It seems as though every football player, coach, and enthusiast agrees that the temporary replacement officials in the NFL have made more horrible calls than one could count in only the first few weeks of the 2012 regular season. Some seem to want to see the heads of these refs atop a series of pikes outside the entrance of each stadium, and some simply recognize that these refs simply aren't experienced enough to handle what has proven to be a much tougher job than many originally assumed. Regardless of the reason, most commentators agree that getting the real NFL referees back could not happen soon enough as the calls and non-calls made by the replacements are drastically changing the game. Let's take a look at how.
Remember the elite, pass-heavy offenses of the 2011 season and the elite quarterbacks that led them? The Saints, the Patriots, the Packers, and even the Giants and Lions put up an unprecedented amount of passing yards and passing touchdowns as the result of recent changes in the rules of the game that protect receivers and quarterbacks. Here we are less than a year later, and most of those elite passing teams currently have losing records--especially the ones led by the top 3 elite quarterbacks. The Saints have extenuating circumstances as a result of the loss of their head coach, but the Patriots are 1-2 as are the Lions and Packers (even though they really won that game they still looked offensively anemic compared to last year). I blame this in large part on the replacement referees. In some games, the referees have thrown far too many flags, but somehow they manage to miss huge, game-changing calls by virtue of the fact that they appear to be poorly versed in the technicalities and wording of the NFL rulebook. I'm sure there have been many more missed calls and bad calls than I've seen, but there have been a few that I've seen thus far that illustrate the ill-prepared current state of the replacement officials:
1. RAVENS AT EAGLES- Some readers may roll their eyes at me mentioning this particular call first, but I think it's an important example of an instance of a referee simply not knowing the technical points of a particular rule. Jacoby Jones was in tight physical coverage by an Eagles cornerback toward the back right corner of the endzone. Flacco lofted a pass to Jones at which point Jones jumped up to catch the ball. The cornerback had been draped all over Jones and appeared clearly to have interfered with the pass, but Jones was able to push off of the corner to free himself to make the catch. Jacoby was called for offensive pass interference soon thereafter. Now Jones did push off of the cornerback a bit, but only after he was being interfered with seconds earlier. The point that made this penalty call unusual was that the cornerback never turned to the ball to make himself an eligable receiver thus making an offensive pass interference call impossible...if you're going by the rules. Well that didn't stop THIS particular referee, and the Ravens ended up losing by a single point.
2. BENGALS AT REDSKINS- Despite the loss to Cincy, Robert Griffin III still looked good. For a rookie QB playing on a team that hasn't been a contender for many years, he's doing quite well. RG3 threw mostly short and intermediate routes all day, but the questionable play happened on the one deep pass he threw to a receiver running straight of the middle of the field with two defensive backs running with him stride for stride. One of the Bengals defensive backs interfered with and knocked down the Redskins receiver before the ball got to him, and a flag clearly should have been thrown. It's not that the referee didn't necessarily understand the rules, but he was officiating from much too close to this play to totally miss the call. In a game where one touchdown would have tied the score, the referee's blatant missed call ultimately put this one out of reach for the Skins.
3. PACKERS AT SEAHAWKS- At this point, I'm sure everyone has heard of this play ad nauseum--and for good reason: this was clearly the most tragically botched call of the season thus far (a fact that the NFL officially confirmed). On the final play of the game, rookie quarterback Russell Wilson heaved a hail mary pass into the endzone that was caught and hauled in by Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings. Seattle receiver Golden Tate then proceeded to put his hands on the ball that Jennings already intercepted and brought in to his chest. Both men collapsed to the ground upon which Tate attempted to wrestle for possession of the ball with Jennings. By the time the officials made their way over to the scene of the catch/pick, both men appeared to have a firm grip on the ball which prompted one official to signal a touchdown while the other official signaled no catch only a few feet away from his colleague. Now, I'm probably the billionth person to point out that for this to have been an actual touchdown, Tate would have had to have got his hands on the ball at the same time as Jennings. In that scenario, the tie would have gone to the offensive player. In this care, however, the replay showed Jennings to have full possession and control of the ball before Tate could even make contact with it. This, of course, resulted in a Seahawks touchdown and and Packers loss.
Had those been the only three major bad calls or non-calls in the first 3 weeks of the season then I doubt many people outside of fans of those teams would be complaining. The problem remains that these are simply just SOME examples of some the more egregious errors on the part of the replacement officials, but I could also mention the non-call on a helmet-led hit that put Darius Heyward-Bey in the hospital and or one that left Matt Schaub missing a chunk of his ear. The bottom line is that these officials are easily as bad with the calls that they DO make as they are with the ones that they miss entirely. Not only is player safety at great risk, but also is the integrity of the game. The recently enacted rules to protect receivers and quarterbacks have essentially been thrown out by an underqualified, inexperienced group of psuedo-officials, and this has been to the detriment of typically dominant teams that rely on their passing ability to win games. I am not a Packers fan, I am indifferent to the Saints, and I loathe the Patriots, but these games need to be fair and the team that plays the best game needs to come out victorious.
