Officiating

[upstater1]

Remember when the refs wanted Tom to win the Super Bowl? I bet you guys were less outraged.

Clear interference on Edelman should've been a 25 yard gain.

Of course, the Patriots were cheated by multiple calls this entire game, the most egregious being the illegal pick play that sprung Sammy Watkins for a huge game turning gain.

 

[upstater1]

I have a solution. Allow challenges under 2 minutes, give the coaches more challenges.

 

[captain stone]

Such an awful day for officiating, and probably the worst year I can ever remember in terms of the Pats getting hosed again and again.

While more cameras and sensors could undoubtedly help, some common sense changes would help more:

- have a ref upstairs and another watching TV, who can immediately call attention to a bad or missed call, and if it's clear let them overrule without replay, no matter what it is (penalty, catch, ball placement). The NCAA has some form of that.

- this ridiculous rushing to the LOS to get off the next play on a muffed reception has to stop. Like baseball let the coach ask for a pause so the team can look at replays.

- the refs also get a lot of ball placements wrong - I must have seen 10 of those yesterday which all mattered, a yard short of the first down.

- the clock between plays causes so many delay of games - a 30 yard pass and the team has to sprint down the field or they can't get the next play off, or the ref SOMETIMES puts another 25 seconds up there - come on!

- give the refs some discretion on late hits and other personal fouls so some can be 5 or 10 yards, not always 15 yards for an accidental touch out of bounds, and really none of them should result in an automatic 1st down.

- fix what's a catch, whether in the ez or not. The rules at the front of the ez are so different than the sides or back - just insanity.

- blow the freakin whistle immediately when a runner is ganged up on by 3 or more players

The probIems are partially the officials on the field, but it's mainly the league office.

When the Mafia were taking control of over-crowded sh!tholes such as Sewer York City during Prohibition & the Depression, they made sure the police & judiciary were in their back pockets in order for certain outcomes to be pre-determined the way they wanted them to be...

Same exact thing has been happening for the past 5 seasons, nearly to the letter.

 

[crawhammer]

I don't want to hear anything about Brady getting favorable calls in the postseason. Anyone remember the helmet catch by David Tyree in SB 42 (the one where the Patriots were going for the perfect season)? There were about 5 overlooked penalties by the Giants on that one ridiculous play.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Remember when the refs wanted Tom to win the Super Bowl? I bet you guys were less outraged.

No one on this forum was complaining about the roughing the passer call on Chris Jones when he hit him in the shoulder and not the head/neck area. A gift from the officials. But I'm sure there were bad calls on both sides of that contest like the Bengals-Chiefs AFCCG.

 

[captain stone]

It is ridiculous and has been for a long time that a multi-billion dollar business would use a bunch of fat dentists and stock brokers - amateurs all - in so critical a role. The games are not "rigged" - a ridiculous asssertion - but the reffing in general and certainly this past weekend has been lousy for a while. I would support a full-time, dedicated staff, carefully trained and regularly retrained - supported by whatever technology is fast, reliable, and feasible. To me that's the obvious solution to an obvious problem.

Not a ridiculous assertion... At All. The last month of this past season should've erased ALL doubt.

 

[reesebobby]

I don't want to hear anything about Brady getting favorable calls in the postseason. Anyone remember the helmet catch by David Tyree in SB 42 (the one where the Patriots were going for the perfect season)? There were about 5 overlooked penalties by the Giants on that one ridiculous play.

Brady and the Patriots got favorable calls over and over. Imagine this board if Mahomes was the QB in the tuck rule game.

 

[crawhammer]

Brady and the Patriots got favorable calls over and over. Imagine this board if Mahomes was the QB in the tuck rule game.

It got so bad the other night that I was waiting for a pick six against Burrow by a ref.

The tuck rule game was 21 years ago. Get over it already. Totally legit call at the time with the way the rule was written. Oh ****ing well.

 

[reesebobby]

It got so bad the other night that I was waiting for a pick six against Burrow by a ref.

The tuck rule game was 21 years ago. Get over it already. Totally legit call at the time with the way the rule was written. Oh ****ing well.

I am over it. At the time, I loved it because I hated the Raiders and the Patriots weren't yet a thing. I was responding to someone that said the Patriots and Brady never got favorable calls in the post season. That's stupid. Fans see what they want to see. Always.

 

[Chevy]

But they use your last point to give up on solving the problem - e.g. the reviewable PI was actually a step in the right direction but they abandoned it cause it wasn't perfect. Look at the NBA, a coach can challenge anything and the refs have the power to overturn anything, which BB has been asking for in the NFL.

As far as the personal fouls: again, I don't think the problem is with the officials' skills or their integrity, it's the speed of the game, so giving them more discretion is a good thing not a bad thing. Exhibit A is the out of bounds hit on Mahomes that decided Sunday's game. In that case I would assess a 5 yard penalty. A few years back they had a 5 vs 15 yard facemask penalty, which was a step in the right direction, but again they abandoned it cause it wasn't perfect.

I feel that a big part is moving away from "Can't make that call at this point in the game - it has too much impact."

