Officiating vice president defends quality of calls this season

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, on Friday released a spirited defense of the league's officiating, citing internal statistics that suggest officials have made what he called "a very small number of mistakes" in a season rampant with controversy.

"There is a perception now that officiating is not very good at the moment," Blandino said during a two-minute statement on a weekly video produced by the league. "But the reality is that the officiating is very good."

AND


One example of a call the officials got right, Blandino said, was a debated offensive pass interference call against New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski during Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos.

"He's going to go into the defender, use his forearm to push off, extend his arm and create separation," Blandino said. "This is a foul for offensive pass interference. Whether he uses the forearm or an open hand, the key is the extension, the extended arm into the defensive player to create that separation."

Any time a receiver extends his arm to create space, offensive pass interference should be called, Blandino said.

rest - http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14292215/dean-blandino-nfl-vice-president-officiating-defends-quality-calls-season

[TXBRONC]

Considering his position I wouldn't expect him to say anything different.

[Davii]

Considering his position I wouldn't expect him to say anything different.

Nor would I, but highlighting that particular play is good I think. Maybe it'll shut up 2% of the *Pansy whiners.

[TXBRONC]

Nor would I, but highlighting that particular play is good I think. Maybe it'll shut up 2% of the *Pansy whiners.

2%? That seems to be a bit high.

[Davii]

2%? That seems to be a bit high.

Yeah, I forgot the decimal point. Good catch!

[Denver Native (Carol)]

from article - he had some negative things to say.


According to Blandino, officiating crews are averaging 4.3 mistakes in roughly 160 total plays per game this season, based on the league's confidential grading method.

"We are talking about a handful of plays that have happened in high-profile situations," he said. "Those have been mistakes. We own them. We have to make the corrections and the adjustments to make sure they don't happen again."

And the following, which I agree with:


Blandino also argued that technological scrutiny of officiating has changed the way performance is perceived.


"The officials are very, very good at what they do, and it's a very difficult job," Blandino said. "They see it once in real time, full speed, and then we all get to evaluate them from multiple different angles with high-definition, slow-motion replay. So we understand where the standard is, and we are going to work to meet that standard, but our officials are very, very good at what they do."

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/newreply.php?do=postreply&t=602093

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

I really like the part where he called the Patriots sniveling and entitled whiners who seem to have forgotten the fundamentals of football.

[spikerman]

He's right. Those officials are the best at what they do. At my level it's hard and their level is exponentially harder.

[TXBRONC]

He's right. Those officials are the best at what they do. At my level it's hard and their level is exponentially harder.

I don't disagree but even if the officiating was horrible it's his job to defend the officials. That isn't a criticism.

[Valar Morghulis]

At my level it's hard and their level is exponentially harder.

Pervert

[MOtorboat]

The whining over officiating has reached nauseating levels everywhere.

[MOtorboat]

This is one of the best examples:


Except it isn't holding by rule.


Per the rulebook: http://www.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/15_Rule12_Player_Conduct.pdf

Check the picture again. Because the defender is obviously using a rip technique, holding will not be called.

People don't know what the rule is. Von uses a rip move repeatedly, and people scream bloody murder about holding. It's not holding. By rule, the offensive lineman can do what he does against Miller when he uses a rip, and I'd say when people are screaming for holding on Miller this is the case maybe 95 percent of the time.

[Joel]

He's right. Those officials are the best at what they do. At my level it's hard and their level is exponentially harder.
It doesn't follow from NFL officiating being exponentially harder that those doing it are exponentially better, or even necessarily the best. We have pro players and semi-pro refs, and the quality of each DOES necessarily reflect that. Throw in an NFL rulebook that changes literally almost EVERY YEAR and it's a tough spot all. I agree most NFL refs are far better than their rep, and that people complaining about their "incompetence" are often folks like Belicheat cussing last weeks excess timeout, or the guys MO referenced.

There are a few real boneheads out there though, and little chance of changing that as long as most refs have to keep their day job instead of spending all their free time pouring over the rules till they memorize every last intricacy. Sure the stakes are higher and the rules more complex at their level than yours, but how much difference REALLY exists between you and the guys doing it in the NFL?

As an aside, I saw something on ESPN a few days ago saying that Blandino's made referee fitness a priority, so they can run downfield with every play, and that the result has been a lot of turnover among NFL refs, leaving a staff that's mostly very old or very young. One example cited was the final play of the last Bills/Cheats game, where some speculated a ref who'd only been called up from college a few years ago mistakenly applied a college rule invalid in the NFL.

