Originally Posted by Brady_to_Moss

Unbelievable. The NFL makes how much and we are going to have these jokes out there?

Originally Posted by MoLewisrocks

I think Pete Prisco, who can be an ass but doesn't pull his punches, had the quote of the lockout. Put the regular season refs on the field with these crews and no one would notice any difference. The media has worked this up into a frenzy of criticism. They will do that to drive a compelling story line. And it remains chic to oppose the billionaire owners. Few fans were happy with the regulars. Ed Hoculi who is suddenly revered again in NFL reffing circles, had become a goat for his gaffs. Increasingly officials were impacting games with phantom calls and swallowed whistles and inconsistent inforcement to the point many of the current critics of their replacements were convinced the fix was in.

Same guys who won the CBA negotiation will eventually prevail here. The only difference is in the interim fans who criticize the officiating will find they have some strange allies who will evaporate once the expensive guys who also sucked return and revert to telling those fans and coaches who disagree with them they just don't understand the rules and are whining because their team lost.

Originally Posted by UK_Pat37

It's amazing how many people think face guarding is illegal in the NFL like it is in college...because it isn't.

The real issue I have with it is so murky...because when you face guard you're almost always making contact and can be easily called for PI.

As for my opinions on these replacements, I've said it a million times...how much worse are they really? Not much at all. They might take a while to work out how to enforce a penalty or whatever, but I'd sooner see that and see them getting it right than them making outright howler. As mentioned already as well, they've been keeping their flags in their pockets so whilst you could argue their little conferences halt momentum, how many times has BS officiating and phantom calls halted momentum in the past? More times than I care to count.

Originally Posted by ForThoseAboutToRock

I'll disagree with you on the bumbling, indecisive communication. If the refs are going to make calls (which sometimes are crap, especially if it goes against your team), I'd rather they do it with some confidence and alacrity instead of the inconsistent, faltering way it's been done a few notable times in pre-season.

I think that if we were given a blinded study of whether a particular game officiated by guys in ski masks was done by these replacement refs or the old ones, few would be able to tell the difference. Every potentially game changing call will have some controversy surrounding it.

Originally Posted by MoLewisrocks

The media has worked this up into a frenzy of criticism. They will do that to drive a compelling story line. And it remains chic to oppose the billionaire owners. Few fans were happy with the regulars. Ed Hoculi who is suddenly revered again in NFL reffing circles, had become a goat for his gaffs. Increasingly officials were impacting games with phantom calls and swallowed whistles and inconsistent inforcement to the point many of the current critics of their replacements were convinced the fix was in.

Originally Posted by DaBronxPats14

I'm no Nostradamus but this has DISASTER written AL OVER IT! Bad enough regular refs were bad enough this is gonna cost someone a divisional game and slow up games just on basic calls like spotting a ball, time-outs called in time, red flag issues not mention them goin under hood.
hopefully we won't get screwed out of a game because a call makes a difference in a win or loss.

Originally Posted by MoLewisrocks

I think Pete Prisco, who can be an ass but doesn't pull his punches, had the quote of the lockout. Put the regular season refs on the field with these crews and no one would notice any difference. The media has worked this up into a frenzy of criticism. They will do that to drive a compelling story line. And it remains chic to oppose the billionaire owners. Few fans were happy with the regulars. Ed Hoculi who is suddenly revered again in NFL reffing circles, had become a goat for his gaffs. Increasingly officials were impacting games with phantom calls and swallowed whistles and inconsistent inforcement to the point many of the current critics of their replacements were convinced the fix was in.

Same guys who won the CBA negotiation will eventually prevail here. The only difference is in the interim fans who criticize the officiating will find they have some strange allies who will evaporate once the expensive guys who also sucked return and revert to telling those fans and coaches who disagree with them they just don't understand the rules and are whining because their team lost.