The job being done by NFL referees is constantly under scrutiny and under a microscope. Usually after the game, fans and analysts alike sit there and dissect the missed calls, the outright blown calls, and the major issues they saw. This season in particular may be the worst ever seen regarding flags thrown on the field. Even the calls after refs have conducted their reviews have been horrendous. The NFL has since said they are going to start holding referees more accountable, but we have yet to see that happen. It’s apparent, and almost blatantly obvious, that some referees favor certain teams, and it’s not even like they are trying to hide it.
The Officiating in the NFL Has Become a Joke
To go over every game would take a long time, but there are some key examples that can be used. But we can just go back a few weeks to the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks game. There were a few plays in that battle that most fans and announcers/analysts were amazed at. The first one being the Luke Willson touchdown. It was ruled a touchdown on the field, and after further review the call was upheld. Now, with all of that technology they are supposed to be using, how is it that they missed the still picture of his rear end on the ground, and the ball about six inches from the goal-line? The announcers were just as baffled as most fans watching, but the play stood. Now Seattle would have probably scored from first and goal anyways, but is it really fair to determine that and not even give the opposing defense a fighting chance? No, it isn’t. The worst part about that call is, it wasn’t even the worst one in the game.
The worst call came when the Cowboys were driving and basically moving the ball at will. Seattle made a big third down stop and the Cowboys were lining up for the field goal, but the Seahawks had just called a timeout after their third down stop. Seattle had 12 men on the field and Pete Carroll was running frantically up the sideline trying to call a second consecutive timeout. By rule, this is an automatic unsportsmanlike penalty which would have resulted in a first down and 15 yards for the Cowboys/ Plus, the 12 men on the field would have also meant an automatic first down for Dallas. The officials are trained to ignore the coach trying to call a second consecutive timeout, but in this case, the referee stopped the clock to tell the coach he couldn’t call a timeout. How does that make any sense? That cost the Cowboys a really great chance at scoring a touchdown. After the game the referee said he made a mistake, and that “We gave the player every chance to get off the field.” So let me get this straight, you saw there were 12 men on the field, and instead of throwing a penalty flag, you stopped the clock and gave him the chance to get off the field? Yeah, that doesn’t sound biased at all. On the last drive of the game, both Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch went out of bounds on their first down plays respectively. What’s wrong with that? Oh nothing, just the fact that the clock didn’t stop and kept winding down. How can you be a professional referee and miss the simplest of calls? Let’s not even get into the illegal bat in the endzone that cost the Detroit Lions the game against the Seahawks, because, while that was an awful missed call, going into detail will just take too much time.
Monday’s night’s game was an embarrassment to the NFL, and its fans. Most fans will agree that the last time that many flags were seen in the matter of three hours was during the Olympic opening ceremonies. It felt like literally every play warranted a flag of some sort, and they were actually legitimate calls. There were bad calls on both sides and it was appalling to watch it in real time. The one play that really stood out was the crack back block call on the Washington Redskins. The poor guy literally fell, and rolled into a player and got a penalty for it? It is honestly starting to feel like these referees care more about getting their faces on TV and putting their stamp on the game than actually reading the rule book and knowing the actual rules.
There is a simple way of handling this, and most people would probably agree it has to be dealt with. These referees are part time, and they only work for the NFL during the season. Why can’t the NFL just employ refs year-round? It can’t be too expensive. Don’t say the NFL can’t afford it. There is no reason the league can’t do this. Implementing this would give the referees time to review film in their down time, work with every team, and get this situation rectified once and for all. It is getting tiresome trying to enjoy a football game when you believe you are one blown call away from losing, or even worse, having a game officiated by someone who wants to put his stamp on the game regardless of the consequences. The NFL has said they are going to start enforcing punishments to referees, but we have yet to see this happen. If they are going to be doing this, how are they going to penalize said refs? Personally I think they should fine them game checks the exact same way they do the players when they mess up. Let’s keep it fair shall we?
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