[spikerman]

Pervert

You get me.

[Northman]

I havent dwelled on it but i do think the officiating this year has been pretty bad across the board. But it is what it is.

[Ravage!!!]

I believe people were asking for the officiating crews to get younger. I believe that 20% of the NFL crews(officials) were replaced by younger (thus new/newer) officials. That's a pretty large turnover of people that don't have as much experience.

[Joel]

I believe people were asking for the officiating crews to get younger,and thus, I believe that 20% of the NFL crews(officials) were replaced by younger (thus new/newer) officials. That's a pretty large turnover of people that don't have as much experience.
That was the "fitness" issue noted earlier: Blandino supposedly felt many refs too old to keep up with plays covering lots of field in little time, so replaced them with younger less experienced guys who could stay with and thus verify all plays. I'm personally skeptical of his own experience: He's only 43, and his sole ref experience consists of doing booth review for a pair of SBs when he was a little older than Oz (that's reassuring, eh?)

[spikerman]

Officials are the only people expected to be perfect the minute they walk on the field and improve with each game.

[Joel]

While I get where you're coming from, there's no evidence Dean Blandino ever actually HAS walked on a field. That doesn't prove him incompetent, but does cast doubts on whether he should be in charge of ALL NFL officiating. Would you want to go to war behind a general whose sole combat "experience" was watching OTHER generals fight a couple major battles in his twenties and deciding whether to overrule them?

[BroncoJoe]

A native of Bellmore, N.Y., Blandino has spent his entire professional career in football officiating. After graduating in 1993 from Hofstra University, Blandino joined the NFL for the 1994 season as an officiating intern. Following the 1994 season, he was hired full-time as an officiating video assistant and then was promoted to special projects coordinator.

Blandino was an NFL instant replay official from 1999-2003 and was selected to work as the replay official for two Super Bowls and two conference championship games. He managed the NFL instant replay program from 2003-2009, including oversight of the system’s upgrade to high definition in 2007. From 2007-2009, he was director of officiating and the number-two person in the department, supervising day-to-day operations, including managing the support staff and the game officials' schedule, under Mike Pereira.

Blandino formed his own company in 2009 called "Under the Hood," which provided training and evaluation for replay officials. His clients included the NFL plus the Big Ten, Mid-American, Pac 12, Big 12, and Mountain West college football conferences. He directed instant replay clinics for the NFL and NCAA and served as a liaison to the NFL Competition Committee.

In 2012, Blandino returned to the NFL as a director of officiating, focusing on all aspects of supervising the instant replay program. He continued to work with the Competition Committee and also served as a liaison to NFL clubs in answering questions about officiating, prepared weekly officiating training tapes, managed other key projects such as editing the official rulebook, provided training for on-field officials, and participated in communication initiatives, including presenting the NFL Network’s weekly "Official Review" to clarify rules and officiating calls for NFL fans.

"Dean has been in football officiating for the past 20 years and has made it his life," Commissioner Roger Goodell said. "He is highly respected by our game officials and coaches for his deep and thorough knowledge of the rules. He also has extensive management leadership experience in the NFL and as a business entrepreneur. Dean is well-positioned to lead our officiating team and ensure the integrity and continued improvement of NFL officiating."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000137027/article/dean-blandino-named-nfl-vice-president-of-officiating

Sounds like a real novice at officiating. :tsk:

[Joel]

Right: He was an intern out of college, then a REPLAY official all of FOUR YEARS; he didn't make the real time full speed calls he and spikerman are talking about, he was "under the hood" REVIEWING them, including in two SBs (and a pair of conference championships; I missed that) before he hit 30 (which is scary as Hell, IMHO.) Then they kicked him upstairs based on that "resume." He's been in REPLAY the past 20 years of his life, nearly all of it as either intern or executive (nice career path if you can get it.)

[MOtorboat]

It's a conspiracy!

[I Eat Staples]

Officiating is hard, and I think most people are understanding of them not being perfect at seeing every single thing in full-speed real time. The two unforgivable things that happen too much in the NFL are officials messing up by not knowing the rules, and getting a call wrong even AFTER replay. The latter is due to the ridiculous "indisputable evidence" standard, which makes some calls unable to be overturned even when any reasonable person can look at the replay and make the call.

