Others see it too.

I know that there are many here who sometimes think that all the bad calls go against us. I for one feel that we get screwed more than others but what fan would not think that of their team. Well today I was painting for this guy and we were talking football. I talked about how I was a Steelers fan and the first thing he says is man yall got screwed yesterday. Then he says that he felt that the Steelers seemed to be on the wrong end of calls all year. Then we started talking about how bad officials were this year. But hey he is a Raiders fan and I guess you can say it is nice to see that other fans see the same things we do.

 

It's not just the Steelers and Raiders. The refs blow league-wide and it seems to get worse every year.

 

x2

 

The problem is it is a multi billion dollar industry and these refs are part time employees...pd very nicely i might add...but most have other jobs work full work weeks and then travel on the weekend across the country ...as well as prepping 30 + hours a week for the game...some of these guys are in the 50s and 60s...this has to take its toll on them...i realize it is only a few weeks out of the year..but for god sakes make these guys full time employees...its 2013 and the NFL is the most lucrative pro sports league in the nfl

 

I agree with lersgofer. I really don't know if they are just that terrible but they need to have real refs with only one career in their life. If they stink then fire them just like any other company would. I also wonder if they are influenced by Vegas and all the other gambling going on. I'd hate to believe that but sometimes when plays are blatant and should be reviewed and they are just passed over.

At least if they are full time then they will hopefully know the rules better than they do now.

 

Enjoy it when the cost of fully paid/pentioned refs get passed down to the consumer. Since I stopped giving my money to Roger and the greedy owners a few years ago, my wallet will be less impacted than others.

 

It's hard for me to see where you are coming from here. This isn't 1956. The NFL is a MULTI BILLION DOLLAR Industry that has mega million dollar Athletes. I don't think that salaried refs are going to make that much of a difference.

 

Really...have you not been paying attention? The NFL is a business and the brass have shown nothing but interest in filling their pockets. Going to FT refs will surely double the cost, at minimum, and that will not be eaten by the NFL. Rather, it will be passed down in higher prices, licensing fees, etc.

 

The way it is now is the same as some multi billion dollar industy making crucial decisions by the janitors.

 

Yeah, but I don't blame the refs really. For the most part, these are the same guys, yet the officiating is so much worse than 5-10 years ago. Why is that? It's all the darn rule changes, mostly a result to soften the game and make it grow to the passive audience. Roger and the NFL created this mess, not the Ed Hoculi's of the game.

 

The calls aren't consistent game to game. Watching all the games on sunday ticket you really notice the disparity. PI in the game on 704 isn't called in the game on 705. Same circumstances, aren't the rules the rules?

 

Icy dead people

 

I've been beating this dead horse for years. The refs need to be full time. Their day jobs need to be the NFL. Pay them, and pay them really well. And if they make egregious errors, fine them once, and fire them for more than two mistakes. I would pay them so well, say $350,000/year, they would want to truly focus on details and not be looking at their watches during games.

 

Too much bureaucracy, rules are getting layered over and over. There are rules within rules.
When you're asking human beings to make calls on the green in live battle you need to keep everything to it's most basic form.

As I've stated before: Want to start an argument, Ask, what's a fumble? Want to go even further, what's possession?

One of the basic tenants of the game we love, a fumble, and it starts with one person recited the league rule and goes on endlessly w/ "all yeah buts..." The latest, was his helmet on (LMAO)?

 

I don't know if having full time refs will solve anything. What will full time refs do in the off season? How and where will full time refs train for the speed of the NFL in the off season?

The speed of the game itself makes it difficult for any person to judge plays at full speed. Humans are always going to make mistakes. Add the ever expanding and many times subjective rule book and bad/questionable calls are going to happen. Officials made bad/questionable calls in the past and they will continue to make them in the future.

Teams need to find ways to over come questionable calls when they occur.

 

What do teachers do in the summer? Not sure why that really matters.

I can't believe that the game has gotten faster to the point where more and more mistakes are being made. Refs are throwing flags and then asking for help, relying on instant replay and just flat out blowing calls. How do you miss an illegal formation? The players are stationary!

I don't know if full time refs are the answer but something clearly needs to change.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV7Qz640OeM

 

The refs were just on strike. If the NFL didn't care about paying them more, then that's what they would have done so that replacements didn't have to be used.

As for full time, the only thing they could do is give them mandatory hours during the season where they perhaps review film, work out, and submit to eye tests. Outside of the season, who cares if they have other employment.

Perhaps 10-15 hours of review per week would make them more consistent. But some of these rules need to change. Go back to two feet down equals a catch. Also force outs, I don't like the rule. Basically it says you can knock a receiver in the air out of bounds, but isn't that a defenseless receiver? Stop reviewing every turnover and score. Let there be an element of judgement or human error, just let plays be reviewed. If a call isn't made on the field, don't call it in the booth(helmet off, holding).

 

I met a Charger fan in the store yesterday and he apologized to me saying they shouldn't have won the game. A second Charger fan who I'm really close with emailed me an article the next day saying how they shouldn't have won...

 

The Steelers have themselves to blame don't go 8-8 then expect other teams to help you make the playoffs. Yeah the refs blew the call but I'm not that worried about it though no 8-8 team ever made it to the Superbowl, at best they win the wildcard game if they got in.

 

Blah, Blah, Blah

 

Wow! you talked with both Charger fans in one day? j/k, it only seems like there are only 2 fans when, in acuality, there are probably 2,000.

 

It matters because the refs can't simulate the speed of the game in the off season without NFL players. What exactly will the NFL pay refs to do when no football is being played? Watch film and read the rule book all day? Maybe a day will come when the league can create virtual players on a virtual field where refs can practice their craft year round.

More and more mistakes as compared to when? Every little issue/mistake gets scrutinized and repeated over and over more today then in the past. The refs always made mistakes. Refs can miss illegal formation because humans make mistakes. If the refs get 95% to 99% of illegal formations calls correct and miss one, two, or five is that not acceptable?

The speed of the game is one factor that makes it difficult for refs to always make the proper calls on the field. The refs don't have the benefit of watching reply before they throw flags. The leagues' attempt to make the game safer is another factor that is making it difficult for refs to always make the proper calls. Most of the plays that happen, happen within a fraction of a second. We fans need to watch reply just to confirm what we believed we witnessed. Most of the time the refs don't have the benefit of reply.

Maybe it's fan's attitudes that need to change and accept that fact that humans make mistakes? All teams have multiple opportunities to win games outside of a ref that makes a bad call. Player mistakes and poor execution cost teams more games then the refs ever will. Until someone develops a human or robot that is gets 100% of calls correct we are going to have to live with bad/questionable calls. I am sure fans will disagree with the calls anyway.