After further review: Packers intercept pass, lose game
I'm guessing you've seen this image already. (AP photo/seattlepi.com by Joshua Trujillo)
Gee, I don’t know. Looked like an OK call to me.
(Kidding! I’m a kidder!)
In all seriousness: Yes, the NFL looks awful, and yes, the NFL has it coming for putting its precious product — meaning, professional football — in a position to be compromised by a bunch of officials whose training in no way prepared them for this task. And yes, the NFL needs to end the lockout posthaste for the greater good of the NFL. But you knew that already.
What’s of greater interest (at least to me) is that the NFL’s famous “after-further-review” system, which was radical in its conception and implementation, failed at the moment it was needed most. Anyone who watched the Falcons-Broncos game of the previous Monday night grasped that the on-field officials were so cowed by the setting that they were scared to call anything, but replay — and there were a slew of replays that night — was there to set the record straight.
One Monday later, replay couldn’t distinguish a Green Bay interception from a Seattle reception, and somehow the touchdown stood. The NFL’s excuse: Because simultaneous possession was ruled on the field, only indisputable video evidence could overturn the call. And apparently these pictures were, ahem, open to dispute.
So the call on the field — er, one of the calls on the field — was allowed to stand, and now everybody is in a-dither because the Great American Game has been besmirched, but really: Who couldn’t see this coming? In Week 1 the replacements refs gave the Seahawks (yep, them again) a timeout they didn’t have as they were scrambling to score the winning touchdown. That time they failed. Week 2 was way worse. Week 3 was so bad — the Ravens’ hairbreadth winning field goal wasn’t reviewed because field goals are, for reasons unclear, not reviewable– as to make you laugh out loud.
Surely Roger Goodell will climb down from his bullying pulpit and admit what everybody else sees: That the real refs are needed, that to continue with these out-of-their-depth replacements is to risk invalidating the regular season. But the real mystery is why Goodell, who claims his life’s mission is to “protect the [NFL-logo] shield” could have let things deteriorate to this ridiculous extreme.
Ah, well. Maybe we can use replay to review the commissioner’s thought process. That’s assuming he had one. That’s also assuming replay can be invoked in cases of rampant stupidity, which I seriously doubt.
By Mark Bradley
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223 comments Add your comment
richie
September 25th, 2012
2:55 pm
Come on I have bought a lot of stuff made by a union that is trash, REF.s are worth nothing they are part time workers.
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
2:56 pm
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH EVERYONE SAYING THE “REAL” REFS MAKE BAD CALLS AND THE OTHER SPORTS HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM! BUT, C’MON GUYS, THIS IS A SLAP IN THE FACE TO OUR INTELLIGENCE! THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OTHER SPORTS’ BAD CALLS AND THE NFL’S ARE PLAIN AND SIMPLE…WE KNOW THESE SCABS ARE NOT THE BEST THE NFL HAS TO OFFER! IN ALL THE OTHER SPORTS THEY HAVE THE BEST OF THE BEST AT THEIR RESPECTIVE POSITIONS! THE NFL MADE CLOSE TO, NOW DON’T QUOTE ME ON THIS, 18 BILLION DOLLARS LAST YEAR AND THIS BS IS WHAT THEY GIVE US! C’MON MAN! PAY THE DAMN REFS!
Joe Falcon
September 25th, 2012
2:58 pm
Football feels like football again with the new refs! I say keep the new refs…heck, they are doing as good (actually better) than the old fart refs! KEEP THE NEW REFS AND I’LL KEEP WATCHING! GO FALCONS!
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
2:58 pm
CORRECTION ON THAT FIGURE! IT WAS ACTUALLY 8.3 BILLION IN REVENUE! SORRY FOR THE TYPO, BUT, YOU CATCH MY DRIFT!
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
3:00 pm
HONESTLY, IT’S STARTING TO BECOME LIKE WATCHING WWE! PURE ENTERTAINMENT!
papa pink
September 25th, 2012
3:04 pm
This really seems like it could be the Falcon’s year. So far they really look good and the bad officalating has not been a factor yet. However, I’m afraid that if the Falcons continue and have a great year, there will be those who said that it was only because of the bad officials.
Chris G.
September 25th, 2012
3:09 pm
I feel if the players and coaches are fed up with the refs then they should all throw money into a pot and pay for the reg. refs. I heard they only want a 25,000 dollar raise in a billion dollar business! It isdisgraceful that they can’t agree on anything. I don’t feel sorry for the replacement officials because they are blowing simple and calls and they have the power of replay and still get it wrong. These are basic fundamental calls that pee-wee refs could get right! Like they say on NFL espn “C’mon Man!”