WEEK 4 PICKS
Making accurate predictions may prove an impossible task due to the choatic nature of replacement officiating, but I'm going to give it my best shot anyway!
BROWNS AT RAVENS- This is probably the easiest game to pick of all. The Browns are 0-3 and have never managed to beat the Ravens during John Harbaugh's tenure in Baltimore. Brandon Weeden has averaged 2 interceptions and only 1 touchdown per game, and Trent Richardson averaged less than 60 rushing yards per game as well. The Browns have, however, lost two of their three games by a combined 8 points, and the Ravens should be careful not to take them lightly. In the end, the Browns will have to go on the road on a short week in one of the toughest places in the NFL for road teams to win. PREDICTION: 35-17 RAVENS.
PANTHERS AT FALCONS- Falcons...yeah there's not a lot of explanation required on this one. The Falcons almost never lose at home, let alone to the Panthers. PREDICTION: 31-10 FALCONS.
PATRIOTS AT BILLS- This one may seem trickier because the Patriots are now 1-2, but they still looked explosive and efficient at times against the Ravens. I have faith that the Patriots will handle their divisional foe in the end, but it'll be a bump road as poor officiating has led to problems for teams that rely heavily on the pass. PREDICTION: PATRIOTS 24-17.
VIKINGS AT LIONS- The Vikings silenced a lot of people (including myself) that believed the 49ers to be one of the top two teams in the league early on. The Lions are ordinarily a dangerous team but lost a tough game to the 49ers and a crazy overtime offensive struggle to the Titans. This game will probably hinge upon the health of Matt Stafford, but I believe he'll play and the Lions will win this one at home. PREDICTION LIONS 27-20.
CHARGERS AT CHIEFS- Neither of these teams has proven as good as I assumed they'd be given their late season performances last year, but I think the Chargers still have enough offensive firepower to take it to the Chiefs on the road. Alas, it won't be enough for the Chargers this week as they won't be able to stop Jamaal Charles and that will limit Phillip Rivers' opportunities to score. PREDICTION: CHIEFS 24-21.
SEAHAWKS AT RAMS- Russell Wilson was given an absolute gift on Monday night and his luck will run out when his team goes on the road to face an improved Rams team that will be looking to come back strong after being thumped by the Bears. The Seahawks simply won't play nearly as well without homefield advantage and will lose in a close game. PREDICTION: RAMS 23-17.
49ERS AT JETS- The 49ers' run defense matches up too well with a Jets team that has struggled to find a rhythm passing against good teams. Combine that with the loss of Darelle Revis and this game could be a total blowout. PREDICTION: 49ERS 34-13.
TITANS AT TEXANS- Divisional matchups are often tough to predict, but I have a hard time seeing the Texans losing at home right now. PREDICTION: TEXANS 31-21.
BENGALS AT JAGUARS- The Bengals have looked good after being embarrassed by the Ravens in week 1. Expect more offensive acrobatics from A.J. Green and company en route to a solid win on the road. PREDICTION BENGALS 24-10.
DOLPHINS AT CARDINALS- The Cardinals have simply looked too strong to lose to a team like the Dolphins right now. PREDICTION: CARDINALS 28-9.
RAIDERS AT BRONCOS- This is a game where Peyton Manning finally gets back on track and limits his early game mistakes. The Raiders are about to join the Mile High Club if you get catch my drift. PREDICTION: BRONCOS 21-10.
SAINTS AT PACKERS- Sorry Saints, you haven't won yet, and you won't win in Lambeau. The Packers are still a good team and the Saints are not, especially on the road in harsh environments such as Green Bay. The Saints will still put up points, but their defense relies too heavily on home crowd noise to be successful in enemy territory...and without Sean Payton. Expect a shootout here. PREDICTION: PACKERS 42-35.
REDSKINS AT BUCCANEERS- These are two 1-2 teams that have had close losses and a narrow win. I also really like how RG3 has played thus far. My gut tells me to go with the home team here, but after watching the Skins narrowly lose to the Bengals, I think they're due. PREDICTION: REDSKINS 23-13.
GIANTS AT EAGLES- The Eagles will be looking to bounce back from being humiliated by the Cardinals, but the Giants will prove a formidable foe. The Eagles emerged from their game against the Ravens too banged up to handle the Cardinals, and playing the Giants won't be much easier. PREDICTION: GIANTS 31-17.
BEARS AT COWBOYS- This is one of the toughest games to predict this week as both of these teams have shown flashes of both dominance and ineptitude in the first three weeks. Both Romo and Cutler have been extremely inconsistent recently. In the end, I believe the Bears pass rush will be too much for the mediocre Dallas offensive line to handle. PREDICTION: BEARS 21-17.
Stay tuned for post-game analysis of the matchup between the Ravens and Browns. As always GO RAVENS!!!
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