simple answer slick: the real refs establish a standard of play much like an umpire establishes a strike zone. then the players know what to expect and what draws a foul. these guys don’t see everything, never establish a standard and enforce the rules in a ridiculously uneven manner.

the pass interference play called on gb when rice was the only player making contact still counts as a penalty; it was just assessed to the wrong player.

while they spout nonsense about player safety and impose astronomical fines on players for violating their standards of safe play (often made impossible by the speed, size and momentum of the players) they also continue to change the rules to make the old game of football appear like pinball by emphasizing the passing game as never before.

players are now spaced widely around the field rather than in a general bunch as in the old days. so the contact that ensues is the result of bigger faster men running farther prior to bashing into each other. no wonder there are more concussions even as the equipment improves.

and if anyone thinks roger goodell (only the front man for the owners) and his bosses care, they need look no further than this lockout.

it is pretty apparent that when the swing of gambling money affected by the ridiculous play in seattle far surpasses the monetary differences in the negotiations, this is more about the nfl squashing the officials than a few million dollars. and yet they stand in front of you (or more frequently lately, issue a press release) to describe their devotion to improving player safety.

personally, i hope the former players begin to win lawsuits against these jackholes.

A lot of people here seem annoyed that the officials get so well-compensated to do what is essentially a second job for many of them. There’s a very simple reason why they get paid that money: because it’s there. The same goes with the players. That’s the way it has always been in professional sports. As more money came into the various leagues, the key personnel got a share of the pie. If you don’t like that they get six figure salaries for this work, then don’t watch the games. As has been demonstrated over the past few weeks, officiating NFL games is a demanding job, and requires a high level of skill. Because of that, they’re going to be well-compensated.

BTW: this is great. I really agree with this statement. I think they should make the refs full-time league employees, give them pensions and give ‘em 6 figures. We want to have the best officiating in the world right? Well, if you want the best yacht in the world, you pay for it. If you want the best officiating in the world: you pay for it. Pretty simple.

It’s unfortunate that these billionaires who own the league give not two f****s about their employees. And it’s unfortunate that a thing that is so terrible for employees – the 401(k) – is becoming a standard that somehow justifies itself.

That is all.

I was WRONG!

He is a puppet of the owners who p*sses on our heads and tells us it’s raining.

He should have had a better contingency plan for the situation with the refs.

He has little integrity and has lost all respect from me and most people around the country.

The shield is, what Dick Goodell didn’t want it to be…

Tarnished_

————————————–

Maybe the writer of this article remains oblivious to the fact the NFLRA used their influence (ie. positions of power with the NCAA) to lockout what would be the 2nd and 3rd string officials, forcing the the NFL to move further down the ranks for refs. This was calculated so that people like you would think the refs were indispensable when there are 100′s of refs with better qualifications who were prevented from applying. Maybe mention that once in awhile?

The final play of the SEA/GB game was reviewed by NFL refs at the field WHO WEREN’T replacements and they found the replacement refs call correct. There was a missed PI call but show me a game last year that wasn’t?

Leavy blows the superbowl, no punishment. Hochuli blows a regular season game, get’s promoted in the union. 100′s of calls missed, bad spots of balls, interpretations of the rules by the old officials last year and no outcry.

This is all blown out of proportion. The media sensationalizes everything because it get’s them eyeballs. The players are never responsible for their own actions. Coaches see a chance to put the blame on someone other than themselves. Sanctimonious announcers who wouldn’t criticize an old official or Hall of Fame QB if he threw 3 ints in 1 QTR feel this is their one chance to act tough without repurcussions.

Numerous screwups on “ghost calls” were made to benefit Green Bay.

And in the 1970′s an NFL referee that is supposedly a legend, Jim Tunney, made a near similar call that was just incorrect.

If you want perfection in the NFL, stop playing the games.

If you want the games to resume, suck it up – this is what you get – and at least one “professional referee” that did games was making calls up – that even the announcers couldn’t find – and he is one of the BIG NAMES – and the problem was so profound that he didn’t do playoff games.

While I agree that was an interception, that point shouldn’t have even mattered because of the obvious pass interference call that was missed.

But you can’t just whine about a call that went against your team when your team benefited several times when there was no basis for those calls!

In regards to the issue of unions in the NFL this and all similar comments are inaccurate. The NFL has an antitrust exemption from the federal government, because it is 32 separate business operating as a single entity, it’s a monopoly.
—————————————————
Wrong, just because it’s the most successful league doesn’t mean it’s a monopoly.
Players, coaches, refs, etc are free to go work for the CFL, Arena League, USFL, NCAA (for refs & coaches), a whole host of international leagues.
Don’t be acting like they are the only football league out there. The refs are/were working for the top league in the world and as such were already compensated the best, they are free to go work for the X-League in Japan and try to make more money for their under useless “skills.”

As far as this Packers game goes would people quit being such drama queens, you aren’t gonna quit watching the NFL, the League isn’t gonna back down over this and it’s not like the useless locked out refs were much better (if at all).
Where was all this uproar in 1998 when the Seahawks got shafted on the Testaverde “touchdown” that cost Seattle a spot in the playoffs and meant Dennis Erickson lost his job?
How about the Broncos game that was handed to the Chargers?
How about 2006 when the Refs saved the Pats in a game against the Jags when they ruled that New England had a fumble recovery on an incomplete pass.