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
3:10 pm
WELL SAID PAPA PINK!
diehardsufferingfan
September 25th, 2012
3:12 pm
i think we all agree the real refs make mistakes too. they r human like all of us. thats not the point. the point is would you want the BEST doctor to operate on you or one that is marginally trained and thrown in the fire? thats what i thought. these guys are not qualified at this level! they have very little to no control over the games. the coaches and players do not respect them, hence all the pushing and shoving after every play. guys are pushing the limits because they know the replacements are in over their heads. plain and simple. i rather watch qualified officials f up than my neighbor who has only refereed high school and arena football f up.
diehardsufferingfan
September 25th, 2012
3:14 pm
these guys dont even really know the rules. i dont blame them tho, well maybe a little (i mean replay CLEARLY showed no simultaneous possession) but its squarely on the shoulders of the owners and commish goodhell
James
September 25th, 2012
3:18 pm
There is no real difference between a lockout and a strike because the bottom line is in both cases the employees are refusing to accept the wages that the open market have decided are fair. A lockout is only different in that it gives the employer control of the situation. States up north might still believe in communistic solidarity but here in the south we know better and that’s why our economy is getting stronger while the north declines year after year. The replacement refs will gain experience and in a few more games will be as good as the slackers they replaced. And the old refs will gain experience in asking people “would you like fries with that?” The fault for this situation rests squarely on the socalist unions who are always trying to steal money beyond what the market has dictated is fair. Why should the owners be forced to give people who don’t want to work a single cent?
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
3:19 pm
Chris G,
I COULDN’T AGREE MORE..BUT WE KNOW HOW THESE PLAYERS ARE! GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY! THEY HAVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS WITH FINANCIAL ADVISE! NEVER WILL UNDERSTAND HOW INCREDIBLY IGNORANT MOST THESE GUYS ARE WITH THEIR MILLIONS! HALF ARE BROKE 10 YEARS AFTER LEAVING THE FIELD! BUT I DIGRESS! IN A PERFECT WORLD WHAT YOU ARE SAYING IS COMPLETELY ACCURATE!
g-mama
September 25th, 2012
3:20 pm
I’m so glad to see that Rodger Godell is the one sweating this time. I’m sure secretly,all of the players are glad too!!! COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED TO A NICER FELLOW. If this continues on the fans are going to have to rise up and ” Protect the Shield”.
g-mama
September 25th, 2012
3:25 pm
The US Congress should be called back in a special session to handle this matter.
Hillbilly D
September 25th, 2012
3:29 pm
Sports make men out of boys
Seems to me it keeps a whole lot of others from ever growing up.
DHD
September 25th, 2012
3:30 pm
It’s amazing to me how people can go nuts crazy over one man making a mistake but ignore 4 years of mistakes by another man that is killing our economy. Priorities, people!
Yolo
September 25th, 2012
3:36 pm
So the official that said incomplete had his money on Green Bay and the one that said touchdown had his money on Seattle. RIGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGED!
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
3:48 pm
DHD,
PREACH MY MAN, PREACH!
Yolo,
YA NEVER KNOW!
JSS
September 25th, 2012
3:52 pm
Hillbilly D…
Co-sign…
cloudodust
September 25th, 2012
3:59 pm
The 12th man makes noise. The 13th man wears stripes. The dice are loaded and the deck is stacked against you. I’m betting by now the bookies are wondering how to lay the line…
rivercard
September 25th, 2012
4:06 pm
James and DHD – In case you are unaware this is actually the sports section of the paper. While I am sure your friends are astounded by your insightful political takes , I can’t see where it adds to this discussion.
DP
September 25th, 2012
4:10 pm
The winning field goal by the Ravens on Sunday night was not reviewed because a field goal that is higher than the uprights when it crosses can not be reviewed, as was explained on the telecast. A replay and/or review is not going to be definitive because it is impossible to tell exactly when the ball is even with the plane of the crossbar and the uprights. That’s why they have one official standing under each upright looking up to see if the ball crosses inside or outside of the vertical plane of the upright. The only way to get a definitive replay would be to have one camera directly from the side of the uprights, one camera directly behind each upright, and to be able to combine the 2 pictures.
