These replacement refs are a gong show

[fenikz]

sure thing boss

[BaLLiN]

yeah about the whole giving yourself up thing was brought up, i have to say that i didn't agree with it. But thinking about QB kneeling, and how opposing teams could refuse to tackle the offensive player in order to get rid of time, i think i agree with it a little. But still, i thought that it shouldve been a fumble at first

[Bengalsrocket]

For a fanbase that generally gives a lot of slack to rookies, it's surprising how upset you guys are about the new ref's taking a little extra time to make sure they get calls right :P

Show a little compassion - they're trying to do their job to the best of their abilities I'm sure.

[Todd Bertuzzi]

Did anyone else think they actually did a pretty good job tonight? There were a lot of penalties(especially on that one Dallas drive) but I can't really pinpoint any bad calls or missed calls. The Cruz play might be the only one that comes to mind but even the regular refs miss a few calls.

[tjsunstein]

Originally Posted by Todd Bertuzzi

Did anyone else think they actually did a pretty good job tonight? There were a lot of penalties(especially on that one Dallas drive) but I can't really pinpoint any bad calls or missed calls. The Cruz play might be the only one that comes to mind but even the regular refs miss a few calls.

Nope, the Dallas OL earned all of them and still won.

[vidae]

I was impressed by the replacement refs this game. They did miss that hold on Cruz, but I've seen worse penalties than that missed by the regular refs. I think they called a good game.

[WCH]

I didn't really notice a difference between these refs and the regular refs. They seemed like a typical NFL officiating team.

[Ness]

Originally Posted by Todd Bertuzzi

Did anyone else think they actually did a pretty good job tonight? There were a lot of penalties(especially on that one Dallas drive) but I can't really pinpoint any bad calls or missed calls. The Cruz play might be the only one that comes to mind but even the regular refs miss a few calls.

They looked pretty sharp tonight. Score one for the NFL.

[SolidGold]

I find alot of the criticism of the replacement refs to be misguided. They are pawns in the chess match between the NFL and NFLRA. The blame should be 95% focused on those two entities that are unable to compromise.

[BeerBaron]

Originally Posted by SolidGold

I find alot of the criticism of the replacement refs to be misguided. They are pawns in the chess match between the NFL and NFLRA. The blame should be 95% focused on those two entities that are unable to compromise.

There is apparently as much as a $70 million gap between the two sides monetarily and also, the NFL wants to keep a "bench" of inactive refs who they can "call up" to replace struggling referees in seasons, something they don't have right now.

Obviously, the real refs want no part of that "bench" idea.

[JoeJoeBrown]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

There is apparently as much as a $70 million gap between the two sides monetarily and also, the NFL wants to keep a "bench" of inactive refs who they can "call up" to replace struggling referees in seasons, something they don't have right now.

Obviously, the real refs want no part of that "bench" idea.

Eff the real refs. The replacement refs will be almost as good midway through the season. I mean, this is a part time job for NFL refs.

Tangentially, it seems unsane to me that being an NFL ref 365 days a year isn't part of the job requirement. They should be honing their craft every day instead of being lawyers and dentists, etc...

That **** may have been alright back in the day, but the NFL is a multibillion dollar franchise now and refs need to be the best that they can be.

[SolidGold]

Originally Posted by JoeJoeBrown

Eff the real refs. The replacement refs will be almost as good midway through the season. I mean, this is a part time job for NFL refs.

Tangentially, it seems unsane to me that being an NFL ref 365 days a year isn't part of the job requirement. They should be honing their craft every day instead of being lawyers and dentists, etc...

That **** may have been alright back in the day, but the NFL is a multibillion dollar franchise now and refs need to be the best that they can be.

I agree completely. They should invest in full time Refs- they have the money for it.

[jrdrylie]

Originally Posted by SolidGold

I agree completely. They should invest in full time Refs- they have the money for it.

The NFL wants to. The refs don't want to. They want to continue getting paid a good amount of money plus good benefits for working on the weekend all the while keeping their full time jobs as lawyers, doctors, accountants, etc.

[K Train]

they were fine, the announcers will call them out on everything but overall i noticed no difference

[njx9]

Originally Posted by WCH

I didn't really notice a difference between these refs and the regular refs. They seemed like a typical NFL officiating team.

yup. just exactly as bad/good.

if the regular refs won't go full-time, hire new ones. or hire these away from d-2 and let the former nfl refs go to d2.

