The one thing that could make me quit watching football summed up in a tweet
I've been bitching about penalties a lot in the past couple of years. Going into the Lions game last Sunday, I was anticipating the Vikings getting hosed by "make-up penalties" for the way the Lions were screwed against Green Bay. I was bitching about it even before kickoff.
I've been wondering if maybe it's just me. It seems like, to me, more and more games are being decided by bullshit calls than ever before. I didn't have any proof that there was an increase in penalties now as compared to the past, until I read that tweet this morning.
It almost ruins the game to constantly have penalties disrupt the flow. Obvious penalties have to be called but a lot of the calls are ticky-tack bullshit that erases a touchdown or just kills momentum. I hate that I spend energy hating on the refs while I should be enjoying my weekly football fix.
Maybe the NFL will hear the noise and challenge the refs to use more common sense.
something. def. needs to. change. everyone is talking. about it. and. more and. more people. are seeing that. some. teams. benefit. more. than. other. teams. from. the. officiating
It is my #1 annoyance as well. Even watching high school, when the refs inject themselves constantly into the game, it makes it so hard to watch. Let the kids play.
In the NFL, it is the culture of over-reaction, of instant access. They think they have to fix ever issue instantly. Like the obvious missed PI call against NO. It happens. Back in 2010, they didn't suddenly change the rules because Favre was hurt. Now if Rodgers gets dinged, we have new rules. If the refs miss a call, then we need to make subjective calls reviewable.
Something inherently wrong with hearing "The play is being reviewed IN NEW YORK"
Something needs to be done! What? i don’t know!
Less penalties doesn’t mean a more fairly called game. We all see the Packers OL get away with a mugging of our DL every single game.
So more penalties against the Packers would be in order.
To me, it isn’t just the amount of penalties, but when they are called. The Packers drive for the win against the Lions would be an example, or the TD called back against the Vikings during the Packers game.
It is more the bias of the flag more than the number of flags.
@"greediron" said:A buddy of mine used to ref high school games. His attitude was that he wasn’t going to call anything unless it was over the top. While that does let the kids play, it could also benefit one team over the other and the next time when a ref wants to call everything, those same kids wonder why they could do it the game before, but not this game. There are rules for a reason, clean play should be taught and encouraged.It is my #1 annoyance as well. Even watching high school, when the refs inject themselves constantly into the game, it makes it so hard to watch. Let the kids play. In the NFL, it is the culture of over-reaction, of instant access. They think they have to fix ever issue instantly. Like the obvious missed PI call against NO. It happens. Back in 2010, they didn't suddenly change the rules because Favre was hurt. Now if Rodgers gets dinged, we have new rules. If the refs miss a call, then we need to make subjective calls reviewable.
@"Vanguard83" said: Something inherently wrong with hearing "The play is being reviewed IN NEW YORK"It's like the Wizzard of Oz. Some dweeb behind the curtain is pulling the strings. No chance of corruption or ineptitude there I am sure!
I'm still pissed about the review of something that wasn't called on the field. The intent of the review is to see if it was a TD or not period!
@"Riphawkins" said:I agree on the clean play and playing within the rules needs to be emphasized. But there are so many times when the refs go beyond that and really disrupt the flow of the game. And in a sluggish game, it probably leads to worse play and more penalties.@"greediron" said:It is my #1 annoyance as well. Even watching high school, when the refs inject themselves constantly into the game, it makes it so hard to watch. Let the kids play. In the NFL, it is the culture of over-reaction, of instant access. They think they have to fix ever issue instantly. Like the obvious missed PI call against NO. It happens. Back in 2010, they didn't suddenly change the rules because Favre was hurt. Now if Rodgers gets dinged, we have new rules. If the refs miss a call, then we need to make subjective calls reviewable.A buddy of mine used to ref high school games. His attitude was that he wasn’t going to call anything unless it was over the top. While that does let the kids play, it could also benefit one team over the other and the next time when a ref wants to call everything, those same kids wonder why they could do it the game before, but not this game. There are rules for a reason, clean play should be taught and encouraged.
Ban all rules except time, down, distance etc.
Let them maul each other all game...Hell, it worked in the '70's
I think we need to start differentiating between the refs being bad individually and the way in which the league wants the refs to call the game being bad. JMO, but the refs arent any worse now than when I first started watching in the 80's. What is worse is all of the offensively skewed rules that have been added/tweaked in the last 15 or so years. Like it or not people want to see high powered offense and so the league obliged by tilting the field to the offense with these rules.
