What do you think of the officiating in the NFL?

[mead107]

I think it has gotten worse this year. 
 

[B-Man]

It is worsening over the past several years. The refs now let the cameras do their job for them 

 

Consistency is gone. 
 

and despite what anyone says, some teams seem to get better calls than others

 

 

[Joe]

It's horrible 

[GG1]

It's pretty bad across the board.  Would love to hear the gamblers' take on the officiating.  I guess it all washes out in the end, but it sucks to see blatantly awful calls affect the scoring.

[NCBillsFan]

Its always been bad and will continue  being bad now and into the future.  No point in batching about it really, the Bills just need to assemble a dominant roster such  that horrible officials are rendered  irrelevant. 

[Ann]

On the one hand, I think it is terrible. On the other hand, it is a lot of old guys trying to keep up with 20 and 30 year-olds in their prime, see the plays in real time, and then knowing all the rules and making a determination as to whether or not a rule was broken.  I definitely could not do a better job. 🤷‍♀️

[Just Joshin]

There are always bad specific plays.  Without data, it seems that those have increased.  That may be because less holding are being called so those stick out more.

 

I know the refs are graded but what is the outcome of the grading?  With no penalties, it makes no difference.  Flagrant misses like the Moss penalty should be punished in some way.  That was a ref making a bad decision.  Maybe peer reviews would help.

 

It is a tough job in real time so there will be mistakes.  But eliminate the stupid ones and the normal mistakes are easier to tolerate.

[Alaska Darin]

In short, it's horrible and getting worse.  They make far too many bad calls and calls that have no impact on the play.  They're also far too inconsistent on what they call, allowing defensive holding or push offs most of the game and then suddenly making a call at a critical time.  If the rules are applied consistently I wouldn't care nearly as much but when I watch Marsha ALWAYS get calls that Josh NEVER gets, it seriously chaps my ass.

 

Don't even get me started on holding.  If you want to get mad spend some time watching how much Jerry Hughes is held on passing plays. 

[Nanker]

[Nanker]

Hope I don’t get banned for that.

[Robs House]

I should qualify this by saying I've only watched 2 non-Bills games this year, but in that limited sample the officiating has been so disruptive to the flow of the game it makes it nearly unwatchable.

 

The refs are human and mistakes happen, but the number of ticky tack calls has gotten out of hand. Even when I don't have a rooting interest in the game it's annoying. 

 

The worst is when a team makes a big stop only to have it negated by incidental contact with the QB. And apparently it's now illegal for a DB to hit a receiver while he's making a catch. I get protecting the players, but there needs to be a common sense element as well. Accidentally brushing your pinky against the QB's helmet while you're trying to pull up shouldn't be a game changer.

 

And that unsportsmanlike conduct on Zach Moss for ??? was &#%$ing awful.

 

[Uncle Joe]

28 minutes ago, Robs House said:

And that unsportsmanlike conduct on Zach Moss for ??? was &#%$ing awful.

 

Maybe the refs think he's been hanging out with Jerry Hughes?

Moss, "Why did you throw the flag?"
Ref, "Cuz you with him!"
(Nothing to Lose reference)

[IDBillzFan]

11 hours ago, Alaska Darin said:

Don't even get me started on holding.  If you want to get mad spend some time watching how much Jerry Hughes is held on passing plays. 

 

This, to me, is the biggest problem this year. Either call it the same for everyone or knock it the hell off. It frustrates the shit out of me when I'm watching a lineman all but tackle a defender while Marsha steps up in the pocket...and everyone watching the game sees what's happening...except the back judge.

 

And it's not just a Marsha thing. I just use him as an example because he's a whiny bitch whore pig cheater who needs his wife to lay out his clothes for him every day.

[KD in CA]

Inconsistent and thus frequently bad, thanks primarily to:

 

1) replay (with the possible exception of a goal line camera like in soccer, should be outlawed entirely)

2) overzealous reaction to concussion problem

 

[IDBillzFan]

6 minutes ago, KD in CA said:

Inconsistent and thus frequently bad, thanks primarily to:

 

1) replay (with the possible exception of a goal line camera like in soccer, should be outlawed entirely)

2) overzealous reaction to concussion problem

 

 

Another thing I'm starting to notice: quick whistlesif the QB is fighting the pocket to get free. This happened to Wentz a couple of times the other night where he managed to escape all the people hanging on him and roll right to throw, but it was deemed a sack and the whistle stopped the play.

