NFL Tickets
An article which I wrote two weeks ago praising the replacement referees for doing a decent job in officiating games has now turned into a weekly column (Here is Part 1 and Part 2) bashing, shredding and humiliating the unofficial officials due to their continuous lack of accuracy and overall knowledge of the rulebook. Now after the worst call to end a single regular season game in professional sports history how could I not ratchet up my onslaught full throttle and take shots at these fake refs and Roger Goodell like a firing squad to a criminal circa the 1700’s.
Hey Rog, enough is enough now! To all of the owners it is now time to give the regular referees whatever it takes to get them back on the field because now the integrity of the game is on the line. Now the spirit of the players and coaches is on the line! Now the present and future of the shield and game is on the line!
Just a few weeks ago the NFL, the team owners and commissioner were in a position of power against the regular officials now the shoe appears to be on the other foot with the constant barrage of blown calls, no calls, miss calls and outright disgusting officiating that has taken place over the first three weeks (especially the last two weeks) of the 2012 NFL season.
The decision which was made at the end of the Seattle Seahawks/Green Bay Packers Monday Night Football game may have just been the most controversial call to end a game in professional sports history, simply because of what actually happened during the play, the ruling of the play and the fact that replacement officials made the call on the play. It was clear that Packers defensive back M.D. Jennings intercepted the football! It was clear that Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate pushed Packers cornerback Sam Shields in the end zone which should have resulted in an offensive pass interference call! It was clear that Tate did not have joint possession of the football with Jennings! It was clear that the Packers should have won the game! All of these were clear before I watched the replay over and over and over again. So how was any of that not clear to the side judge who ruled the play a touchdown? It was clear to the back judge who didn’t have as good of an angle as the side judge did what really happened! Why didn’t the head referee get together with the other two officials and they all make a joint ruling together?
Besides that play this game featured 24 total penalties for 245 yards combined. The Baltimore Ravens/New England Patriots game the night before produced 24 penalties for 218 yards and 13 first downs via penalties (most in NFL history). These two games were on center stage during primetime with the entire sports world watching and the replacement refs called 48 penalties for 463 yards and the worst ending in an NFL game ever.
Besides the obvious there are so many other issues going on under the replacement refs watch such as over aggressive play, intimidation of the refs by both players and coaches, the refs protecting quarterbacks like they were their own parents with stripes on and overall inconsistency with any and every kind of penalty call on the field.
The NFL and the officials had just come off of four consecutive days of talks with significant gaps in between what the two sides want before the Monday Night debacle but now after the two sides need to be locked in room and not let out until an agreement is reached. If this doesn’t happen then what will become of our nation’s most beloved and powerful professional sport? Do we really miss the regular refs? I think the answer for that question has now transformed into a resounding and collective, hell yeah!
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