But of course, since any comment I make on a Mark Bradley blog is censored, i.e. “awaiting moderation”, I only post this to let Mark know that this rule is one more thing he doesn’t know.
bbetsill
September 25th, 2012
4:11 pm
Green Bay scores 12 points, QB gets sacked 8 times, and its the refs fault you lost REALLY
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
4:21 pm
WELL, HOW ABOUT THOSE APPLES! I WILL CO-SIGN ON THE AINTS FINISHING OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS THIS YEAR! I WILL ALSO CO-SIGN ON THE KARMA THAT IS BEING BESTOWED UPON THE CHEATING, LYING, AND FLAT OUT POS THUGS YOU PROUDLY ADMIRE!
md
September 25th, 2012
4:23 pm
And the irony about the standoff with the regular refs is that the league wants to be able to make officials that have a history of blown calls sit out a week or two and the union says no way. Yet many here are tired of all the blown calls……..danged if they do and danged if they don’t seems to me.
pioneer
September 25th, 2012
4:28 pm
It’s entertainment more than sport; the E is before the S at the mother ship. Fantasy and Vegas, talking heads in between TV commercials run the business. Does it make any difference who referees? Or wins? I’d much rather support big-time high school teams for the sport, or Premier League, and use NFL as background noise on the patio on Sunday afternoon.
George Bush
September 25th, 2012
4:31 pm
It is all Clinton’s faulty. The financial meltdown, the housing crash, the stock market crash, then the great recession, and the debt, and now the replacement refs.
Billyho55
September 25th, 2012
4:32 pm
JSS,
I TRIED TO GIVE YOU MY RESPECT FOR KEEP COMING BACK, WEEK AFTER WEEK, BUT THE BLOG MONSTER ATE MY POST!
Realtycheck
September 25th, 2012
4:32 pm
Time hates unions. You can catch him every morning at Home Depot picking up illegal aliens to do his work for him.
Delbert D.
September 25th, 2012
4:36 pm
Get rid of the replay system. When you try to get down to the quantum level to determine if a player had control of a ball before it hit the ground, that’s absurd. When you look at to see if a player stepped out of bounds within 1/8 of an inch, that’s insane. Get back to a 60 minute game with allotted time outs for each team.
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
September 25th, 2012
4:40 pm
The players are playing the refs from kickoff to the final horn. Hell we’re seeing flags being thrown when the players are on their way back to the huddle. The ruffing the passer before the TD was a damn joke at best. The LINE JUDGE called the final play and he also called the pass interference on GB that was a mugging by the Seahawk receiver. The NFL should have a guy up in the booth that can override a call even a pass interference until the get the stike handled. Just suspend the normal rules and get it right for now. The striking Refs have all the leverage now after last night.
Uncle Tom
September 25th, 2012
4:43 pm
As far as I’m concerned, I haven’t given a rip about the NFL since Jerry Glanville and Michael Vick rode into town.
tell the truth
September 25th, 2012
4:43 pm
This is all the fault of the NFL owners- they are determined to bust the refs union. They could not care less about the joke that now exists on the field. Build a new stadium for Arthur Blank???? Not if you put a gun to my head!!!
JSS
September 25th, 2012
4:48 pm
Be careful Billy… That is dangerous ground, brings out the 4 year olds…
tell the truth
September 25th, 2012
4:48 pm
DHD go listen to more of your right wing crapola on Rush or Buutz or Hannity- don’t want you to wear yourself out while thinking for yourself now do we? It’s amazing that someone like you would think that those of us on here would give a flying flip about your political rants. Go soak your head
BooBoo
September 25th, 2012
4:48 pm
For the idiots that think a lockout is different from a strike, the lockout is due to the group representing the officials (a union) refusing to take what the owners offered for a new contract period. The same rejection is often the case when the representative for the players (a union) demand more than offered. In both cases there is an impasse, where a strike is from strength (a war chest of saved money to pay the strikers during a strike) and a lockout is where management has the stronger position and tells the refusers, “We’ll do it without you then.” To call a lockout a strike is then only a technicality that only idiots bring up in blogs. A lockout is a strike by weak fools, who will only get their jobs back at the mercy of management. Reference the air traffic controllers “lockout,” where all those who went on strike were fired and replacements hired to take their places.
James
September 25th, 2012
4:52 pm
rivercard, what did I write about politics? This is a labor situation and that’s what I’ve commented on. While others might use this as a way to promote their favorite candidate, I’m only writing about the labor union responsible for this mess. Are you not able to understand the difference?
LeeS
September 25th, 2012
4:54 pm
NFL starting to look like pro wrestling
rivercard
September 25th, 2012
5:09 pm
James- i think your editorializing about unions went beyond the scope of football.Obviously your anti union position is the driving force behind your argument not the integrity of football.
If you are such a free market guy then surely you believe the refs should have some say so as to what their labor is worth. NFL doesn’t want to pay it – fine. They end up with an inferior product because they don’t want to pay.
