Eagles receiver Jason Avant is the latest player to weigh in on the NFL’s labor dispute with the officials, saying that players are going to look for ways to find an edge with the replacement officials working this week’s games.
Avant told CSNPhilly.com that he believes players are going to have some tricks up their sleeves that the replacement refs won’t be ready for.
“There are some things that are going to get called, some things that are not going to be called,” Avant said. “When you go into a game, you know what things you can do to get away with, with these refs that we have. Guys are going to kind of cheat this week.”
Avant also said he sees a contradiction between the NFL’s emphasis on the safety of players and the NFL failing to get a deal done with the officials who are most qualified to properly enforce the rules on player safety.
“I will say this, this league, our commissioner, is all about player safety,” Avant said. “And, with the deal not being done, there’s a definite compromise, kind of an oxymoron, so to speak, when it comes to player safety, with the refs not being there. A lot of guys are kind of concerned about it. That’s a big deal for us, as far as player safety. Around the locker room, everyone talks about it. All the players know about it.”
And all the players know they’ll be dealing with low-level officials this week, officials who won’t see everything.