NFL Officiating

I sat down and watched the Steelers game yesterday, and it just seems like every game I see these days has a number of blown calls. Now, in the Steelers game, I don't think that the blown calls really effected the game-- the missed calls seemed pretty evenly balanced between the two teams. But there was a missed fumble, poor spots, odd calls, and so on. The thing is, when I was watching football in, say, the '80s, I was always impressed with how the refs seemed to get almost everything right. It may just be a coincidence, but it seems to me like the quality of officiating went down right when instant replay was introduced.

So here're some questions: Do people think that officiating is worse than it used to be? Is it because the game is faster and more athletic than it used to be, or some other reason? Should the NFL do something different, or should they just keep what they have?

It may just be a coincidence, but it seems to me like the quality of officiating went down right when instant replay was introduced.

I think being able to slow down any play, zoom in and agonize over it while watching the game has simply made the fact that the human eye is not perfect all the time more noticeable. People are prone to miss things and make errors once in a while, instant replay just catches it almost every time.

Poppinfresh wrote:

Do people think that officiating is worse than it used to be?

No. I'm usually still impressed with NFL officiating.

I wouldn't say I notice a bunch of blown calls but in the Eagles-Chargers game this week and in the Steelers-Chargers game on Monday night there seemed to be some flag happy refs. In the game this week there was one point where they threw a flag and then picked it up explaining that there was no defensive holding because the ball was thrown to the other side of the field, huh? Then later on our nose tackle Jamal Williams was called for holding. There were ticky-tack penalties called against Philly and Pittsburgh as well I just don't remember the specifics, but I think that's where they need to become more consistent. Basically if your going to let some stuff go let it go consistently, don't just randomly call a foul every so often for no apparent reason.

Do people think that officiating is worse than it used to be? Is it because the game is faster and more athletic than it used to be, or some other reason? Should the NFL do something different, or should they just keep what they have?

I'm a ref for youth & high school football, so I feel a at least a little qualified to answer this question.

The officials for the NFL must live up to incredibly high standards. The level of experience and skill required to become an official for the NFL is amazing. I don't know if you've ever called a game, but it's not very easy. Remember, there are 5 guys out there and each of them has specific duties, some of which require you to be focused on a certain part of the field. For instance, on a pass, the Head Linesman (guy on the side with the chains) must

1. Count the number of defenders and check off with the side judge (guy on opposite sideline).

2. Make sure that everyone is lined up in correct formation.

3. Watch for offsides, motion, etc. before the ball is snapped.

4. When the play looks like a pass on your side of the field, start running while watching for holding/interference. If the pass is complete in bounds, mark the spot and make sure that the head ref knows to keep the clock moving and if it's a first down, signal it and get your chain crew moving.

It doesn't sound that hard, but factor in coaches yelling at you nonstop, chain crews made up of parents/volunteers who just want to watch the game and other environmental factors (usually rain, up here) and it really is harder than it looks.

Also keep in mind that we usually get 'points of emphasis' every week or so. An example of this would be pass interference last year in the NFL. For me, it's usually a veteran giving a speech on recognizing holding, clipping, etc. These will be fresh in the official's mind during the game that weekend, so it's natural that you'll see more of them.

Wow, that was a lot of typing. If you guys have any more questions, let me know.

I think the number of blown calls, on average, has remained the same for the past decade and a half.

I think the numer of blown calls that we see, on average, has increased dramatically for the past decade and a half.

The pass interference call the refs called on Denver that lead to the Giants first of the two final scores was complete BS. The announcers couldn't believe the call either. It's questionable whether the Denver DB even touched the back of the Giants WR.

The call that gave the Rams a touchdown was absolutely the worst thing I've seen all season. What I can't understand (since I didn't see the game -- only the replay afterwards) was why did replay not fix it? Had the Saints already used up all their challenges?

Has the NFL suffered from what baseball is afraid of? Has the presence of IR reduced the quality of officiating since they always have the "eye in the sky" watching their back? Unfortunately, it does no good on penalties.

