Replacement Ref Discussion Thread - Deal Reached, Will Work Thursday

[Rudi]

Uhh. Wow. :dead:

We've reported two conflict-of-interest stories regarding replacement officials in the last few days. There was the case of former Pac-12 official Jeff Sardorus, who worked the Arizona Cardinals' season-opening win over the Seattle Seahawks despite the fact that he was reportedly paid by the Seahawks in each of the three previous years to officiate in-season practices.

Then, there was the case of side judge Brian Stropolo, who was actually flown in to help call the Week 2 game between the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers despite the fact that Stropolo's Facebook page had pictures of him in Saints fan gear and tailgating at a Saints preseason game -- after he was hired by the NFL.

Now, we have another conflict case -- and if this one is true, it's a major stab at the integrity of the game. On Monday, Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy was talking with Anthony Gargano and Ike Reese of Philly's 94WIP radio when the subject of replacement officials came up.

"During the game, they made like a bad call or something, the ref, and I see Ray Lewis pump his chest up, trying to scare him. Don't you know [the ref] started stuttering? I'm like, 'what's this?!'"

Well, most people would stutter if Ray Lewis was in their face. McCoy then had a more disturbing reveation.

"They're like fans. I'll be honest, they're like fans. One of the refs was talking about his fantasy team, [and said], 'McCoy, come on, I need you for my fantasy [team],' Uhhh, what?"

It's not known who the official was, or if the official was joking, but even the appearance of this kind of impropriety is absolutely ridiculous. The NFL used to have a strict policy against any sort of wagering among its officials for this exact reason; nobody wants the specter of a crooked game hanging over the league's head. Nobody wants an NFL version of Tim Donaghy.

"Gambling is an unacceptable activity for Game Officials in the National Football League," the league's collective bargaining agreement states. "Such activity constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity of, and public trust in, the NFL. Because it is the responsibility of the Game Officials to ensure the fairness of NFL play, including the complete confidence of the fans in the legitimacy of the game, it is critical that NFL Game Officials maintain the appearance of the highest ethical conduct."

But in its rush to replace the officials it locked out, the NFL hasn't been very strong in the vetting process. Replacement official Shannon Eastin was a contestant in the 2007 World Series of Poker, a fact that the league brushed aside. We can't wait to see the NFL try and throw dirt on this story if it's actually true.

SOURCE: YaHoo!

 

[ThomasTomasz]

More ammo for league owners to leverage against Goodell to get the regular officials back, and it can't come soon enough.

 

[MrBill]

It would be naive to think that the "regular" NFL officials don't have favorite teams and players. They just know to not have a facebook page with a picture of them outside of the stadium or make comments like the one alleged above. I'm not really worried about that...what I am worried about is the number of blown calls in week 2 vs. week 1. The players are sensing weakness in the officals and that is going to cause more problems in the coming weeks if something isn't done.

 

[Glenbino]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to see an NFL game live with the current state of officiating. As bad as the delays were last night as a TV viewer, they would be absolutely unbearable for those in the stands.

I know I'm not shelling out $400 for a ticket for my annual pilgrimage to San Diego to see Denver play this year if something isn't done. It's not worth it to take the time off work to get down there just to not through a 4 and a half hour ordeal mired with bad calls by guys who simply don't know the rules and are being influenced to throw flags well after the whistle is blown.

 

[killgod]

I bet it was a joke more than anything, but articles gonna article.

 

[Ravin]

I can't imagine why anyone would want to see an NFL game live with the current state of officiating. As bad as the delays were last night as a TV viewer, they would be absolutely unbearable for those in the stands.

I know I'm not shelling out $400 for a ticket for my annual pilgrimage to San Diego to see Denver play this year if something isn't done. It's not worth it to take the time off work to get down there just to not through a 4 and a half hour ordeal mired with bad calls by guys who simply don't know the rules and are being influenced to throw flags well after the whistle is blown.

After last night, I would think you wouldn't want to spend the $400 to see Denver play period :yao:

 

[Glenbino]

After last night, I would think you wouldn't want to spend the $400 to see Denver play period :yao:

I don't mind bad football... I pay to see the players and have sat through a couple times where Denver has been getting blown out. I don't pay to see the referees huddle for 5 minutes after every false start, have three of their calls overturned via replay in the 1st quarter, call PI when the defender is 5 yards away from the receiver and completely lose control of both sidelines the way the crew last night did.

The fact that this is the topic leading the highlight shows and filling up the talk radio airwaves is a PR disaster for the NFL. They have enough on their plate with concussions, bountygate and player arrests already that it makes absolutely no sense for them to not just pay up and get the regular refs back.

 

[ZoneBlitz]

Good job Goodell, keep sticking it to the refs, even if it fucks up the integrity of the shield.

Fucking asinine all the damage being done to the game, all just to save a few pennies on the refs.

 

[ralaw]

"During the game, they made like a bad call or something, the ref, and I see Ray Lewis pump his chest up, trying to scare him. Don't you know [the ref] started stuttering? I'm like, 'what's this?!'"

TBH, I've seen a few instances where it seems the players have intimidated the refs. On that Vick fumble call (which was horrible) the players basically forced the dude to make the bad call. It was obvious Vick threw the ball, but Ravens players went and jumped on the ball and started giving the change of possession signal........once the ref saw that he gave the Ravens the ball. It was hilarious.

 

[NAHSTE]

At this point the backlash is spiraling out of control, and there's no way these refs will do a satisfactory job for week 3. Nobody will allow it, because they have become the story. At this point I want to see the real refs back just so people will have one less thing to bitch about.