Examples of the former include the no-call on Seattle's batted ball against Detroit, not stopping the clock when Watkins went out of bounds in BUF vs NE (running backwards on your own is not "forward progress stopped" or "giving yourself up") and every time DPI is called for "faceguarding."

For me, I can live with bad calls/missed calls on the field. I can't accept when they get it wrong even after replay because they had to "honor the call on the field." Why should the naked eye ever be valued over slow-motion video replay?

[Joel]

It's a conspiracy!
I wouldn't go that far, but do find it curious that Goodell's in charge of the NFL because he (supposedly) knows how to avoid problems with state and federal rules, Blandino's in charge of refs because he (supposedly) knows how to avoid problems with NFL rules and BOTH are getting national criticism for the things they (supposedly) do best.


Officiating is hard, and I think most people are understanding of them not being perfect at seeing every single thing in full-speed real time. The two unforgivable things that happen too much in the NFL are officials messing up by not knowing the rules, and getting a call wrong even AFTER replay. The latter is due to the ridiculous "indisputable evidence" standard, which makes some calls unable to be overturned even when any reasonable person can look at the replay and make the call.

Examples of the former include the no-call on Seattle's batted ball against Detroit, not stopping the clock when Watkins went out of bounds in BUF vs NE (running backwards on your own is not "forward progress stopped" or "giving yourself up") and every time DPI is called for "faceguarding."

For me, I can live with bad calls/missed calls on the field. I can't accept when they get it wrong even after replay because they had to "honor the call on the field." Why should the naked eye ever be valued over slow-motion video replay?
Field calls set precedents; overruling that takes compelling evidence. More simply, however LIKELY something looks, if you're unsure you're unsure: So leave well enough alone. If you're upset with replay though, Blandino's THE guy to talk to, because that's literally the ONLY officiating he's EVER (albeit briefly) done, and why he's in charge of ALL refs.

[spikerman]

... and every time DPI is called for "faceguarding."

I don't believe I've ever seen DPI called for faceguarding.

[spikerman]

Joel, I don't understand the Blandino hate.

[Joel]

Not so much hate as doubt. Execs in their mid-forties always give me the willies, but doubly so when their "experience" is all of FOUR years in their twenties watching people on video. You've made more onfield calls than the guy in charge of ALL NFL officiating, and likely been in officiating business longer. So, since "At my level it's hard and their level is exponentially harder," do YOU think Blandino's qualified to run the whole leagues officiating?

[OrangeHoof]

Officials are the only people expected to be perfect the minute they walk on the field and improve with each game.

That's puffery. I got to fly in a cockpit once with an old pilot who told me he was used to taking lawyers and doctors on flights in his small private plane. When they got too self-important, he'd say to them. "What you do, you call a 'practice'. MY job isn't practice. I have to get it right every time or people die." He says that shut them up.

[OrangeHoof]

I have an issue with rewarding incompetency by making part-time officials into full-time officials, thinking that will make them better. The order-takers at McDonalds want to be paid $15/hr. Do you think the service will improve 33% or the food will taste 33% batter? No, likely they'll become more unionized, the employees lazier and the company left to cut corners elsewhere in order to pay for the increased labor costs.

[Mike]

My only complaint is when the refs are calling things one-sided. Call the game even. If you are going to call it tight, call it tight for both teams. If you are going to let them play, let both teams play.

I also think that they've made too many rules and it's made things a lot harder on the refs. I don't even know what's what anymore.

But mostly I'd like the refs to just let teams play and don't insert themselves too much into the game to the point where they are as much of a factor as coaching and playing.

[spikerman]

Not so much hate as doubt. Execs in their mid-forties always give me the willies, but doubly so when their "experience" is all of FOUR years in their twenties watching people on video. You've made more onfield calls than the guy in charge of ALL NFL officiating, and likely been in officiating business longer. So, since "At my level it's hard and their level is exponentially harder," do YOU think Blandino's qualified to run the whole leagues officiating?
It has no bearing on his job. He is asked to be an administrator. How many coaches played in the NFL? He can Monday morning QB just like the fans, but with a bit more of a discerning eye. Few of you realize how fast their game is. Yes, it's exponentially harder. How do I know? I have been lucky enough to be asked to work Division 1 college football scrimmages the past couple of years and that's MUCH faster and tougher than the strongest Texas high school programs (which I'm used to). As fast as that is, few, if any of them, are good enough to play at the next level.

