NFL 2012

[Ingmar]

We would when they spot the ball. 

And how.

[ghost]

Some of y'all really don't have a grasp of probability or statistics.

I suspect the replacements are no worse than the regular refs in practise; people are just falling victim to confirmation bias in as much as they expect the replacements to be worse, so they scrutinise questionable calls harder, and hold these up as proof. If we made blind samples of penalty calls from the last five seasons and tested folk I'd willingly bet that people wouldn't be able to discern the replacements from the real deal.

You shut your mouth while we're getting all 

[MuffinMan]

He just has confirmation bias towards confirmation bias.

[Malakili]

We would when they spot the ball. 

And how.

This is my biggest problem.  Hell, I've been bitching about refs for years for the calls they make.  Its the fact that there is way too much waiting the hell around for the replacement refs to do shit that is my main problem.

[Rasix]

There's no confirmation bias, it's fucking terrible and hard to watch.  I was willing to give them a break, but it's nearly worse than the hyperbole.  They screw up the obvious and don't even notice the more subtle (if by subtle you mean a guy getting de-cleated on a pick play).

It's like watching a game where every position on the crew is manned by Ed Hochuli.

[ghost]

It sounds as though the defenses and coaches have definitely tried to capitalize on the referee changes. 

After watching coaches' behavior with replacement referees last weekend, the league determined it was unacceptable and put everyone on notice.

Asked what would happen if another coach berated another replacement referee this weekend, Anderson said: "If someone were to make that mistake, he would be flagged on the field and he would be hearing from our office in a very firm way."

[Paelos]

Some of y'all really don't have a grasp of probability or statistics.

I suspect the replacements are no worse than the regular refs in practise; people are just falling victim to confirmation bias in as much as they expect the replacements to be worse, so they scrutinise questionable calls harder, and hold these up as proof. If we made blind samples of penalty calls from the last five seasons and tested folk I'd willingly bet that people wouldn't be able to discern the replacements from the real deal.

You wouldn't be saying this if you watched the game this Monday Night. They are literally being told the rules by the coaching staff.

[ghost]

Was there seriously nobody better they could have gotten for this?  These refs have appeared seriously incompetent to my untrained and biased eye. 

[Nebu]

Was there seriously nobody better they could have gotten for this?  These refs have appeared seriously incompetent to my untrained and biased eye.  

It takes a special breed of human that enjoys being berated by millions of people on live television.  They're hard to find.  

I have to add... I played football for most of my life prior to the age of 22.  ALL of my negative memories associated with playing the game come directly from the fans.  I can't even imagine being a player or official at the NFL level.  Making calls at the speed of the NFL and under the intense pressure of the NFL must be incredibly difficult.

[ghost]

Clearly some people enjoy it though.  I know a ton of people that ref something. 

[Ingmar]

The way the NFL does it is just strange anyway. I think they're the only league where the officials are just contractors, not full time salaried? It seems like a really strange way to run a top-end professional league.

[cmlancas]

I've refereed football and umpired baseball for the last six years as a hobby.  Football officiating is by far the most stressful officiating because every call you make could have game-changing implications.

Baseball's different:  you miss a strike call or blow a timing play?  Odds are each team will have a chance to recover.  Miss a pass interference call that stops a drive and turns the ball over?  Completely different.

That being said, I guarantee they know the rules.  I think they're just hesitating because they're on such a big stage.  I know that even in high school games when a big play just happened and I have to explain it calmly I've choked up a couple times.

I've had run-ins in youth football with big(ger) name players and coaches.  Brad Culpepper in South Tampa and Jon Gruden in North Tampa (although Gruden was four years ago).  Even with 10- to 12-year olds playing flag football, it's intimidating when Chucky's in your face asking about a call (even when you've made the right one).

I can't imagine what that's like for a newly-promoted white hat on Sunday with the coaches, fans, and cameras associated with the NFL.

Edit:  Original post was too stream-of-consciousness for my taste.

[Cyrrex]

I agree.  I bet if you sat them down with a pen and paper and tested them, they'd do just fine.  It's the pressure of the stage that's getting to them.

[Segoris]

Great post from PFT regarding the comparison to regular vs official refs found here. It's in response to the WSJ's "audit" of the refs, but I think it applies to any organization attempting to downplay how poorly the replacements are doing.

The most telling part imo:

After the first week of games, during which the replacements looked the part, acted the part, and sounded the part, the aftermath resulted in multiple sources telling PFT that the average officiating errors per game exceeded 30.  In contrast, the regular officials had average mistakes in the single digits.

