need to do is make the refs full time employees and train them to the best of their abilities. Errors in judgement are going to happen...
Well said Daveyt25. The rule book is a farce, ambiguous, and needs a major overhaul. Frankly, why is holding illegal?
It's a game of strength & strategy, isn't it? Many of the rules I feel can just be eliminated. Thus, reducing the officials ability to rule.
Full-time refs are another must, verse these part-time gigs the League employs. A full-time ref needs to be 100% in tune with the sport.
During the week they can also workout, look at film, go over the rulebook, make enhancements, and better themselves for the game's sake.
These refs that have other full-time careers, can too easily be influenced in so many ways. Requiring refs to have no other employment,
eliminates many of those outside distractions. And for what they're paid, that shouldn't be any problem. The League won't have any
trouble filling the positions none-the-less.
As far as a human having to make a split second judgment call, once in a blue moon we can live with the human element.
This thread is about the most blatantly bogus phantom calls that occur during the most crucial game changing plays.
With that phantom pass interferrence last night, there's no excuse. The ref simply has to see if there is a blatant foul and if so throw the flag.
There was nothing blatant, there was no foul, and unlike not calling a foul that was, how can you explain calling a foul that wasn't?
These phantom calls are nothing short of fraud. And no matter where you look, they happen every week, on plays that are crucial to the games outcome.
It's not like one official blew one call. Every week, it's mulitiple officials, in multiple games, blowing multiple calls on major plays
that involve big yardage or negate a first down pick-up, or provide an automatic first down after the team failed to pick it up.
Seriously, enough is enough; this has gone on too long and too far and something has to change for the better.
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