[spikerman]

That's puffery. I got to fly in a cockpit once with an old pilot who told me he was used to taking lawyers and doctors on flights in his small private plane. When they got too self-important, he'd say to them. "What you do, you call a 'practice'. MY job isn't practice. I have to get it right every time or people die." He says that shut them up.
You're comparing flying a plane with football?

[spikerman]

My only complaint is when the refs are calling things one-sided. Call the game even. If you are going to call it tight, call it tight for both teams. If you are going to let them play, let both teams play.

I also think that they've made too many rules and it's made things a lot harder on the refs. I don't even know what's what anymore.

But mostly I'd like the refs to just let teams play and don't insert themselves too much into the game to the point where they are as much of a factor as coaching and playing.
I agree with your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs. When I'm officiating I make it have to be big for me to call a foul, unless it's a safety issue. Nobody paid money to come see me.

[spikerman]

I have an issue with rewarding incompetency by making part-time officials into full-time officials, thinking that will make them better. The order-takers at McDonalds want to be paid $15/hr. Do you think the service will improve 33% or the food will taste 33% batter? No, likely they'll become more unionized, the employees lazier and the company left to cut corners elsewhere in order to pay for the increased labor costs.
You claim it's incompetence. You should do some officiating to see what it's like to have to make a call without the benefit of replay. I think you'll be surprised at the difference from watching it from your couch or the stands.

[Joel]

I have an issue with rewarding incompetency by making part-time officials into full-time officials, thinking that will make them better. The order-takers at McDonalds want to be paid $15/hr. Do you think the service will improve 33% or the food will taste 33% batter? No, likely they'll become more unionized, the employees lazier and the company left to cut corners elsewhere in order to pay for the increased labor costs.
Who said anything about rewarding incompetence? Paying minimum wage means minimum wage workers, by definition: It restricts staffing to people SO incompetent they literaly CAN'T get any other job, else they WOULD. I bet your pilot friend earns more than minimum, and you wouldn't set foot on his plane if he didn't. But that's a different issue than part vs. full time though (except that 2 people working 20 hrs/week with no benefits are cheaper than one person working 40 hrs/week with benefits.)

Pro sports need pro refs for the same reason they need pro players: Because no one will PAY to watch players who spend ~250 days/yr punching a clock doing something other than practicing, going to clinics, watching film and staying in shape. Try getting a national network to pay a billion dollars for THOSE ratings. But the NFL tries EXACTLY that with refs; then we wonder why guys who earn their living doing something else 7 months/yr don't know the rules better.

[spikerman]

You guys would be shocked at the amount of time that officials at all levels spend on their craft. It is year 'round study.

[Joel]

It has no bearing on his job. He is asked to be an administrator. How many coaches played in the NFL?
Until recently, MOST did; it used to be a practically a prerequiste, precisely because of the experience factor. Even now, most still played at least at the collegiate level.


He can Monday morning QB just like the fans, but with a bit more of a discerning eye. Few of you realize how fast their game is.
He can surely do the first, but the second remains to be seen. How fast did Blandino realize the refs game is FROM THE REPLAY BOOTH, because that's the closest he's ever been.


Yes, it's exponentially harder. How do I know? I have been lucky enough to be asked to work Division 1 college football scrimmages the past couple of years and that's MUCH faster and tougher than the strongest Texas high school programs (which I'm used to). As fast as that is, few, if any of them, are good enough to play at the next level.
Yeah, I get that, and if we were talking about a former NFL side judge, line judge, etc. that point would be valid. But a guy who spent four years in the REPLAY BOOTH, then took an executive job? If anything, the game's SLOWER for him than for us (and MUCH slower than for refs on the FIELD) because he gets every angle and can run it back and forth as many times as and at any speed he likes.

Even THAT experience was just FOUR YEARS in his late twenties, yet included 2 conference championships and 2 SBs. If you were calling a AA semi-final or final, would you want a former intern <30 overseeing the crew? The NFL did that with SUPER BOWLS, and were so impressed by the guy they then promoted him to run the whole LEAGUES officiating. This isn't about ones opinion of refs in general or NFL refs specifically: It's about Blandino in particular, and his qualification to run ALL NFL officiating.