Then we have the hat issue in Dallas, boo freakin hoo, it’s just a hat, it’s not like he had to run through an official like Joe Horn against the Panthers in 2001. Run over a hat or run through a full grown man, I wonder which is tougher, hmmm.

But the thing is has it lost? I mean really?

We’re three weeks into the season and three games have been played by each team. The teams that have played best are the ones with the best record and the teams that have sucked are all 0-3 or 1-2. In fact, other than maybe this week’s Monday Night game, it’s likely that no game result has been affected by having replacement officials.

In short, a product has been put on the field and it is football. Is it as good as NFL football has been in previous seasons? Well no, let’s not kid ourselves here. But I have sat there for six hours the last three Sundays and enjoyed watching it. Would I like it better if the NFL and old officials hammered out a deal? Sure. But will I keep watching the season, and enjoy it, all the way to the Superbowl if necessary? Absolutely.

So really the NFL hasn’t lost at all. They have proved they can still put out a product, albeit a less perfect one, without *any* experienced officials whatsoever. If this goes on much longer it could be a disaster for the old officials. What if it starts to look like they could put on a whole season without them? If they could limp through to February they could then hire some genuinely good replacements from the college ranks.

Permanent replacements.

Doesn’t matter if it’s $13 an hour or $3.3 million a year, if you don’t think someone is worth the price you tell them to hit the bricks. There is NOTHING that says the refs just can’t take the offer on the table which works out to a six figure salary for working about 60-hours a YEAR (3 hours a day, once a week, 20 weeks a year).
————————————————————————

You contention that refs work 60 hours a year is incorrect. If you did even the least bit of research you would see that during the season, it’s estimated, that a typical official will work 20-25 hours a week while a head official will work 30-35 hours. In addition they also have their own version of training camp that starts in May. Add it all up and you’ll see the job requires significantly more than 60 hours of work over 20 weeks.

Around the league the fans must stand up and say they will not allow this disrespect of the game we love to continue. So we as true fans need to make this statement. It is easy to do.

I ask you fans of the National Football League, to not go to your seats until after the kickoff. This is all I ask, I am not asking you to miss the game, I am asking you to go to the stadium, in mass. Go inside; enjoy everything there is to offer. But when the game starts do not be in your seats. The NFL cannot stand by while showing a stadium of empty seats.

I know this simple act may also be too much for some fans to accept, for them I ask that when the kickoff takes place turn your back to it. You essentially miss nothing. It is more than likely going to be a touchback. The players, if they feel the same, can assure the fans it is going to be a touchback. There by showing their unity with us and each other.

This is the only thing the NFL will understand. We do this for one reason, WE RESPECT THE SHIELD.

Respectfully,
A True Fan

“But they work part time and they make more than me! They deserve nothing else!” Yeah? Maybe you should have developed a marketable skill then.

One of your finest opines of all time.

Well done. You nailed it,

Unions will always fight to the end anything that would make them more accountable.
————————————————————————
In regards to the issue of unions in the NFL this and all similar comments are inaccurate. The NFL has an antitrust exemption from the federal government, because it is 32 separate business operating as a single entity, it’s a monopoly.

If a janitor, baker, plumber, mechanic, or someone in pretty much any other industry in the United states wants to get a raise or improved benefits they have two courses of action available. They can attempt to reach an agreement with their employer and if that fails they are able to go to any one of the thousands of companies that require people with their specific skill set, and see what their true worth is on the open market.

If you are an NFL official, you don’t have that same luxury. You can’t apply for a job at one of the 15 other professional football leagues in the country. That’s why there is a union. The NFL controls every job playing or officiating the game at the highest level in this country. And to assume that if there was no NFLRA or NFLPA the members of those unions would be fairly compensated, or that ticket prices would be significantly cheaper is laughable. Look at the way baseball players were treated at the turn of the century and prior to their union.

We should now hear for the next week how the endlessly-greedy owners have undone his good work in the matter of three months.

If the NFL benches the officials involved Monday night, and they should, then the make the right and just point that they have to have that ability going forward.

Now, let’s review the inflexible demands of the NFLRA.

1) They want a pension when the entire country has come to the realization that pension systems were in no small part a contributor to the collapse of the auto industry. They are bad business today and every company that has a lick of sense is getting out of them.
2) They want a full and comprehensive benefits package, at no cost, for what amounts to a second job. The fact that it’s a second job implies that they most likely have a full benefits package from their other job. They are, in essence, double dipping.
3) They want to be paid for the time they were locked out. NFL greed? How about NFLRA greed…
4) They want to have guaranteed work.
5) They don’t want to be subjected to reviews that could result in their removal. After everything that happened on Monday how can ANYONE actually think not making the officials accountable is a good thing?

Good for the NFL for standing up for these things and not putting short term gain in front of long term objectives and growth. If the NFLRA would budge on the first and 4/5 point (and throw point 3 out based on pure stupid) I’d bet money the NFL would budge on the raises and the benefits. Even Peter King implied as much in one of his articles…