Seattle's victory too much; bring the real refs back now.

    The Seattle-Green Bay game moved as if it was played underwater. Players might be fast, but the pace was slow. Here comes a flag, and another flag, and another flag, and here's one more.

     The game's final play was as an abomination. Seattle's non-touchdown gave it a 13-12 lead as time expired and a victory it did not earn.

      Officials blew the call; they missed a blatant offensive pass interference on Seattle receiver Golden Tate and an interception by Green Bay's M.D. Jennings. Jennings caught Russell Wilson's desperation pass; Tate got his hands on it only after they landed. But Jennings still had the ball.

      The blown call changed the outcome and the standings, and millions of fans who invest their emotion and their cash are questioning the integrity of the NFL.

      The regular officials are locked out; the NFL won't let them work without a contract. The replacement officials were rushed in.They're new to the NFL. They had no training camp. They learn on the fly, every week, in front of thousands of fans and often condescending coaches and players.

    The more mistakes they make, the more mistakes we expect them to make. Coaches scream at them, players don't respect them and announcers who never criticize the league are incessant in their criticism.

     The refs were put in position to fail, just as replacement players would be, and they are.

     The league needs to settle with the regular officials. And if that means acknowledging that the refs won and the league lost, so be it.

      Until the real refs return, everybody loses. Even the better team -- as Monday night attests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[big gulps]

the vast majority of americans aren't too worried with the replacement ref "issue".

if the packers were such a superior team, they wouldn't have been defending against a hail mary pass at the end anyways. they could've knocked this pass down easily.

this whole thing is overblown big time, the press is loving it and are hoping for continued errors that they can over hype and talk about. i notice the observer writers are telling us more about this event than about our local team's issues.

[Ben]

It looked like simultaneous possession when Tate's butt hit the ground. He then rolled onto his back, then the ball was ripped away. Good call. Of course, I love seeing the Packers lose.

[pantherworld]

fak the refs and you idiots on here

[J]

The real officials' demands for full-time worker benefits are exactly what they should get, after the NFL makes them full-time. And they need to be made full-time, and yesterday. Let them attend classes every year to ensure they have every letter of the rule book committed to memory. Send them to team minicamps and OTAs in addition to July training camp. Let them hold seminars during the rookie symposium so the rookies are clear on the difference between college rules and pro rules.

Will all this make them perfect? No. Will it make them worlds better, leading to a better Sunday product? You bet it would.

[ram]

Seems to me the owners are the ones we should be responding to these officials. Everyone wants to blame others when the owners have complete control over this debacle. What does Jerry Richardson have to say about this?

[Gary]

The Packers should have taken the game out of the refs hands well before the end of the game.

[Gary]

If Tom does not like the refs they must be doing something right.

[Jim]

Its the stupid fans" fault. If fans would send a real message by not attending games offciated by these scab refs then, and only then, would the greedy owners do something.

[dadadnit]

tom:
from a previous post-
if jennings committed the pass interference on tate in front of the home crowd, would we have seen the flag.
also, why are the union refs called part timers when they work the same number of games that the players do. just wondering.

[Memey]

I appreciate the talnet of the cinematographer, but I don't understand why the crowd reactions are shot on video and not film. I can always tell when there is a cut between the HD video cameras and the super 16 film-the film looks so much richer, while the video looks harsh and flat. Just a thought. Thanks

[Jennifer]

HOLY CRAP!!!! Best super bowl ever! Well actually I prrrfeeed the super bowl in which Elway beat the packers, which I do believe that we watched together in our apartment in Fargo Chris, but I do just really love watching the packers lose. Tonight's game was not only very entertaining game to the end, but also the Patriots, whom I understand are well loved by the English because of their England/New England connection, got beat. Screw all dynasty teams, the ones with all the free agent talent that sign to get a ring at a price no up and coming team could get them for, thereby giving an uncompetitive advantage and leading to the same thing happening year after year. God damn I hate dynasty teams. It was awesome. This despite the fact that I still HATE the New York football Giants. 41-0. That sucked. Sigh.Either way I'm glad you stayed up.Three things:1) Laurence Maroney did indeed attend the University of Minnesota2) Play action is where the quarterback fakes the hand off to his running back, hopefully freezing the defense and making it easier to complete a pass.3) Nobody ran it into the pile better than Robert Smith under Denny Green. (If you can use fancy blogger links to link that to the "they are who we thought they were" rant by Denny from last year, I would sure appreciate it. It's got to be on youtube).

[Gloriana]

You've impressed us all with that ptosing!