[Joel]

You guys would be shocked at the amount of time that officials at all levels spend on their craft. It is year 'round study.
While holding down a full time job? That seems unlikely; to the extent it's even possible it would leave them so exhausted and stressed their vision and judgement would suffer.

I can't speak for others, but I'm not going after any kind of "referee fraternity;" I'm more than sympathetic to the challenges faced by refs ON THE FIELD, especially with the complex and annually altered NFL rulebook. But NONE of that applies to Blandino, whose entire referee experience consists of four years in a replay booth in his late twenties. Regardless, the very difficulty of a FIELD refs job is why it should be a full time professional position, not a craft they can only hone in what free time their ACTUAL careers allow.

[spikerman]

While holding down a full time job? That seems unlikely; to the extent it's even possible it would leave them so exhausted and stressed their vision and judgement would suffer.

I can't speak for others, but I'm not going after any kind of "referee fraternity;" I'm more than sympathetic to the challenges faced by refs ON THE FIELD, especially with the complex and annually altered NFL rulebook. But NONE of that applies to Blandino, whose entire referee experience consists of four years in a replay booth in his late twenties. Regardless, the very difficulty of a FIELD refs job is why it should be a full time professional position, not a craft they can only hone in what free time their ACTUAL careers allow.
As an example, I'm just a high school/small college official with a full time job, and starting the Spring we start having chapter meetings to go over rule changes, points of emphasis, mechanics, etc. We also have the first of four to five clinics, usually lasting two days. We also officiate (for free) high school and college scrimmages. As we move to the Summer, we continue with the rest of our clinics to include an on field clinic and rules clinic. Also, we have our state meeting which continues our education. We also start studying for our mandatory rules test. Most nights we are studying both the rules and mechanics manuals which are both huge. In August we start with our Monday meetings which last for about 2 hours. We are required to attend 75% of them. Once the season starts, the only day we aren't active is Sunday.

Even at my level we put in a lot of work that most people don't see. We don't just show up to work the games. It's much more time intensive in the NFL.

[Simple Jaded]

So the Cheats get "screwed" once and there's a national panic?

Oh and when the pass rusher is using a rip move that doesn't give the OL the green light to tackle him.

[Joel]

As an example, I'm just a high school/small college official with a full time job, and starting the Spring we start having chapter meetings to go over rule changes, points of emphasis, mechanics, etc. We also have the first of four to five clinics, usually lasting two days. We also officiate (for free) high school and college scrimmages. As we move to the Summer, we continue with the rest of our clinics to include an on field clinic and rules clinic. Also, we have our state meeting which continues our education. We also start studying for our mandatory rules test. Most nights we are studying both the rules and mechanics manuals which are both huge. In August we start with our Monday meetings which last for about 2 hours. We are required to attend 75% of them. Once the season starts, the only day we aren't active is Sunday.

Even at my level we put in a lot of work that most people don't see. We don't just show up to work the games. It's much more time intensive in the NFL.
It's not 40 (or more) hours/week, 52 weeks a year, because they, like you, must spend the majority of that time doing something else to feed, house and clothe their families. Wouldn't you be a much better ref if that were your ONLY job, each and every workday of the year? My whole point is that the job IS far more demanding at the NFL level, yet THOSE refs get very little more prep and training time than you do. Is that enough to call an NFL game, let alone a playoff game or SB?

[Joel]

So the Cheats get "screwed" once and there's a national panic?
No, it's been ongoing for a while, but maybe the NFL actually cares now that the Cheats are whining; they weren't whining LAST week when the refs applied a college rule to deny the Bills a shot to do them like GB did Detroit. They insist the refs were part of an NFL conspiracy against them in THAT game, too, yet somehow never cite its final play.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

Dec 4, 2013 article - interesting, by Peter King

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/04/peter-king-spends-week-with-nfl-refs

[BroncoWave]

That's puffery. I got to fly in a cockpit once with an old pilot who told me he was used to taking lawyers and doctors on flights in his small private plane. When they got too self-important, he'd say to them. "What you do, you call a 'practice'. MY job isn't practice. I have to get it right every time or people die." He says that shut them up.

I'll take" Things that stupid people say" for 200, Alex. Because a doctor making a mistake totally never costs anyone their life. :rolleyes:

Also I would be willing to bet that most pilot mistakes don't lead to the plane crashing. That pilot sounds as self-important as the doctors and lawyers he is bashing.