That's the thing; IR now means that whenever the ball comes loose, even if it clearly appears to be after the play is over, they still won't blow the whistle because inevitably it'll end up in the review booth. So what you end up with is guys hitting the ground, losing the ball, which is clearly a case of "ground can't cause the fumble", yet the team has to burn one of their two challenges because the refs won't blow the play dead and make a call on the field. What IR doesn't affect are penalties. These have gotten more and more inconsistent. Even tonight in the first quarter of the Falcons vs. Jets, they called an offensive pass interference for a tinier push than I saw in every other game on sunday. If they're going to call the push-off, call the effing push-off. Don't be so inconsistent. Same goes for defensive pass interference, and holding. Same with "illegal block in the back", which they tagged the Den. TE on because he put his hand toward an opposing player's back but never touched him. It's total garbage.

I was a little league umpire for years, and the one thing I learned and was taught over and over was "be consistent." That is, if you start the game with a wide strike zone, end the game with a wide strike zone. Once you lay the groundwork for what constitutes a call, stick with it. Seemingly arbitrary calls make for bad officiating in any sport, and lately the NFL crews are making some extremely arbitrary calls, often at very bad times. Jeff Triplett and his gang are especially bad.

I think that NFL officiating in general is pretty good. They don't miss a lot of "hard rule" calls. My biggest gripe is "holding", "blocks in the back", and "pass interference". These are more subjective calls and I don't really have a problem with the frequency, but rather with the inconsistancy of which they are called. If a certain action is a penalty, it's ALWAYS a penalty. It's not whether you feel like calling it or not.

I was watching some college football game this weekend that was REALLY poorly officiated. They were messing up easy stuff. On one fair catch, the actually blew the whistle BEFORE the guy caught it, and then he fumbled and the kicking team recovered. But because they blew the play dead, they made them re-kick it. You don't see stuff like that in the NFL.

Instant replay has also changed how calls are made.

Fumbles that might be incomplete passes are now almost always ruled a fumble, so that review can overturn it if it isn't a fumble (if they were to call it an incomplete pass and blow the whistle on the field, then review couldn't turn it back into a fumble, because the whistle was blown and stopped play. You can go back and "stop" a play at a certain point, but you can't re-start a play that you stopped on the field).

I think IR and now HD are making it seem like the officials are worse than they were in the past...when in all reality they probably are just the same..

I personally loath IR challenges and think they should be removed from the game... let the call on the field be the call on the field no matter how bad it was/is.

If anything it just further slows down the game and adds even more indecision and potential issues.. and it seems to further the amount of inconsistency in the ref's

I think the amount of flags and worse the discussions the ref's did in the first half of the Eagles/Chargers game was ridiculous... it seemed every flag had a 2-3 min 4 man discussion..

They were messing up easy stuff. On one fair catch, the actually blew the whistle BEFORE the guy caught it, and then he fumbled and the kicking team recovered. But because they blew the play dead, they made them re-kick it. You don't see stuff like that in the NFL.

Don't worry, he'll be hearing about it all week. We get reamed at the high school level for an inadvertant whistle... it must be 10 times worse at higher levels.

Don't worry, he'll be hearing about it all week. We get reamed at the high school level for an inadvertant whistle... it must be 10 times worse at higher levels.

It was funny, because it was the second time that it had happened (early whistle effecting the outcome of a play) in that game. Then, like 3 plays later a RB made a 3-4 yard run got stuffed, totally stopped forward progress for 2 or 3 seconds (no whistle) and then got stripped. I thought the announcer (Spielman?) was gonna break something.

Anyone watch the show on the NFL network where some representative from the Officials comes on to discuss the previous week? I keep meaning to watch it, but never remember when it comes on (I just see previews for it ever once in a blue moon).

You know what I would like? Two see two kick-offs in a row without a penalty. I don't know the specific numbers but it really *seems* a lot more penalties are being called the last few years than, say, in the late 80s/early 90s. And I bet on half of the kick-offs around the league there are penalties called.

You know what I would like? Two see two kick-offs in a row without a penalty. I don't know the specific numbers but it really *seems* a lot more penalties are being called the last few years than, say, in the late 80s/early 90s. And I bet on half of the kick-offs around the league there are penalties called.

I would blame this more on coaching rather than the officials. I don't recall seeing a flag on a kick-off or punt that wasn't legit. It is just really easy to block in the back when they are running around so fast.