NFL Season 2012-2013

[wco81]

It's the owners who took the hard line.

Jerry Jones was defending their position before this weekend.

[dbdynsty25]

Hilarious tweet from the play that almost broke twitter:

If you’re holding your baby & I walk up and hug it, according to the NFL replacement refs, you have to give me your baby.

[Danimal]

It's the owners who took the hard line.

Jerry Jones was defending their position before this weekend.

I hope it happens to his team this week.

[vader29]

[toonarmy]

Obviously the atrocious call in the endzone is garnering the most attention, but there were so many other awful calls in the game that it's laughable. On that last drive alone a GB interception was taken away on an absurd personal foul call and a pass interference was called on the Packers that was not even remotely close to pass interference. Seattle was truly gifted that entire last drive and TD. I don't hate or like either GB or Seatte, but as an NFL fan I'm fairly pissed off at this point. So many of Sunday's games were marred by horrendous and downright incompetent calls. None were as dramatic as the one tonight, but they still showed just how bad these replacement refs are. It'll be intriguing to see how the NFL handles this. Goodell surely doesn't want to admit he f***ed up by hiring third and fourth-rate refs, so he may just keep on being a hardliner on this issue and keep on holding out on the real refs until they buckle. I think the owners will have to be the ones to get something done about this by pressuring Goodell to come to an agreement. I highly doubt the fans, despite all their complaining, will boycott games, so they will likely not be a factor. In any case, it's too bad that the officiating has become more of a story than the actual players and games.

[ddtrane]

So the next time a DB intercepts a ball, a WR can just go up and hug the DB and get a TD??????????

[XXXIV]

Hilarious tweet from the play that almost broke twitter:

If you’re holding your baby & I walk up and hug it, according to the NFL replacement refs, you have to give me your baby.

So the next time a DB intercepts a ball, a WR can just go up and hug the DB and get a TD??????????

Yes. This is apparently a new rule put in for the 2012 season to make the game more "offensive" to the viewer.

[toonarmy]

Just saw this on Lebron James Twitter page:

[XXXIV]

This gif appears one stooge short. Oh wait here he is...

[MizzouRah]

No excuse. I figured after the review, they would get the call right.

[10spro]

If Goodell has all the power to suspend players and coaches he feels hurt the integrity of his league, he should take a hard look and see how damaged the league is now with his hard pinching penny approach with these incompetent bunch. Last night's game has cost the league an incredible amount of trust, the fans should really never give back, the final TD being the cream of the crop in a night filled with blind lousy calls.

[wco81]

Just heard that was the highest rated MNF game so far this season.

All the twitter activity from this controversy raises the league's profile, just like all the offseason stories about Peyton and Tebow and various other stories have kept fans interested throughout the year. I wouldn't be surprised if the ratings and attendance last year after the lockout was higher, because all the offseason stories about the labor dispute kept the league in the news.

It may just reinforce the maxim that there's no such thing as bad publicity.


On a related note, if the NFL wants to build up its reputation, they should have ALL infractions reviewable in instant replay. Even after the regular refs return, they will inevitably miss or get wrong some crucial calls. NFL may be able to regain some goodwill by emphasizing that they will get calls right, even if they miss some in live action.

So for instance, they could reverse the PI call when Sidney Rice was clearly guilty. Currently, PI can't be reviewed in IR.

Or they could make calls that was missed completely, like the offensive PI by Tate on that last play. Or the cheap shot by Browner on Jennings. That should at least be "illegal contact" and possibly be grounds for disqualification from the game.

Then the replacement refs are getting snookered into throwing personal foul flags for players retaliating, like Josh Morgan's PF against Cortland Finnegan, or at least once last night. IR should be used to get those calls right and none of the BS with both players getting PF fouls.

[Brando70]

The games would take six hours if they had that much review. Every play could be reviewed for holding.

I am fine with human error, it's gross incompetence that I am having a hard time watching. It took a grand total of three weeks to have two of the worst officiated games in recent memory between the Pats-Ravens and Packers-Seahawks. What The replacement refs have no reason to rush back to work. They have other careers and can just let the owners hang by their oversized nuts. At this point I would not only hold out for every demand, but add that the league needs to set up a Roger Goodell Paddling Booth.