 

Josh Allen is especially prone to this because he has such a high escapability factor. It's part of what makes him so dynamic. If they start killing plays before he has the chance to escape, it'll piss me off bigly.

[Billsandhorns]

45 minutes ago, IDBillzFan said:

 

Another thing I'm starting to notice: quick whistlesif the QB is fighting the pocket to get free. This happened to Wentz a couple of times the other night where he managed to escape all the people hanging on him and roll right to throw, but it was deemed a sack and the whistle stopped the play.

 

Josh Allen is especially prone to this because he has such a high escapability factor. It's part of what makes him so dynamic. If they start killing plays before he has the chance to escape, it'll piss me off bigly.

That is not new I saw that a couple of times that I can remember last year. It cost Watson a big play in one of the Houston games 

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

I’m not taking to the streets over the election, but show me a group of officials out together and I’ll grab the tar and feathers.  
 

In a moment of reflection, part of the challenge is that on 65” HD screen, you can see much of what’s happening quite clearly with a vantage point the officials do not have. The average age for the officials is Methuselah, so that doesn’t help either.  
 

Inconsistency is the death of it all.  I really don’t have any idea anymore what actually constitutes a hold, I just know when the announcer says “They’ll call that every time”, I know I’m the next series a huge play will occur due in part to a very similar hold that they didn’t call.  They should change the name from “punt” to “Illegal block in the back-kicking team”, and I’m still struggling with why spinning a football or tossing it behind your back is a 15 yarder in Buffalo, but a receiver slowing down, looking approaching safety and doing a back flip into the end zone in KC is not.  
 

 

 

[Alaska Darin]

If anyone has any questions about how bad the officiating in the NFL can be, all you have to do is look at the "Call that stood" in the game between Washington and Pittsburgh.  If that's not clear and conclusive enough evidence to overturn a bad spot and give Washington a first down, there's no such thing.

 

Horrible and indefensible.

[Chandemonium]

On 12/2/2020 at 9:19 PM, leh-nerd skin-erd said:

I’m not taking to the streets over the election, but show me a group of officials out together and I’ll grab the tar and feathers.  
 

In a moment of reflection, part of the challenge is that on 65” HD screen, you can see much of what’s happening quite clearly with a vantage point the officials do not have. The average age for the officials is Methuselah, so that doesn’t help either.  
 

Inconsistency is the death of it all.  I really don’t have any idea anymore what actually constitutes a hold, I just know when the announcer says “They’ll call that every time”, I know I’m the next series a huge play will occur due in part to a very similar hold that they didn’t call.  They should change the name from “punt” to “Illegal block in the back-kicking team”, and I’m still struggling with why spinning a football or tossing it behind your back is a 15 yarder in Buffalo, but a receiver slowing down, looking approaching safety and doing a back flip into the end zone in KC is not.  
 

 

 

If they did call that backflip play unsportsmanlike/taunting, I believe it would take the points off the board because technically the foul occurred before the TD. That’s why you don’t see it called IMO. Fans, not to mention the team, would be livid at the officials for taking away an obvious touchdown for a foul that didn’t affect the play. I’d argue their anger should be directed at the showboating asshat on their team, but that’s just me. 

[leh-nerd skin-erd]

44 minutes ago, Chandemonium said:

If they did call that backflip play unsportsmanlike/taunting, I believe it would take the points off the board because technically the foul occurred before the TD. That’s why you don’t see it called IMO. Fans, not to mention the team, would be livid at the officials for taking away an obvious touchdown for a foul that didn’t affect the play. I’d argue their anger should be directed at the showboating asshat on their team, but that’s just me. 

That seems like a reasonable take, and maybe the rule is for excessive celebration making it a post play penalty.  I got mad last night on the def pass interference play early, so my rage has moved to another city.