What do you think of the officiating in the NFL?

[Spartacus]

https://www.outkick.com/nfl-ref-jerome-boger-retired-today-so-the-internet-revisited-his-worst-calls-of-which-there-were-many/

 

Just kidding! Boger, along with three others refs, announced Thursday they were officially done, and NFL Twitter celebrated in the only reasonable way: by tweeting out all of his terrible calls!

[SquirminThurman]

The inconsistency from game to game, staff to staff, and rules that have become absurd have to be driving some of the anger and resentment I hear people venting.

[Spartacus]

13 hours ago, SquirminThurman said:

The inconsistency from game to game, staff to staff, and rules that have become absurd have to be driving some of the anger and resentment I hear people venting.

how else for the league to manipulate and direct outcomes, without outright admitting it

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

13 hours ago, SquirminThurman said:

The inconsistency from game to game, staff to staff, and rules that have become absurd have to be driving some of the anger and resentment I hear people venting.

 

People who complain about the refs bad calls - and there are a lot of them - are missing how utterly bad the rules are that generate these bad calls.  

 

You'd think it'd be all-but impossible to create a set of rules that are simultaneously excessively nitpicky and excessively vague...but for the NFL it super easy, barely an inconvenience.

[SquirminThurman]

1 hour ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

People who complain about the refs bad calls - and there are a lot of them - are missing how utterly bad the rules are that generate these bad calls.  

 

You'd think it'd be all-but impossible to create a set of rules that are simultaneously excessively nitpicky and excessively vague...but for the NFL it super easy, barely an inconvenience.

I have to agree with you so much. I think back to the 'golden era of football', which for me was 1985-1995. The rules were pretty simple compared to today. Bad calls happened and Instant Replay was in its infancy, but the rules were pretty clear cut. The rules also allowed teams to win with a lot of different approaches. Run first/ clock control teams could win, pass first 'high octane' teams could win, defensive teams could win. Not so much now.

 

The last two Super Bowls were changed dramatically by very questionable late penalties on the team with the lead. I can perfectly understand why Bengal or Eagle fans would take umbrage with how those games ended. I can also understand the growing 'conspiracy theorist/ game is rigged' questions too. Look who benefited from those last two Super Bowls.

 

1) LA Rams. The NFL desperately wants LA to be an NFL hotbed. It is not, as can be evaluated by the number of teams that have relocated to, and subsequently left LA since 1980 or so. Look at the viewership shares (all platforms) in LA versus other NFL markets. LA is the second largest TV market in the USA. They just built the ideal NFL palace. LA ends up getting a home Super Bowl game, in their new palace, and a wins a championship after multiple questionable late calls for them in the red zone. It damages Cincy, a smaller NFL market with a solid fan base that will still tune into the NFL despite the loss. The NFL figures Cincy fans were just 'happy to be there'. LA gets a championship, and it's a win for the NFL.

 

2) KC Chiefs. KC is an AFC blue blood. The NFL is desperately seeking their next Brady, and Mahomes fits the part, even if he sounds like Kermit the Frog. He is a great QB, and the league knows it. Some of the shine would be off of the NFL's new golden boy if he went 1-2 in the Super Bowl. We have a bad late penalty against the Eagles that was inconsistent with he rest of the game, and KC (Mahomes) wins. Philly, that has a large and rabid fan base, won a Super Bowl recently and will still turn out. KC (Mahomes) wins in what was supposed to be a rebuild year, as does the NFL. The golden boy is 2-1 in three Super Bowls in 6 years.

 

That is how it looks to me as a fan of the NFL for over 30 years. The Brady era made it painfully clear there are favorites and also-rans. Buffalo certainly was inept in that period. But I saw the same BS calls for the Pats, or against their opponents that were well built in that era. If it were not for my long invested fanhood, I'm not sure where NFL football would stand as a significant source of entertainment. The muck that the rules have become are a part of that. The game isn't the same that I played and grew up with. Inconsistent and at times dubious officiating are also significant contributors to that.