See a penalty, call a penalty. No regard for down/distance/score/situation.

 

[XLIX]

It is ridiculous and has been for a long time that a multi-billion dollar business would use a bunch of fat dentists and stock brokers - amateurs all - in so critical a role. The games are not "rigged" - a ridiculous asssertion - but the reffing in general and certainly this past weekend has been lousy for a while. I would support a full-time, dedicated staff, carefully trained and regularly retrained - supported by whatever technology is fast, reliable, and feasible. To me that's the obvious solution to an obvious problem.

That would solve nothing. The NBA has full time refs. Have you watched any NBA games lately?

 

[XLIX]

I feel that a big part is moving away from "Can't make that call at this point in the game - it has too much impact."

See a penalty, call a penalty. No regard for down/distance/score/situation.

That's easy to say until a big call comes up. Then you have people screaming "the refs shouldn't determine the outcome of a game!!"

 

[Chevy]

That's easy to say until a big call comes up. Then you have people screaming "the refs shouldn't determine the outcome of a game!!"

And that's the issue. The refs didn't determine anything except that an infraction occurred. That's it. The players determined the outcome.

 

[Pats2000]

A TD catch should be the exact same as a rushing TD.

The ball crosses the plane of the goal line with possession and 2 feet down = TD, THE END, Possession can be 1 handed catch and your 2 feet can be outside the endzone in the field of play , but if the ball breaks the plane its over. At the back and sides of the endzone, 2 feet in and down with possession constitutes a TD

If the ground cant cause a fumble then the ground cant cause and incomplete TD pass as well.

What you said is basically already the rule.

a. secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and

b. touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and

c. after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, performs any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so.

 

[PaulThePat]

Anyone remember the helmet catch by David Tyree in SB 42

Yes. Every living Pat's fan. Now please stop mentioning it.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Refs need to stop allowing T's to not only lineup 5 yards off the LOS, but jump early prior to the snap.

They also need to cut out defenders who jump on tackled players like Cassius Marsh would do to feel like he did something on the play.

 

[Spiral]

Such an awful day for officiating, and probably the worst year I can ever remember in terms of the Pats getting hosed again and again.

While more cameras and sensors could undoubtedly help, some common sense changes would help more:

- have a ref upstairs and another watching TV, who can immediately call attention to a bad or missed call, and if it's clear let them overrule without replay, no matter what it is (penalty, catch, ball placement). The NCAA has some form of that.

- this ridiculous rushing to the LOS to get off the next play on a muffed reception has to stop. Like baseball let the coach ask for a pause so the team can look at replays.

- the refs also get a lot of ball placements wrong - I must have seen 10 of those yesterday which all mattered, a yard short of the first down.

- the clock between plays causes so many delay of games - a 30 yard pass and the team has to sprint down the field or they can't get the next play off, or the ref SOMETIMES puts another 25 seconds up there - come on!

- give the refs some discretion on late hits and other personal fouls so some can be 5 or 10 yards, not always 15 yards for an accidental touch out of bounds, and really none of them should result in an automatic 1st down.

- fix what's a catch, whether in the ez or not. The rules at the front of the ez are so different than the sides or back - just insanity.

- blow the freakin whistle immediately when a runner is ganged up on by 3 or more players

The probIems are partially the officials on the field, but it's mainly the league office.

I"m not saying the games are fixed, but here are my tells to determine if the NFL wants one team to win more than the other: 1. Watch the linemen spot the ball. If you see that a lot of spots are way off, that's my #1 tell. 2. Look for the calls that aren't being made. Those don't show up on the stat sheet. I saw both yesterday.

 

[bresna]

I am over it. At the time, I loved it because I hated the Raiders and the Patriots weren't yet a thing. I was responding to someone that said the Patriots and Brady never got favorable calls in the post season. That's stupid. Fans see what they want to see. Always.

The tuck ruling wasn't a "favorable call" - it was the correct call. There's a huge difference between the two.

 

[upstater1]

Brady and the Patriots got favorable calls over and over. Imagine this board if Mahomes was the QB in the tuck rule game.

Tuck rule game doesn't even happen if not for the tuck rule called AGAINST the Patriots when they lost to the Jets and testaverde fumbled. If the Patriots win that game that turned on the tuck rule, they don't play the Raiders.

You have no clue about the Patriots, do you?

 

[reesebobby]

Tuck rule game doesn't even happen if not for the tuck rule called AGAINST the Patriots when they lost to the Jets and testaverde fumbled. If the Patriots win that game that turned on the tuck rule, they don't play the Raiders.

You have no clue about the Patriots, do you?

Yes. I have a clue about the Patriots. They have benefited from a lot of questionable calls in big situations. Same as everyone else that has played in big games. The tuck rule. The Jesse James catch. The Chris Jones roughing. I didn't say the calls were wrong. Just that they were questionable calls that went the Patriots way. And certainly the rest of the league has felt that the Patriots have benefited more than anyone else. So it's kinda funny now to hear you all talk about how the league is rigged suddenly.