[Joel]

Dec 4, 2013 article - interesting, by Peter King

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/04/peter-king-spends-week-with-nfl-refs
What they did for a week in MAY 2013 is just as important, and I bet very little of it involved football. The TEAMS are doing football stuff by then though, and the only reason they don't start sooner is that the CBA won't let them, but even that doesn't mean most NFL starters just sit around watching March Madness while munching chips and beer.

To be clear, I'm not saying NFL refs should devote every waking hour to football any more than player do: I'm saying we can't simultaneously expect perfection of them AND expect them to spend the majority of their professional lives doing SOMETHING ELSE to put food on the table.

[Joel]

I'll take" Things that stupid people say" for 200, Alex. Because a doctor making a mistake totally never costs anyone their life. :rolleyes:

Also I would be willing to bet that most pilot mistakes don't lead to the plane crashing. That pilot sounds as self-important as the doctors and lawyers he is bashing.
My mom retired from the TX AGs office, and likes to quote a common saying: The difference between doctors and lawyers is that doctors bury their mistakes.

[spikerman]

What they did for a week in MAY 2013 is just as important, and I bet very little of it involved football.
I'd take that bet. I know I'd win because I've been at clinics with them in the Spring and talked to them. Yes, they have regular jobs, but they spend a ton of time working on their craft. I'm extracting myself from this conversation. It's obvious that most people don't understand officiating and that's ok. I'm not claiming to be an expert, but trust me when I say there is another side to this.

[Joel]

Guess it depends on how we define "very little," but they'd spend far more time working on their craft if THAT (NOT something else) were their full time job: Their CAREER. How's that even debatable? If Von Miller or Oz worked 40 hrs/week at Piggly Wiggly or as an ad exec instead of working out at parks and in gyms, would everyone be OK with that because they busted their butts the rest of the time, and missing a lot of extra work wouldn't diminish their performance?

Don't pass this off as standard "refs are dumb" talk, because that's NOT what it is. I'm still waiting to hear how the NFLs semi-pro refs prepare more intensely than OTHER semi-pro refs, and saying they both go to the same clinics doesn't demonstrate that.

[spikerman]

Guess it depends on how we define "very little," but they'd spend far more time working on their craft if THAT (NOT something else) were their full time job: Their CAREER. How's that even debatable? If Von Miller or Oz worked 40 hrs/week at Piggly Wiggly or as an ad exec instead of working out at parks and in gyms, would everyone be OK with that because they busted their butts the rest of the time, and missing a lot of extra work wouldn't diminish their performance?

Don't pass this off as standard "refs are dumb" talk, because that's NOT what it is. I'm still waiting to hear how the NFLs semi-pro refs prepare more intensely than OTHER semi-pro refs, and saying they both go to the same clinics doesn't demonstrate that.
They don't go to the same clinics to learn. They teach at the clinics I go to. You are convinced that they don't put in the time; I'm telling you that they do. I guess we're at an impasse.

[I Eat Staples]

Field calls set precedents; overruling that takes compelling evidence. More simply, however LIKELY something looks, if you're unsure you're unsure: So leave well enough alone. If you're upset with replay though, Blandino's THE guy to talk to, because that's literally the ONLY officiating he's EVER (albeit briefly) done, and why he's in charge of ALL refs.

This is my problem with that: the refs HAVE to make a call on the field, even if they don't or can't see it perfectly. Often times you see a slight bobble or something on a replay that there's no way they could have seen on the field. You should only revert to "call on the field stands" if you literally can't see a clear angle on replay. Otherwise, there's no reason you can't confirm or overturn the call based on the video replay, which is MUCH easier to make a decision based on than a play happening at full speed.

[echobravo]

I have a buddy that tried being a ref for middle school football. He was in his twenties at the time and had played football in high school. The speed of what was going on in front of him, and keeping himself from out of the way was too much for him. He only reffed two games.

[OrangeHoof]

It's not 40 (or more) hours/week, 52 weeks a year, because they, like you, must spend the majority of that time doing something else to feed, house and clothe their families. Wouldn't you be a much better ref if that were your ONLY job, each and every workday of the year? My whole point is that the job IS far more demanding at the NFL level, yet THOSE refs get very little more prep and training time than you do. Is that enough to call an NFL game, let alone a playoff game or SB?