 

I mostly tune out of other games now, even some playoff games, and haven't played fantasy football in a couple of years. My interest in the league and the game is flagging. I haven't attended a game since 2019, and don't plan on it any time soon, despite being a Bills fan and living an hour away from the stadium.

 

I should disclose that my personal relationship with the Bills is also damaged. There are other factors at play for that, but this is not the thread for that discussion. I'll be a Bills fan as long as the team has Josh Allen. I love watching him play the modern game. Despite that I feel I have shown how the occasional fan, or fans of other teams could feel agitated by the officiating and rules.

Edited March 3, 2023 by SquirminThurman

[Spartacus]

1 hour ago, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

People who complain about the refs bad calls - and there are a lot of them - are missing how utterly bad the rules are that generate these bad calls.  

 

You'd think it'd be all-but impossible to create a set of rules that are simultaneously excessively nitpicky and excessively vague...but for the NFL it super easy, barely an inconvenience.

Rules are impossible to easily officiate on purpose

gotta have a lot of gray area in order to defend a call in any direction

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

35 minutes ago, SquirminThurman said:

I have to agree with you so much. I think back to the 'golden era of football', which for me was 1985-1995. The rules were pretty simple. Bad calls happened and Instant Replay was in its infancy, but the rules were pretty clear cut.

 

I actually think back to soccer, where the rule book is 12 pages, and basically describes the official field layout, offsides, when the ball goes out and how to bring it back in, "don't use your hands," and then the rest is basically "don't be a dick and you won't get carded, m'kay?"  

 

Simple, straightforward, you don't need a goddamn legal degree to understand it, and it's accepted that the human factor in officiating is as much a part of the game as the human factor in play.  Simple enough that a kindergartener can understand it, and understand it on a "I know it when I see it" basis.

 

The NFL, on the other hand...even kindergarteners say "That was obviously a catch, no matter what your eight-point definition with two cross-references says, you dumb &#%$s."

 

(At least, that's what my kindergarteners say.  There's a reason I'm not allowed to talk to my nieces and nephews.)

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

36 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

Rules are impossible to easily officiate on purpose

gotta have a lot of gray area in order to defend a call in any direction

 

You just have to believe that every thing that happens, happens because someone is in complete control of it somewhere.

 

It's really going to blow your mind when you find out I'm at the top of that pyramid.

[Spartacus]

problem solved!

just eliminate any desire for accuracy and go for incompetent inconsistency

 

or whatever is needed to influence each game as directed by HQ

 

 

 

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2023/03/25/nfl-competition-committee-calls-officiating-consistency-a-top-priority/

 

NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent said that when the league’s Competition Committee met, the highest priority was discussing how to ensure that officiating is consistent league-wide.

 

“Officiating was at the top,” of the Competition Committee’s agenda, Vincent said. “Crew consistency was the theme.”

 

Vincent said the league wants all 17 officiating crews to call the game the same way, and that the league wants to make sure the rule book is internally consistent so that the game is called consistently.

[Spartacus]

seems the players know the game is rigged

the NFL is in the same boat - but it's rigged by HQ

 

 

https://www.outkick.com/mavericks-luka-doncic-fined-for-doing-the-universal-sign-for-money-at-a-referee/

 

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is going to have to pay up some real money after rubbing his fingers together at a referee.

 

Y’know, like the universal sign for money.

 

It happened with less than 2 seconds to play in the Dallas Mavericks’ 127-125 loss to the Golden State Warriors. The Slovenian superstar was frustrated about what he deemed to be a couple of missed calls and decided to let one of the refs know it.

It was quick, but the NBA sure wasn’t fond of one of its biggest stars implying that one of the officials had been paid off.

[Nouseforaname]

On 3/3/2023 at 2:32 PM, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

I actually think back to soccer, where the rule book is 12 pages, and basically describes the official field layout, offsides, when the ball goes out and how to bring it back in, "don't use your hands," and then the rest is basically "don't be a dick and you won't get carded, m'kay?"  