[BeerBaron]

Yeah, the performance of last night's refs was quite good. The only two mistakes I noticed were calling a block in the back "clipping" and the missed PI on the goal line. (And several people, including Tony Dungy in the broadcast, have said that the missed PI probably would have happened no matter who the refs were.)

But the NFL chose this team for the opener because they were the best group in the preseason. Once the B, C and D level squads hit the fields on Sunday, we might have a different story.

Regardless, last night proved that we can get competent performances out of the replacement refs. And a competent performance is all I ever really want out of any ref.

[killxswitch]

The refs will get better with time, there is no secret knowledge or skill that makes the current refs the best there can possibly be. They're just the guys that rose up through the ranks. The "good" refs miss calls that affect the outcome of games all the time, we complain about them every year. Maybe getting some new blood will be a good thing, especially if they'll work full-time and actually work hard at getting better.

Officiating will not significantly improve until they actually get some of the refs off the field entirely and put them in the replay booth. With all the angles available via video camera there's no reason game-changing decisions should be made by an old guy that wasn't quite in position to make the right call.

[BeerBaron]

Originally Posted by killxswitch

The refs will get better with time, there is no secret knowledge or skill that makes the current refs the best there can possibly be. They're just the guys that rose up through the ranks. The "good" refs miss calls that affect the outcome of games all the time, we complain about them every year. Maybe getting some new blood will be a good thing, especially if they'll work full-time and actually work hard at getting better.

Officiating will not significantly improve until they actually get some of the refs off the field entirely and put them in the replay booth. With all the angles available via video camera there's no reason game-changing decisions should be made by an old guy that wasn't quite in position to make the right call.

The NFL has toyed with this idea before but decided it against it. They said they don't want the calls to seem like they're coming down from "the ivory tower." (Basically saying they don't want to give anyone ammunition that they are fudging results for gamblers or anything like that.)

So they've held off, but I think we will see it one day. There was a rumor about a week or two ago (PFT had an article about it) saying that the NFL was thinking about having one on the field official and then having guys in the booth watch for penalties and such. The NFL VERY quickly shot it down, but usually, where there is smoke there is fire.

[killxswitch]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

The NFL has toyed with this idea before but decided it against it. They said they don't want the calls to seem like they're coming down from "the ivory tower." (Basically saying they don't want to give anyone ammunition that they are fudging results for gamblers or anything like that.)

So they've held off, but I think we will see it one day. There was a rumor about a week or two ago (PFT had an article about it) saying that the NFL was thinking about having one on the field official and then having guys in the booth watch for penalties and such. The NFL VERY quickly shot it down, but usually, where there is smoke there is fire.

That argument is easily shot down because the same footage can be shown on TV. It will be clear to everyone what the call should have been. I hate when someone argues (I know you aren't personally arguing this BB) against trying to improve because there's a remote chance something bad could happen.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by BeerBaron

But the NFL chose this team for the opener because they were the best group in the preseason. Once the B, C and D level squads hit the fields on Sunday, we might have a different story.

i still don't see how they could be any worse than the real refs were last year.

and, even if they somehow are, having 47.3 night games in week one should keep them on their toes.

[K Train]

honestly if the regular refs come back they will probably suck way worse than these guys, the regular refs need preseason every year just like the players

[ConnSKINS26]

Originally Posted by K Train

honestly if the regular refs come back they will probably suck way worse than these guys, the regular refs need preseason every year just like the players

To be fair, the refs on strike have been doing their normal routine, if not MORE than usual. They've been having weekly 5-hour conference calls while watching film and taking tests that Hochuli creates....he's a real slave driver it seems. These guys put in WAY more work off the field than on it, and a lot of people don't realize that.

They would be rusty, but they haven't been doing the ref equivalent of sitting on the couch and eating Cheetos, either.

[Scotty D]

They ran out the A team last night. Lets see how the rest do.

[tjsunstein]

Im interested in the officiating in games like Jaguars/Vikings... smaller market games.

[b316]

Its kind of fun to watch, the let the small things go and call most of the obvious things.

Dbs roughing up the Wrs, letting the small holding calls go. Only one i didn't care for was Eli being pushed down, getting a late hit flag.