The first word that jumps into my mind is inconsistency and it's league wide. Couldn't vote any of the others because none of them come close to the real problem and that is a lack of a consistent standard. Obviously that is hard when each ref has a subjective view and line of sight can be obscured., however that does not excuse the wide discrepancies on many plays, especially where the infraction or non-infraction is clearly visible.
The ones I hate most are the ticky tacky calls, which are technically correct but have little impact on the course of the play. A few examples
- illegal contact 6-7 yds beyond the line of scrimmage, especially on the far side of the field
- holding call where the opposing player has not been pulled or grabbed but has only been slightly turned.
and the not so ticky tacky:
- personal foul call where the tackling player hits anything other than the target's helmet (but not including intentional spearing).
These are often followed by the same infraction being committed by the opposing team and then not being called. That just makes them so much less acceptable.
I began to suspect that New York teams and media darling teams got the benefit of many of these misjudgments but then again I have seen similar calls go against the Giants and Jets so I was clearly mistaken.