One thing to keep in mind as the replacement officials become real officials is that the real officials don’t have any NFL experience.
And one of the biggest differences between the NFL level and the lower levels of the sport is that the NFL prohibits contact with receivers five yards beyond the line of scrimmage.
At the college and high-school level, there’s no such rule. Which means that, in addition to all of the other adjustments they need to make, the replacements need to be watching for things they’ve never had to watch for before.
As a result, look for defensive backs to push and pull, more and more, until the replacement officials adjust.
It’s a great point that was made in the viewing room by the new NBC officiating consultant, Jim Daopoulos, former NFL official and former assistant supervisor of officiating at the league office. We’ll be sharing more takes from Jim throughout the season -- especially since all I have to do to get in touch with him while watching the games is turn to the right and say, “Hey, Jim.”