Upon Further Review

If you haven't heard by now the National Football League (NFL) has locked out its referees and are using replacement officials.  If you truly haven't heard by now you must live in a cocoon because last Tuesday morning all anyone was talking about was the call made in the previous night’s game.  The NFL has long since replaced baseball as America's Pastime and that is mainly because of the product it produces.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has recently had a referee scandal that spoke to the integrity of the game, and also had a player lockout last year that caused games to be missed, nobody cared.  Major League Baseball has been marred in recent years by a steroid scandal.  Baseball’s biggest problem is their inflated payrolls which see the same teams capturing playoff spots every year.  If the league were to miss games due to a lock out, nobody would care.  The National Hockey League is currently in a labor dispute which doesn't seem will be rectified soon, nobody cares.  Last year when there was a hint of the football season being interrupted it was the leading story every day and both sides came to agreement and the season was not touched, everybody rejoiced.

It's because the NFL is a fine tuned machine from top to bottom.  From league officials, to owners, to the players, to hit dog vendors.  The NFL has a great product.  That product is now being tarnished because of a labor dispute with its game officials, and its showing on the field.  I truly feel that  Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL, is the best commissioner in professional sports, but he has dropped the ball on this one.  Call it professional pride, call it arrogance, call whatever you want but he needs to step in here and get something done, and done soon.

As a lower level official in two sports (baseball and basketball) it’s tough to take in what is happening to the replacement referees in the NFL, they are just pawns in a wicked game of chess. They are just trying to do the job they were hired to do and do it to the best of their ability.  Unfortunately for them, they are in way over their heads and it is obvious to everyone that watches the games.  That speaks volumes to the integrity of the NFL.

Being an NFL official is truly a difficult job, and not one I think I could ever do.  The rules to remember, the level of play and the speed of the game alone makes the job difficult.  To ask officials that haven't gotten higher than Division II college football and most of them Division III to work at that level with only a couple of weeks of training is unfair, and is some regard could be considered criminal.  These guys have been set up to fail from the word go.

I am a long time believer that the outcome of game is never really determined by an official’s call.  If the teams and players want to play the game to a point where it comes to the call of an official, that is the choice that the teams made and they have to live with the call.  I have told batters in baseball many times when they strikeout to end the game "Swing the bat and don't leave your at bat in my hands".  Games should be decided between the lines and not by the guys with the whistles.

However, I truly feel the replacement referees are not affecting the outcome of games, with the exception of the Green Bay/Seattle game. The replacement official have no control of the game, they don't understand the Instant Replay rules, they don't know what to look for on Pass Interference calls, and they lack confidence in their calls.  That makes the coaches preparation for the game and the players execution that much more difficult.

Last week everyone was talking about Interception/non-interception in the Monday Night game or the ball that went over the upright in the Sunday Night game, which led to Patriots coach Bill Belichick to grab a referee as he was running off the field.  Those weren't the calls that had me scratching my head that weekend.  In Minnesota the referees in the 49ers/Vikings game allowed 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh to challenge a call on the field with no timeouts, TWICE.  Once shame on him, twice shame on you.

Once this labor dispute is resolved it is likely that we will never see these officials again.  Not only have they ruined any chance of ever officiating in the NFL but they may not be welcomed back to their local college boards back home, and for what?  To be part of the chess game.  A big price to pay if you ask me.

So I beg you Commissioner Goodell, Please end this lockout and get the true NFL officials back on the field, America needs its game back.

3D

If you don't take it from me, ask my wife.