[wco81]

No the number of challenges and the end of half/game and scoring rules would be the same.

They wouldn't go hunting for missed calls, only when one of the teams believe an infraction should have been called and they're willing to risk burning up one of their challenges/time outs for it.

In the first years of replay, there was a faction of owners that resisted having any replay. So to appease them, they put all these restrictions, like not being able to review certain types of calls like PI.

Well if you're going to have replay at all, why have such restrictions? They've increased the use, to have automatic reviews of scoring plays. So it looks like the popularity and utility of replays have silenced the opposition, at least for now, and they've been able to expand the use.

I think the number of times plays can be reviewed is just about right. Now they just have to fill in the gaps.

I guess banning replays on "judgement calls" like PI was a concession to the teams which opposed any kind of replays and to the integrity of the officiating. But now that officiating is on the table, maybe they can expand the use of replays.

I don't think anyone could argue that getting more calls right, if retroactively, produces a better product or experience for the fans and players. Right now, key plays coaches would challenge are turnovers and things like the spot of the ball. But really, there have been too many games decided by key PI calls, even with the regular officials. Those are the calls they have to get right.

[XXXIV]

It's the owners who took the hard line.

Jerry Jones was defending their position before this weekend.

I hope it happens to his team this week.

Ditto that.


The NFL's answer was pathetic at best. ...No one panic! All is well!




Shield my ass. Thy hypocrisy knows NO bounds.

[vader29]

[XXXIV]

Upgrade!!!

[Danimal]

I was just thinking the reason we don't have a Madden patch yet is because the devs are out working as replacement refs.

[Brando70]

I was just thinking the reason we don't have a Madden patch yet is because the devs are out working as replacement refs.

That can't be the case, because that means there would be no penalties called in the real games

[10spro]

Now that real boys are back, I hope fans show their appreciation for their hard work as owners thru Goodell tried to penny pinch these guys pensions and salaries. They will be blown calls, but at least it takes the topic of bad, incompetent refereeing week in, week out.

[tjung0831]

I don't think the new deal with the refs being struck had anything to do with the call in the Green Bay/Seattle game. The real reason is that both the Steelers and Patriots lost on Sunday. NFL ain't having that! They need the refs back so the Steelers and Pats get their usual calls!

[Danimal]

I don't think the new deal with the refs being struck had anything to do with the call in the Green Bay/Seattle game. The real reason is that both the Steelers and Patriots lost on Sunday. NFL ain't having that! They need the refs back so the Steelers and Pats get their usual calls!

As much as I hated the replacement refs I will say the people who were complaining the loudest were the teams used to getting all sorts of phantom calls.

[JRod]

I don't think the new deal with the refs being struck had anything to do with the call in the Green Bay/Seattle game. The real reason is that both the Steelers and Patriots lost on Sunday. NFL ain't having that! They need the refs back so the Steelers and Pats get their usual calls!

As much as I hated the replacement refs I will say the people who were complaining the loudest were the teams used to getting all sorts of phantom calls.

And I think it's evident there's a lot of calls the real refs purposely miss. That's why where were so many calls with the replacements, they were actually calling everything they saw.

Two things from the strike that I take away from it.

The real refs eliminate most doubt in the NFL. Sure there are questionable calls but fans trust the sport even if a call doesn't go their way.

The real refs do have favorites, do give better teams the benefit of the doubt and have a lot of no calls on purpose.

[Leebo33]

I don't think the new deal with the refs being struck had anything to do with the call in the Green Bay/Seattle game. The real reason is that both the Steelers and Patriots lost on Sunday. NFL ain't having that! They need the refs back so the Steelers and Pats get their usual calls!

As much as I hated the replacement refs I will say the people who were complaining the loudest were the teams used to getting all sorts of phantom calls.

I agree Joe Flacco was ridiculous.

[Leebo33]

I do thank my lucky stars every night that both the NFL and NHL have decided to give a market the size of Pittsburgh all the calls and that I was lucky enough to have grown up in Western PA to benefit. Wish they could do something for the Buccos. Don't the umps realize they are from Pittsburgh too?