@"bigbone62" said: I think we need to start differentiating between the refs being bad individually and the way in which the league wants the refs to call the game being bad. JMO, but the refs arent any worse now than when I first started watching in the 80's. What is worse is all of the offensively skewed rules that have been added/tweaked in the last 15 or so years. Like it or not people want to see high powered offense and so the league obliged by tilting the field to the offense with these rules.Agreed. And the changes every season that they have to push at the beginning of the season to sway the pendulum and then back off. Like tackling the QB last year and the reviewable PI this year. It makes the refs unsure of what they are supposed to call.
Not only that but players are looking around to see if the flag is on them. I know players look around for the flag but it's different now because the refs don't even know what they are calling. There are so many late flags and ref conferences because of inconsistencies and rule changes. And that's another thing, quit fucking with the rules. It's like no one knows what pass interference is now. And then you get New York deciding the call. The extra flags definitely mess with the flow and momentum.
I fondly remember playing H.S. football back in the 70s. Every guy in H.S. wanted to play and have the chance to just unload on someone's ass. Some massive hitting going on and hardly any flags. Maybe off sides or something simple like that. Even the opposing quarterback was a standing target. Not like today by no means...
Dan Orlovsky was a crap QB but he's a great commentator for ESPN He said earlier this month that CTE won't ruin the League, bad officiating will. I think he's right. And it's in part caused by the non-stop tinkering with the rules.
I suggest you guys check out Packers Football. You might like that; the refs have let their offensive line "just play" since 1993...
There has been an awful lot of talk about officiating lately (which is good). Especially since the Saints-Rams fiasco last year. I'm hoping the NFL is paying attention to the negative reactions. Hell, even Tom Brady tweeted that he couldn't finish watching a Thursday Night game because of the penalties.
And that bullshit offensive PI against Cook on Digg's touchdown still gripes my ass.
Wow. Good to know.
I think of it this way.
Since Zim arrived in 2014 the way he coaches and his players perform on defense has changed significantly.
IMO the rule changes that began last year neutered the Vikings ability to physically defend.
@"jargomcfargo" said:@"Vanguard83" said: Something inherently wrong with hearing "The play is being reviewed IN NEW YORK" It's like the Wizzard of Oz. Some dweeb behind the curtain is pulling the strings. No chance of corruption or ineptitude there I am sure!I'm still pissed about the review of something that wasn't called on the field. The intent of the review is to see if it was a TD or not period!
Review the catch or score but to comb back through the entire play is absolutely idiotic. To take a score away just because the refs missed a minor penalty that didn’t effect the TD is a good way to cause people to turn off their TVs and do something else.
@"greediron" said:100% my thought on what all of the rules impacting refs and how they are perceived.7 of 40 is what coaches are with the PI challenge this season. Feels like there were 4 challenges upheld in the first two weeks. So not a good shot at winning these challenges after week 2. From weeks 3-6 coaches were 1-21.@"bigbone62" said: I think we need to start differentiating between the refs being bad individually and the way in which the league wants the refs to call the game being bad. JMO, but the refs arent any worse now than when I first started watching in the 80's. What is worse is all of the offensively skewed rules that have been added/tweaked in the last 15 or so years. Like it or not people want to see high powered offense and so the league obliged by tilting the field to the offense with these rules. Agreed. And the changes every season that they have to push at the beginning of the season to sway the pendulum and then back off. Like tackling the QB last year and the reviewable PI this year. It makes the refs unsure of what they are supposed to call.
Well, I attribute most of the "new" penalty enforcement as a microcosm of our societal slobbering devotion to technology. Look at YouTube. Every time some knucklehead gets pulled over for speeding, out pops the cell phone video recording every word and picture of the "injustice" they are undergoing. We're looking for ironclad proof to right every perceived wrong...judgement is no longer an option.
With cameras covering every inch of the field...even embedded along the sidelines to record the slightest centimeter of a foot touching the boundary marker, refs are scrutinized ad infinitum for every call they make. Hell, even the POS coach for the Ain'ts whips the Louisiana legislature into enough of a frenzy to have them pass a resolution to brow beat the NFL suits into submission. Now we have phantom "offensive interference" calls in almost every game. (I agree with the announcer for the Vikes game last week vs. the Eagles, if both players are handsy on the play, they shouldn't throw a flag.)
So that genie is out of the bottle, folks, and it ain't going away. If a pass interference non-call is subject to review, will holding calls missed by the refs but caught on camera be next?
I think the Gambling on pro football has a lot to do with all these extra penalties being called along with reviews and super slow motion replays. Gamblers have a hard time swallowing losses to bad calls. Thing is, they still make the wrong calls!!!!
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