playoff officials

This comes up all the time and I don't want to make any conspiracy theories about why we lost but I was wondering something. Was it just me being a Steelers fan or during the game were in fact the Steeler recievers getting mugged with a lot of no calls? I'm asking this because the Lions game seemed to be pretty one sided like the refs already decided who is going to win. These are supposed to be the best of the best when it comes to officials but, some of the non calls and the call that were made really seemed to be biased against one team, the Lions got ripped off pretty good, it made me sick, and the Steelers recivers get mugged all day but it seemed to be ok, I can't comment on the other games as I didn't watch but this is the playoffs. And before you say it, the answer is no, I'm not blaming the refs, the defense made a star out of a QB that can't really play as a QB but it is over, anyway the officiating looks bad right now, at least to me it does.

 

The refs have been bad all season in every game I've watched and I've watched more football this year than I ever have.

 

I agree 100%

 

I am not one to whine about the refs, but if I were to say anything about that game, it would have been more about the missed holding calls by their offensive line. Some real good ones down the stretch that it looked like they missed. Tebow had 10 minutes each play to throw the ball.

 

But suppose you were a Bronco's fan. I suspect you'd be sensitive to a couple of misssed fask mask calls, and the quick whistle on the lateral to Wallace. I'm lived in several NFL cities over the course of my live, and every year, in every one of them, there were fans there that we convinced the refs were against them. Yet, I'm never, ever heard anyone say "Boy, the refs were the reason we won yesterday". Everyone notices and remembers the calls that don't go there way, but quickly forget the one that go for them.

 

Not many ever go for our team

 

There was an "incomplete pass" that should have resulted in a turnover for the Broncos but the whistle was blown too fast. They should have won the game in regulation.

 

The issue is the way the league is moving closer to Arena type games. Refs are being asked to make very many subjective calls at an even greater speed. I think the NFL should add at least 2 more officials on the field per game. Right now OL holding, Pass Interferences, Illegal contact, and defensive holding need to be further defined. Or completely change the rules to allow holding on every play. I am beginning to think the 15 yd. PI rule in college might be the way to go since the refs can't seem when to call it correctly and when they do it is wrong half the time.

 

is the NFL looking at doing this....I think they are making plenty of money to afford the extra officials

 

Horrible. Just horrible

 

Officiating has been horrible all season - and not just in calls going against the Steelers. I cannot believe that year after year there are additional rules, etc. and calls for full-time officials and the league NEVER does it. The officials should be working year-round, with vacation times in the off-season. During the season, they should be in meetings, film-rooms, seminars, whatever in an attempt to improve. During the offseason, there should be some kind of organized activities designed to keep them sharp. There's no way that the league should be comfortable with the number of missed calls.

IMO, instant replay has become a scapegoat for not addressing the issue with poor officiating. They know they can make the wrong call and be corrected. However, this does not address issues of non-reviewable calls and penalties. I say hire them full-time, pay them accordingly, and make sure that their performance improves or remove them.

 

I honestly believe that it is all about television ratings. The non holding calls against Harrison in the first half. The non call for roughing the passer against Ben. The T-BOE Shove that was a 15 yarder against Harrison. I told who ever would listen that they wanted to get the game to the 4th quarter being a tightly contested game and give Tebow the chance to win it in order to get the TV Ratings. It was the most watched television production since the Superbowl last year.

On another note. Was the first TD really a TD? It sure looked like the Denver guy only had one foot down and then rolled out of bounds. I kept screaming for Tomlin to challenge the call.

 

First - the coach cannot challenge a touchdown call because all scoring plays are reviewed in the booth. Second, it was a touchdown. I ran it back and forth with my DVR and his knee came down in-bounds before his butt hit out of bounds. It was a good call.

I personally don't know that there were any officiating errors that cost us the game. I'm just saying that the level of officiating all season has been very poor for a major sports league.

 

That would make Goodell happy because every game would be a 62-59 shootout and QBs would never get touched.

 

Your claim to be better than the refs at their job isn't helped by the fact you don't even know the rules concerning scoring replays. Refs are human and make mistakes. It is part of the game. Injuries and ref calls are the "luck" factor in the NFL. No team ever won a superbowl without being lucky.

 

The quality of officiating this year goes beyond normal human error, these guys suck (this is the pro level for crying out loud!)! I think part of it has to do with all of his highness's crazy new rules.

 

You may be right - but I also think it has to do with the fact that these guys are part-timers. Second, because of the replay rule, I don't think they feel any pressure to "get it right" anymore. They make the calls they want to make and let the coaches decide what to challenge. Unfortunately, they cannot challenge most penalty calls/non-calls. However, the whole idea of replay has taken the pressure off of the officials, and frankly, that shouldn't be.

 

They suck!! They should be held accountable just like the players are.

 

Agree with CaBurghfan, no holding calls :roll: . This to me was real obvious, at times you could see actually holding and pulling of the jerseys. Sometimes you just got to beat the team enough and score more to make up for this type of officiating.