 

Simple, straightforward, you don't need a goddamn legal degree to understand it, and it's accepted that the human factor in officiating is as much a part of the game as the human factor in play.  Simple enough that a kindergartener can understand it, and understand it on a "I know it when I see it" basis.

 

The NFL, on the other hand...even kindergarteners say "That was obviously a catch, no matter what your eight-point definition with two cross-references says, you dumb &#%$s."

 

(At least, that's what my kindergarteners say.  There's a reason I'm not allowed to talk to my nieces and nephews.)

And yet, the kind of corruption Spartacus refers to actually happens in soccer and not in the nfl.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/uefa-to-investigate-barcelona-for-its-referee-payments/sn-amp/

[Spartacus]

47 minutes ago, Nouseforaname said:

And yet, the kind of corruption Spartacus refers to actually happens in soccer and not in the nfl.

 

https://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/uefa-to-investigate-barcelona-for-its-referee-payments/sn-amp/

No need for outside payments to nfl refs

snce The corruption is run by league hq

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

1 hour ago, Spartacus said:

No need for outside payments to nfl refs

snce The corruption is run by league hq

 

It actually comes from the FCC. 

[Alaska Darin]

On 3/3/2023 at 1:32 PM, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

I actually think back to soccer, where the rule book is 12 pages, and basically describes the official field layout, offsides, when the ball goes out and how to bring it back in, "don't use your hands," and then the rest is basically "don't be a dick and you won't get carded, m'kay?"  

 

Simple, straightforward, you don't need a goddamn legal degree to understand it, and it's accepted that the human factor in officiating is as much a part of the game as the human factor in play.  Simple enough that a kindergartener can understand it, and understand it on a "I know it when I see it" basis.

 

The NFL, on the other hand...even kindergarteners say "That was obviously a catch, no matter what your eight-point definition with two cross-references says, you dumb &#%$s."

 

(At least, that's what my kindergarteners say.  There's a reason I'm not allowed to talk to my nieces and nephews.)

Now just get rid of the stupid off side rule.

[Nouseforaname]

56 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

Now just get rid of the stupid off side rule.

Why?

[Alaska Darin]

29 minutes ago, Nouseforaname said:

Why?

In soccer?  Because it's a stupid ass rule that rewards walking forward a step towards your opponent's goal when you don't have possession.

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

9 minutes ago, Alaska Darin said:

In soccer?  Because it's a stupid ass rule that rewards walking forward a step towards your opponent's goal when you don't have possession.

 

If that's the worst thing about soccer's rules, it's doing pretty well.

 

I mean, imagine if they had NFL-style rules.  "After further review, the goal is disallowed, because the goal scorer, after receiving the ball, did not maintain possession and make one soccer move before kicking."

[Alaska Darin]

Just now, Crap Throwing Clavin said:

 

If that's the worst thing about soccer's rules, it's doing pretty well.

 

I mean, imagine if they had NFL-style rules.  "After further review, the goal is disallowed, because the goal scorer, after receiving the ball, did not maintain possession and make one soccer move before kicking."

The offside rule does that a lot.  It rewards the last defensive player for making the decision to not play defense and kills a decent percentage of actual offensive chances.  Imagine an NHL defenseman just stopping and letting a 2-0 happen because the play would be whistled dead since the last pass happened to a player that was already past him.

[Crap Throwing Clavin]

1 minute ago, Alaska Darin said:

The offside rule does that a lot.  It rewards the last defensive player for making the decision to not play defense and kills a decent percentage of actual offensive chances.  Imagine an NHL defenseman just stopping and letting a 2-0 happen because the play would be whistled dead since the last pass happened to a player that was already past him.

 

Imagine?  It happens at least once every Sabres game.

[Nouseforaname]

1 hour ago, Alaska Darin said:

In soccer?  Because it's a stupid ass rule that rewards walking forward a step towards your opponent's goal when you don't have possession.

? only if your timing is good or else it’s offside…

 

The only difference between hockey and soccer with respect to the offside rule is that the soccer one is mobile while the nhl one is static.

Edited March 26, 2023 by Nouseforaname