Based on your world view I don’t know why they don’t just go get a bunch of ex college players who didn’t make the NFL, cut the current players, pay them half and in a couple of weeks – viola !! they will be as good as the current players
BooBoo
September 25th, 2012
5:14 pm
I responded because this was a front page news link. I did not know it was on the sports page too. Gee. Imagine that.
Bun is in the Oven
September 25th, 2012
5:29 pm
This just in NFL keeps replacements enjoy more comedy at your local stadium sunday….Have a drink for it….Someone goin get bad hurt cause refs are not callin the head shots that were outlawed with helmets like oakland game….they missin those Goodell will replace if one players dies durin a game….that would really make goodell wonder should i get real refs back now…
Meat loaf
September 25th, 2012
5:36 pm
Well its Football you have Divison II refs replacement some are cooks and police folks bartenders and stuff…I just bet if the refs were not strike and same thing happen nothin be said…Just sad Packers cryin we was rob at seattle…..and if atlanta was go 14-2 and make super bowels um Bowl sorry..typo there.They refs cheat and blah and this after all they human and was rush out no Trainin on rules for league….could be worst if CFL refs were doin games for us…..
Paul in NH
September 25th, 2012
5:42 pm
“States up north might still believe in communistic solidarity but here in the south we know better and that’s why our economy is getting stronger while the north declines year after year.”
The north is paying federal taxes to support the south
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/where-do-the-47-percent-live/
gofortwo
September 25th, 2012
5:47 pm
It’s time for a Class Action lawsuit against the NFL for a product which harms it customers.
Billy Bob
September 25th, 2012
5:48 pm
Since the ‘real’ refs are so good, why did they have the instant replay system when they were calling the games? And if they come back will we be getting rid of the replay system since they are so good? Did Golden Tate interfere with the GB defensive back when he pushed him in the back while the ball was in the air? Why did the refs miss that. Are they blind. Of course they are, they’re refs. Been blind for years.
James
September 25th, 2012
6:00 pm
rivercard, so basically anyone who doesn’t agree with you is out of scope and instantly guilty of discussing politics. Can I ask how long you’ve been divorced because with that type of “my way or nothing” thinking, there is little chance that you’re able to engage in the compromises required for a successful relationship.
Paul in NH, where did I write anything about taxes? It’s very interesting that when the subject of the economy comes up, you equate that with taxes. You know there is much more to the economy than just taxes, right? And if northerners are dumb enough to pay more taxes than they should, that’s their fault. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that they have followed the union piped piper into destruction just like the refs are doing for their careers.
rivercard
September 25th, 2012
6:13 pm
James – are you lucid? I didn’t say anything about you agreeing with me, simply that your going off on Unions with comments about North/communism blah, blah, has nothing to do with the competency of these officials. Again it seems your position is based solely on your”ideas/feelings” about unions.
Then you turn around and want to go all Dr. Phil on me.
Again why is refs holding out for what they think they are worth not part of the free market equation?
Ever give a straight answer?
JSS
September 25th, 2012
6:39 pm
@ Paul in the NH…
They’ll never admit that point…
JSS
September 25th, 2012
6:59 pm
Ha ha, so true… http://zipmeme.com/uploads/generated/g1348604104539780200.jpg
jimmyB
September 25th, 2012
7:24 pm
A couple of thoughts for you and Mark:
A thought that has never been postulated by anyone in the TV media or print or above unless I missed it is that the refereesunion or relatively rich replaced officials could be paying off the so called replacement referees to make bad calls… would only take a small payoff to a couple of guys to make everyone look bad. Plus pay off a few announcers… Ever thought about them apples? If you haven’t, you shouldn’t vote in political races, because you’re letting other people think for you.
Examples where the regular refs don’t interpret the rules correctly:
Search on definition of a catch and you’ll find that the catch must be controlled by the hands or arms. One handed catches must not be legal if you strictly interpret the text.
Another example of how the rules are incomplete or misinterpreted as shown in 8, 1, 3, 1 – Going to the ground and controlling the ball when you hit the ground rule – going out of bounds is not listed as a continuation of catching the ball, only “the field of play OR the end zone” is listed, so, one must conclude, that this rule does not apply while going out of bounds. The rule is often misterpreted, even by Mike Periera, the old offiicials that is on the TV every week blasting the so called replacement officials.
So, one must conclude, as with Mr. Fox of Denver the other day, who couldn’t count to 12, but wanted to blast the officials that got it right.
Nobody in the booth or on the field really reads the rules or enforces them, so shut up and play ball and back whoever is in the zebra shirts, regular or new, and the game will be better for us all.