Ref Accountability

[Crononaut]

So I was browsing a somewhat-related thread on Goodell, blackouts and conspiracies, and although as I continued to read I felt more and more like I had accidentally stumbled down some unwelcome rabbit hole into a world where logic had taken a healthy dose of LSD, it did reignite some thoughts I had following the game Sunday.

I think most of us agree that was a horribly officiated game. I should make the disclaimer that in no way do I believe the refs favored one team or another; by coincidence most of the questionable calls that went against us proved to be more costly. My question regards the fallout from a game like this.

In instances where the error was blatantly obvious and integral to the outcome, the NFL has come out to state that the reffing crew got it wrong. My question is what, if any, are the consequences for the officiating crew, and what options does a team have, if any, to file a complaint about the offending crew. Public complaints by the coaches at press conferences and the like lead to fines, but IMO if players are penalized post-mortem for dirty hits, shouldn't the officiating crew also be held accountable?

Is it that most teams have an "it's in the past, we're looking forward" attitude where it's just not worth their time, or are there significant barriers in place to prevent such a grievance? Any information would be appreciated; it just seems to me they hold an awful lot of power and I'm not sure who they have to answer to when they commit mistakes like poor calls, poor spots, and forgetting to plug in the replay system.

 

[Sciz]

Refs are rated after every game. In theory, the best refs throughout the regular season will officiate the important games, with the best regular season ref being in charge of the Super Bowl.

In practice, there are major questions about the legitimacy of this rating system:

Austro said in an interview Monday that he was immediately struck by something unusual about the choice, noting that every official is graded by league observers following each game worked, with every call made being deemed correct or incorrect.

This season, according to Austro, there were approximately eight instances in which Boger was initially given what officials call a ding, or markdown, for a particular call, only to have those negative grades later overturned. In other words, Austro said, if Boger earned the best grades among referees this season, he did so with the help of significant after-the-fact revisions from those doing the grading.

Super Bowl - Jerome Boger's Probable Pick as Referee Is Questioned - NYTimes.com

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Unfortunately a problem endemic to society today

 

[DeutschlandPats]

This why I love the Pats fans. Most fans will complain they loose because of ref. BS! Not us Pat fans though! we know what is up!! and bad calls any game might happen! Truly best fans on planet, next to Bayern-Munich fans :singing:


GO PATS!! :rocker:

by far most mature fan base!!!

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

I wonder how many games have been fixed since say the 90s. And if you say there is no such thing as fixing games...you are wrong

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Clue us unwashed into the pre-determined outcome of Pats vs Cin and save us the time

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Clue us unwashed into the pre-determined outcome of Pats vs Cin and save us the time

If he spills the beans on how it will be fixed, the Goodell will fix it the other way, since the secret would be out there and he'd have to cover the scent.

Proper conspiracy theories explain away every possible outcome as being consistent with the theory!

 

[Observer]

I think it would be cool to see a fan generated website dedicated to egregiously bad officiating calls in games. That might bring some accountability, especially since any set of fans only worries about the officiating that works against their team. But if everyone took a look at all the games, we would be able to see if there were patterns... are certain teams more penalized, is there a home field advantage... how the rules seemingly change between regular season and post-season, what the general level of inconsistency is, etc.

 

[mgcolby]

Part of the new ref CBA calls for a ref bench, if you will, and refs can be demoted during the season and the refs on the bench canbe promoted. It happened once already this season. This is in addition to the grading of every ref on every play to give the refs a weekly grade that ultimately determine postseason assignments and retention.

NFL downgrades ref Bill Leavy - ESPN

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I wonder how many games have been fixed since say the 90s. And if you say there is no such thing as fixing games...you are wrong

Super Bowl XL (Steelers-Seahawks) comes to mind, especially when you have a QB called for a low block penalty when he's trying to make a tackle on an interception...
Watching that game as an unbiased observer, it just smelled bad.........

Top Ten Controversial Calls: Super Bowl XL - NFL Videos

 

[UK_Pat37]

I think the NFL proposed something about having a couple of extra crews and a 'ref bench' so-to-speak but naturally the refs were dead against it. After all, it would have meant an increased risk to their job, and they wouldn't want that! I think the NFL eventually dropped that proposal during the lockout.

There's not much more they can do. The NFL have come out before and admitted when officials get a major game deciding decision wrong on more than one occasion, and the refereeing performance effects what games they officiate and whether or not they go in to the post season.

Referees are human. Mistakes get made. The league holds them accountable. We don't need any more than that.

The *****ing about the officials after a win is pathetic. Even more so after a loss. If you're game comes down to a bad officiating call, you haven't done enough as a team.

