Monday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens at Detroit Lions - preview and prediction

[PatsWickedPissah]

Re: Big MNF Game - Ravens at Lions 12-16-2013

I think the biggest change is the timing of these bad calls. More and more, it seems that the calls are having huge impacts on games. The Patriots have now lost to NY/CAR/MIA specifically because of bad calls (or calls badly made). That doesn't mean that the Patriots would have definitely won those games, but the poor officiating insured that they'd lose them.

Maybe Goodell can work on fixing that instead of worrying that he needs to fine players $50k+ when their perfect tackles result in a clinking of helmets.

All kidding aside (from me) Goodell really needs to address improving officiating. The inconsistency is a killer. I never understood why there needs be a sudden phase change in interpreting holding, PI….at the end of games. Noticed it last SB when the Ravens held the SF receiver in the EZ but commentators said "there're just letting them play". This season that philosophy has shown up many times with the major exception being the out of nowhere blocking call against the Pats on the Jets FG. Has that ever been called since?

 

[SoCal Pmen]

Re: Big MNF Game - Ravens at Lions 12-16-2013

I think the biggest change is the timing of these bad calls. More and more, it seems that the calls are having huge impacts on games. The Patriots have now lost to NY/CAR/MIA specifically because of bad calls (or calls badly made). That doesn't mean that the Patriots would have definitely won those games, but the poor officiating insured that they'd lose them.

Maybe Goodell can work on fixing that instead of worrying that he needs to fine players $50k+ when their perfect tackles result in a clinking of helmets.

I believe the league is looking for consistency and they have not had that this year with the officiating. It seems like there's no consistency in calls from week to week and then it gets rectified in the playoffs where they let the teams play a little more physical. Whether you're going to call a game tightly or just let the boys play, I would like for the officiating to pick an approach and just stick to it. Its very frustrating and reminds me a lot of the NBA where certain players get the benefit of calls (Lebron/Manning). I expect Flacco to get his share of calls next week as he's a classic chuck it up and hope for the best.

 

[Observer]

Re: Big MNF Game - Ravens at Lions 12-16-2013

All kidding aside (from me) Goodell really needs to address improving officiating. The inconsistency is a killer. I never understood why there needs be a sudden phase change in interpreting holding, PI….at the end of games. Noticed it last SB when the Ravens held the SF receiver in the EZ but commentators said "there're just letting them play". This season that philosophy has shown up many times with the major exception being the out of nowhere blocking call against the Pats on the Jets FG. Has that ever been called since?

I think you hit the nail on the head there. The refs have been so poor at officiating consistently that "you don't call that in that situation" has now become a fact of the game. And I believe that the referees themselves are adhering to that sort of a principle because even they think that is the right way to do it, probably because they have heard it repeated so often.

It has created a vicious cycle where the players are being emboldened to commit fouls at the end of games instead of being careful NOT to commit them. On the other hand the refs are probably afraid to throw flags because too many people would then complain "the refs decided the game", and "you don't call that in that situation". The poor and inconsistent refereeing over a long time has created this and the refs have basically lost their authority.

In my opinion the NFL is the worst officiated sport in all of sports. I hate the NBA but there a mistake costs 2 or 3 points, which is marginal (even though annoyingly frequent). In the NFL, they end up determining the outcome of the game with just one wrong call. Adds an unnecessary element of fortune to the game and takes away from its enjoyment. The reason people like sports is because they expect there to be rules that apply fairly to everyone. Nobody likes feeling cheated.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Big MNF Game - Ravens at Lions 12-16-2013

I believe the league is looking for consistency and they have not had that this year with the officiating. It seems like there's no consistency in calls from week to week and then it gets rectified in the playoffs where they let the teams play a little more physical. Whether you're going to call a game tightly or just let the boys play, I would like for the officiating to pick an approach and just stick to it. Its very frustrating and reminds me a lot of the NBA where certain players get the benefit of calls (Lebron/Manning). I expect Flacco to get his share of calls next week as he's a classic chuck it up and hope for the best.

Looking for consistency is fine, but they can't achieve that if they continually back the officials making bad calls, which they've done in the case of the calls against the Patriots. If they want consistency, they must set standards and stand by them. Instead, they hide behind shady logic (Carolina game), the 'letter' of the rule in cases when it was ignored earlier (Jets) and, sometimes, just pure silence.

The NFL is becoming a joke, and that'll eventually bite them in the ass. People put up with a lot of crap when it comes to following sports, but tipping points eventually come.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Big MNF Game - Ravens at Lions 12-16-2013

All kidding aside (from me) Goodell really needs to address improving officiating. The inconsistency is a killer. I never understood why there needs be a sudden phase change in interpreting holding, PI….at the end of games. Noticed it last SB when the Ravens held the SF receiver in the EZ but commentators said "there're just letting them play". This season that philosophy has shown up many times with the major exception being the out of nowhere blocking call against the Pats on the Jets FG. Has that ever been called since?

Nope. Never called before it. Never called since it.