No, Joel. They WOULDN'T be better refs. Blandino is telling you they are ALREADY at the top of their game, missing just 4 calls a game so paying them full-time wages will not result in better calls. I DO appreciate that they have a very difficult job and, Lord knows, if you or I had a camera watching and critiquing everything we did at our jobs for 3-1/2 hours and second-guessing every little mistake we made, we'd look damn foolish too.

The NFL can afford to pay the refs as full-time employees. That's not the issue. The issue, to me, is the blind insistence that it would improve job performance. Should the NFL pay twice as much to reduce the frequency of errors from 4 per game to 3 per game? That's simply not cost effective.

Simplifying the rule book would probably cut that error rate down even the with part-time refs they already have. Besides, many calls of their type are simply subjective. Two refs from two viewpoints can see the same play and draw different conclusions. Was that a catch or not? Was that holding or not? Was it interference or not? If you get only one look at full speed before you decide to throw the flag or not, there will be mistakes. That's only human. You can't remove the human element from officiating and that's likely where the 4 errors a game come from. Paying full time won't significantly improve that.

[MOtorboat]

Good grief.

Spikerman taking fools to school.

[Denver Native (Carol)]

It does not make sense to make NFL referees full time employees. They ref 3 preseason games, and 15 of 17 regular season games, plus the playoffs, and SB. First year referees are not eligible to ref playoffs and SB. This year, their season started in August, and ends on Jan 3rd for those not selected for the playoffs/SB, which start Jan 9th, and ends with the SB on Feb 7th. Exactly what would they do during the rest of the year to get paid for? It is not like baseball, basketball and hockey, where there are many more games played.

[TXBRONC]

Officiating is hard, and I think most people are understanding of them not being perfect at seeing every single thing in full-speed real time. The two unforgivable things that happen too much in the NFL are officials messing up by not knowing the rules, and getting a call wrong even AFTER replay. The latter is due to the ridiculous "indisputable evidence" standard, which makes some calls unable to be overturned even when any reasonable person can look at the replay and make the call.

Examples of the former include the no-call on Seattle's batted ball against Detroit, not stopping the clock when Watkins went out of bounds in BUF vs NE (running backwards on your own is not "forward progress stopped" or "giving yourself up") and every time DPI is called for "faceguarding."

For me, I can live with bad calls/missed calls on the field. I can't accept when they get it wrong even after replay because they had to "honor the call on the field." Why should the naked eye ever be valued over slow-motion video replay?

I think the majority of the "indisputable evidence calls" are accurate. It is humanly impossible to catch every think on tape.

[TXBRONC]

They don't go to the same clinics to learn. They teach at the clinics I go to. You are convinced that they don't put in the time; I'm telling you that they do. I guess we're at an impasse.

Some people think they know it all.

[chazoe60]

I think the complexity of the rulebook is making the sport too hard to officiate. I also think that too many of the rules are way too subjective. I've seen WRs get mugged on one play and no flag then on the next play a DB looks at the WR wrong and the flags fly. It also kills me how much offensive pass catchers are allowed to get away with compared to their defensive counterparts.

It's starting to remind me of the NBA. Basketball is so difficult to officiate that many times the refs just defer to a players reputation and thats how we get the Star treatment reputation that has made the NBA unwatchable IMHO. I heard an NBA ref admit on the Collin Cowherd show years ago that if Kobe puts up a shot that looks funny and it was close but he didn't exactly see a foul he'll call a foul anyway because he knows Kobe is better than that so it must have been a foul. I was blown away and that was basically when my basketball fandom died.

I don't think the NFL is there yet but it is definitely becoming too heavily officiated. It's close to becoming a game whose final outcome has as much to do with who got the calls as much as who played better.
.I bitch about the refs a lot and in the heat of the moment I do get mad at them but I really think it has more to do with the rulebook than the refs.

I would like to see a guy in the booth who is abother official and he has a direct link to the head official and he can call down and say, "nope that was not PI or yes it was" or "no that was not a hit to the head of a defenseless receiver". We have the benefit of seeing these things in slow motion and can instantly see when a ref screwed up, so how can a guy in the booth getting the calls right be a bad thing. I think holding calls (offensive or defensive) should not be under the umbrella because I think if you slowed it down you could probably call either of those on almost every play.

The networks basically do this with their ref experts that they consult in almost every broadcast.

[OrangeHoof]

Wait. Review subjective penalties *except* holding calls? That like telling cops to enforce speed limit violations except on the freeways.