Yes, pressure could be a big part of it - and that sucks for the replacements as they have huge shoes to fill on the largest of stages - but that is even more reason for the NFL to pay the regular refs

[sickrubik]

Wall Street Journal article in question.

PFT article in question and in response.

[Segoris]

Doh thanks, I had the PFT article linked but was rewording my post and forgot to put it back in.

[HaemishM]

I don't blame the refs for sucking, I blame the NFL for putting them out front and center over what is in essence a few million dollars in pension funds. It isn't like the old refs are asking for things to change, or for MORE MONEY. They are asking that the pensions they agreed to be fucking honored. That's the core issue. Fuck the NFL in its greedy, $9 billion earhole.

EDIT: Forgot to add anything about last night's game. Probably because it was over before the 2nd quarter started. Dear God, did the Panthers' defense look inept, along with their O line. I really like Cam Newton as an athlete but he was overmatched. I noticed that his throws are SO QUICK - once he actually decides where to throw the ball, his arm speed is just crazy. The problem comes with the decision part - he takes longer than he will as he gets more experience, and his choices aren't always good. He shouldn't have thrown so many picks against a weak Giants secondary but he was probably of the "I got to win this myself" mindset after the shittastic way the defense played.

[sickrubik]

EDIT: Forgot to add anything about last night's game. Probably because it was over before the 2nd quarter started. Dear God, did the Panthers' defense look inept, along with their O line. I really like Cam Newton as an athlete but he was overmatched. I noticed that his throws are SO QUICK - once he actually decides where to throw the ball, his arm speed is just crazy. The problem comes with the decision part - he takes longer than he will as he gets more experience, and his choices aren't always good. He shouldn't have thrown so many picks against a weak Giants secondary but he was probably of the "I got to win this myself" mindset after the shittastic way the defense played.

The kick returner was probably thinking the same thing when he tried to force a play on those two kicks, dropping the ball both times.

[Ingmar]

I really like Cam Newton as an athlete but he was overmatched.

More like outnumbered. I keep seeing statements about how great their O-line is but that makes 2 games out of 3 where they've had issues.

[HaemishM]

Yeah, and this game they couldn't blame it on "not having a running game" like against Tampa. They actually were able to run the ball but when it came to passing... all bets were off.

[Paelos]

Yeah, and this game they couldn't blame it on "not having a running game" like against Tampa. They actually were able to run the ball but when it came to passing... all bets were off.

Cam was trying to run the read-option, and he was fucking up his reads. One of the better radio quotes today was "Hey Cam, you know what the read option is in the NFL? You have the option to read in the papers how you got smoked in that game."

[ghost]

If Newton would just play like an NFL QB he'd probably be better off.  And then he could use his running maybe once a game to catch people off guard.  The guy has a hell of an arm, if he'd work on it.

[Malakili]

If Newton would just play like an NFL QB he'd probably be better off.  And then he could use his running maybe once a game to catch people off guard.  The guy has a hell of an arm, if he'd work on it.

One of the problems with these ultra athletic QBs (Vick, Newton, even to an extent Roethlisberger) is that they are so used to just being physically superior and being able to exert their will on the field that they tend to make some poor decisions.  As much as I wish (as a Giants fan) that Eli had the mobility of one of them, sometimes I'm glad he just throws the ball away a lot. 

[slog]

[Nevermore]

Haha, that didn't take long for someone to make. 

[Nevermore]

So Philbin decides to do one of those terrible bullshit last second timeouts to 'ice' the kicker, thus negating the blocked field goal and giving the Jets the win. 

[Tannhauser]

Really Lions, really?  REALLY? 

[MuffinMan]

Really Lions, really?  REALLY?  

That was really strange refreshing the score at work, 27-27, 27-41, 41-41. lolwut.

[Malakili]

So Philbin decides to do one of those terrible bullshit last second timeouts to 'ice' the kicker, thus negating the blocked field goal and giving the Jets the win. 

I laughed. 


Also, on an unrelated note, the referees once again proving that they are fucking terrible.  Not because they are getting things wrong at an incredible rate, but because they just seem to take FOREVER to get things right.  Ugh.

[MuffinMan]

Are we trying to hit midnight with this game tonight?

[Nebu]

The NFL needs to give the regular refs ANYTHING THEY FUCKING WANT.   It's going to seriously start hurting them in the pocket if they don't. 

[01101010]

Good god this is turning into a damn baseball game. 

[Paelos]

Good lord, I turned it off because I was boring, came back to check the score, and it's still HALFTIME???

[MuffinMan]

Good lord, I turned it off because I was boring

I don't know if you can blame the game for that.

[ghost]

Good lord, I turned it off because I was boring

I don't know if you can blame the game for that.