 

[PatsDeb]

Clue us unwashed into the pre-determined outcome of Pats vs Cin and save us the time

Roger Goodell's favorite fixing tactic (causing a power outage at a key point in the game) isn't going to work so well for a 1:00 p.m. game, so they might have to leave this one up to the football gods...

 

[Observer]

The *****ing about the officials after a win is pathetic. Even more so after a loss. If you're game comes down to a bad officiating call, you haven't done enough as a team.

So, if your game down to one play, then by the same logic you haven't done enough as a team?

What it it came to two bad officiating calls? Would that be okay too?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Part of the new ref CBA calls for a ref bench, if you will, and refs can be demoted during the season and the refs on the bench canbe promoted. It happened once already this season. This is in addition to the grading of every ref on every play to give the refs a weekly grade that ultimately determine postseason assignments and retention.

NFL NFL downgrades ref Bill Leavy - ESPN

Cool except we saw last year a ref's bad grades being erased after the fact such that he was in the post season. What's up with that?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodet?

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Super Bowl XL (Steelers-Seahawks) comes to mind, especially when you have a QB called for a low block penalty when he's trying to make a tackle on an interception...
Watching that game as an unbiased observer, it just smelled bad.........

Top Ten Controversial Calls: Super Bowl XL - NFL Videos

Had no dog in that hunt so made the big mistake of watching the game at a neighbor's house. A retired MD, he was unaccustomed to anyone questioning his absolute authority. Knew little about football but didn't know he didn't know, and took serious offense at my outspoken (heh) reaction to bad call after call against the Seahags. Worst SB officiating ever. Enabled Rthlsbrgr to win a ring despite a QBR of 22.

 

[nabwong]

We have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. That's almost as good as fixing.

 

[pencilneckgeek]

I think the NFL proposed something about having a couple of extra crews and a 'ref bench' so-to-speak but naturally the refs were dead against it. After all, it would have meant an increased risk to their job, and they wouldn't want that! I think the NFL eventually dropped that proposal during the lockout.

There's not much more they can do. The NFL have come out before and admitted when officials get a major game deciding decision wrong on more than one occasion, and the refereeing performance effects what games they officiate and whether or not they go in to the post season.

Referees are human. Mistakes get made. The league holds them accountable. We don't need any more than that.

The *****ing about the officials after a win is pathetic. Even more so after a loss. If you're game comes down to a bad officiating call, you haven't done enough as a team.

They could make the refs full-time employees, so they could put time into practicing their craft. It's amazing how spending time trying to get better at something can make you better at something.

 

[mgcolby]

Cool except we saw last year a ref's bad grades being erased after the fact such that he was in the post season. What's up with that?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodet?

Don't know, I don't work for the NFL...I would suggest writing an email or a letter to the head of NFL referees and then hold your breath while waiting for the response....it shouldn't be long.

 

[hughthehand]

After you watch enough Football, you realize that the Refs in the Atlanta game did a tremendous job, A+ effort.

They kept the game competitive right to the last play during a national telecast.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

(If you believe the game is corrupt, that games are fixed, and that refs have an agenda about who wins or loses, just skip this post. It's not for you.)

To what end is this "accountability" directed.

If you want to get the best refs for playoffs, there should be a fair ratings system. Hard to deny that.

If your goal is "punish" refs that make a mistake, what's the point? If you believed there were a pool of better refs out there that would step in if you just fired some, maybe. There aren't. So, what's the end game?

If your goal is to allow for games that are decided by official errors to be re-opened after the fact, so that outcomes can be changed, this is very dicey. There are some that may agree with this. It would be very hard to write a code that sets the rules out correctly. There are some limited protest rules, but by and large, most agree it is unpalatable for people to leave the stadium or turn off their televisions thinking there is a winner and then learning later it was wrong.

If your goal is to avoid complacency, this is a very good goal. This is a problem in baseball, in my opinion. I think there is laziness. I don't see this in football. I think positioning is outstanding. I think communication is good. I see lots of hustle. The problem is that refs make errors. You can't make them stop making errors by punishing them. This a core truth that every person in education or loss prevention will tell you, from those who train astronauts to those who train doctors. You can scream and punish and shame and even torture someone, but it can't, by definition, keep them from making a mistake.

You can incentivize someone into doing things other than mistakes, like hustling, asking for help, getting in better shape, having their contacts prescriptions checked, and, most important, continuing their education about the game and calls. But none of this is better than on the job training with wold class athletes at full speed. You can also disincentivize this stuff, but I think most now agree that the carrot works better than the stick -- at least in this kind of situation where there isn't a more talented pool of replacement refs you can point to.