 

[ralaw]

Good job Goodell, keep sticking it to the refs, even if it fucks up the integrity of the shield.

Fucking asinine all the damage being done to the game, all just to save a few pennies on the refs.

"There's a lot of people in the league that would rather break the (referees) union. ... They feel like (officiating) is a commodity," Young said. "But more importantly, everything about the NFL now is inelastic for demand. There's nothing (the league) can do to hurt the demand for the game. So, the bottom line is they don't care.

"Player safety? Doesn't matter in this case. Bringing in Division III officials? Doesn't matter. Because in the end, you're still going to watch the game."

"There's nothing that changes the demand for the NFL," he said. "So they want to break the union or send a message to them, they don't care about player safety. It doesn't affect the desire for the game. If it affected the desire for the game, they'd come up with a few extra million dollars."

 

[Acesuper]

TBH, I've seen a few instances where it seems the players have intimidated the refs. On that Vick fumble call (which was horrible) the players basically forced the dude to make the bad call. It was obvious Vick threw the ball, but Ravens players went and jumped on the ball and started giving the change of possession signal........once the ref saw that he gave the Ravens the ball. It was hilarious.

Yeah, I have been seeing a lot more of this.. That is my only problem with these refs, aside from blown calls, uh, calls that don't exist, calls that exist but then don't exist....Is that players are now really trying to impose themselves on the refs, which I don't blame them for trying, war is war, but these refs need to get together, play their game and work to get better. All they can do now. Cause they fucked no matter how bomb they smoke.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

At this point the backlash is spiraling out of control, and there's no way these refs will do a satisfactory job for week 3. Nobody will allow it, because they have become the story. At this point I want to see the real refs back just so people will have one less thing to bitch about.

Great post.

For almost two full weeks, the refs were doing a passable job, so nobody was really able to ride this narrative. One badly officiated MNF game later, and fans & media types are going to ride this thing to death and incessantly bash every questionable call.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Good job Goodell, keep sticking it to the refs, even if it fucks up the integrity of the shield.

Fucking asinine all the damage being done to the game, all just to save a few pennies on the refs.

Aren't you overreacting a bit?

 

[ZoneBlitz]

Aren't you overreacting a bit?

No matter how much money Goodell saves by sticking it to the real refs, its absolutely not worth the bullshit we are seeing now.

 

[Glenbino]

Great post.

For almost two full weeks, the refs were doing a passable job, so nobody was really able to ride this narrative. One badly officiated MNF game later, and fans & media types are going to ride this thing to death and incessantly bash every questionable call.

Please... They were awful in week 1 as well. The Seahawks game was a joke and they basically cost the Steelers a time out in Denver when they let the clock run after an XP, nullifying the 2 minute warning while Pittsburgh was still in the game. And those were just instances I noticed on my own.

The players have admitted that they are able to get away with more especially in pass coverage and along the lines. Even though we don't see the flags here that's what leads to scenes like last night after the fumble where both teams are incensed and the refs are too intimidated to stop it.

The bad calls are one thing, the consistent lack of control that stems from these guys not knowing the rules, coaches, players or even their fellow officials is what is hurting the game the most.

 

[BigBucs]

I bet it was a joke more than anything, but articles gonna article.

Yea, sounds like friendly banter between breaks in action (or pregame, no diff that what we see on sound efx) but these replacements arent doing themselves any favors. Wouldnt even be an issue if these were the regular officials.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

These people weren't pulled from the streets. These people have been football officials, in some cases, for decades.

There have been a few comical situations i've seen (the bad spot after the penalty is inexcusable, for example), but for the most part this story is way overblown and the officials have been competent enough that the players are still deciding the outcomes of the games.

The only time I even think about the fake refs is when something non routine happens. But to be honest, I have no confidence in the real refs to get it right in those scenarios, either.

Can't wait for everybody to pretend bad calls don't happen when the real refs come back, and to see how long the honeymoon lasts.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Please... They were awful in week 1 as well. The Seahawks game was a joke and they basically cost the Steelers a time out in Denver when they let the clock run after an XP, nullifying the 2 minute warning while Pittsburgh was still in the game. And those were just instances I noticed on my own.

The players have admitted that they are able to get away with more especially in pass coverage and along the lines. Even though we don't see the flags here that's what leads to scenes like last night after the fumble where both teams are both incensed and the refs are too intimidated to stop it.

The bad calls are one thing, the consistent lack of control that stems from these guys not knowing the rules, coaches, players or even their fellow officials is what is hurting the game the most.

fwiw, the extra TO mistake in the Seattle/Arizona game has happened 3 or 4 times in the last couple of years according to Mike Pereira.

You guys have short memories. The real refs screw up basic shit all of the time. I'm not arguing that these guys are just as good, because they're not, i'm just arguing that it isn't that big of a deal.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

These people weren't pulled from the streets. These people have been football officials, in some cases, for decades.

There have been a few comical situations i've seen (the bad spot after the penalty is inexcusable, for example), but for the most part this story is way overblown and the officials have been competent enough that the players are still deciding the outcomes of the games.

The only time I even think about the fake refs is when something non routine happens. But to be honest, I have no confidence in the real refs to get it right in those scenarios, either.

Can't wait for everybody to pretend bad calls don't happen when the real refs come back, and to see how long the honeymoon lasts.

The only problems I see is with rules that differ in college. I'm sure you saw the one spot in the Rams/Redskins that involved defensive holding, where the NFL and college yards are different.

Besides that, the big thing is controlling the players. There is going to be a full-on fight at some point that's going to happen because the officials aren't controlling what goes on after the whistle. That is what I'm concerned with.