Referees Association ticked off at claims of officiating bias

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Prime Time

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Referees have undoubtedly done a crappy job overall, not just this season but for a long time. Why else would the NFL agree to hire certain refs full-time? No one's perfect at their job but when the screw ups continue year after year then something needs to be done.

Are some refs biased towards one team and against another? Maybe but good luck proving that. I have the feeling they keep the games close by order of the NFL. Calling penalties can be very subjective with some exceptions of course when they're obvious. So the ref calls a few more on the team that's ahead and less on the team that's behind. And there you go. Would love to see some stats on that.
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...back-at-misguided-claims-of-officiating-bias/

NFLRA hits back at “misguided” claims of officiating bias
Posted by Josh Alper on October 19, 2017

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After the Eagles beat the Panthers last Thursday night, PFT and other outlets pointed out that the Eagles had 10 penalties accepted for 126 yards in the game while the Panthers were deducted one yard on their one accepted penalty.

That wasn’t out of the norm for Eagles games officiated by referee Pete Morelli. The last four games involving the Eagles and Morelli saw Philly penalized 40 times while their opposition was penalized eight times. Eagles coach Doug Pederson was asked about it and said he thought the league was aware of that disparity.

That’s not the only history between a referee and a team that’s come up recently. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady noted referee Jerome Boger’s crew has “called much more penalties on us than the other team” after a loss to the Panthers earlier this month and all of that discussion has caught the attention of the NFL Referees Association.

They released a statement from NFLRA executive director Scott Green on Thursday hitting back at any suggestions of bias that might come from such observations and comments.

“Claims like these demonstrate a fundamental lack of knowledge about NFL officiating,” Green said. “NFL officials are graded on every call made in every game. Missing a single one can hurt his or her ranking and may be the difference between working in the postseason or not.

These recent attempts to sensationalize statistics and create click-bait headlines lack important context. Without the proper perspective, the information being pushed is completely misguided. The passion of NFL fans and teams are a big part of what makes the game so great.

However, it’s no excuse for the irresponsible and baseless claims we’ve seen lately. NFL officials are committed to upholding the integrity of the game and do so every week.”


The statement points out that declined penalties could paint a more balanced picture and that notions of historical bias don’t fit with crews that change their makeup from year to year. Both of those things are true, but they’re unlikely to make too many fans feel differently if their team is on the wrong side of a wide disparity in penalties.
 

leoram

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I sure would like to see the grades and evaluations made public. We all see the horrible calls and would like to see the NFL admit the same
 

LACHAMP46

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Bout time....until some of these old geezers lose their jobs...it won't change. Booger was terrible for us too...

Referees should be between 25-50....in great shape...and know the game...and only call what they see....the review guys should or could be considerably older.

Biases exist fellas...we're all humans. It's one of the reasons all this protest crap got started....dudes are tired of people LOOKING at someone...and coming to certain conclusions...
 

RamFan503

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I remember one year when the patsies were given a higher ranked officiating crew when the NFL changed their rotation and gave the lesser crew to the Rams/Bucks game. So the NFL can eat a dick with this. The refs are biased and so is the NFL. Too bad some teams have to beat the refs and the other team in order to get in the preferred rotation.
 

LesBaker

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“Claims like these demonstrate a fundamental lack of knowledge about NFL officiating,” Green said. “NFL officials are graded on every call made in every game. Missing a single one can hurt his or her ranking and may be the difference between working in the postseason or not.

That's the only penalty for fucking up?

Two things will fix the problem. Well three.

Have a "bench" so that guys can be sat down and maybe learn a little more.

If a ref keeps making mistakes suspend him a couple of times then get rid of him.

The game needs more refs on the field. Players have learned how to commit penalties without getting caught. Especially holding on the OL and pass interference by defenders.
 

Karate61

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Brady is complaining about referees cheating? Oh my Lord!
 

Rmfnlt

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I sure would like to see the grades and evaluations made public. We all see the horrible calls and would like to see the NFL admit the same
Yeah... want to shut everyone up?

Total transparency... publish all the grades and back-up.
 

Karate61

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My uncle retired from the NFL as their Director of Production (Printing for programs, all things NFL). He still has connections though, and got a referee report card for last week. So, here you go...check it out!

Report Card - Fail.jpg
 

yrba1

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Gonna put the blame mainly on the owners for this. While there are biases in the system, I believe it has more to do with incompetence and overthinking from the refs due to lack of sufficient training; they need to be appointed full-time to stay on alert for nuances in officiating but knowing the owners getting high off their profits, it's going to be neglected and us consumers will continue to put toxicity at the wrong department. It always starts at the top I believe

EDIT: Also want to forbid the refs from playing fantasy football and put severe disciplinary measures if proven to even have an active account on it
 

bubbaramfan

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If the NFL is truly concerned about their image and losing public interest (and their money), they should also be aware that poor officiating is one of the reasons.

To restore fan confidence they should make officials who make bad calls accountable.
 

Ram_Rally

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Well then maybe they should fix it because "bad" teams definitely get the shit end of the stick more than good ones. I'm thinking about that perfect Michael brockers sack against the bears a few years ago that got called for roughing the passer despite being a textbook tackle. Oh and I'm sure Aaron Donald has been held more than any player in nfl history.
 

Rmfnlt

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Well then maybe they should fix it because "bad" teams definitely get the crap end of the stick more than good ones.
Oh and I'm sure Aaron Donald has been held more than any player in nfl history.
Once the Rams become a good team, things will change. It's been a long time now... but I seem to recall the GSOT Rams got a lot of leeway (except in the SB against NE :mad:).

I'm thinking about that perfect Michael brockers sack against the bears a few years ago that got called for roughing the passer despite being a textbook tackle.
As soon as Fisher showed up, he promoted a "chippy" (still hate that word) style of play. Then, Williams shows up and of course, they were going to get borderline calls against them. I think the Rams led the league in personal fouls every year those two coached the team?

I've seen some questionable ones this year... but this team is FAR more disciplined than anything Fisher trotted out there.

Things will improve once they get better... and as the stench of the "chippiness" rep they got wears off.
 

Prime Time

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Once the Rams become a good team, things will change. It's been a long time now... but I seem to recall the GSOT Rams got a lot of leeway

It shouldn't be that way. If that were true then the refs are definitely guilty of bias. It's like favoring the beautiful over the ugly or the wealthy over the poor. We know that happens in life but if the NFL wants to fix its failing ratings then they should address this major issue of referee bias and incompetence.
 

sjm1582002

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Compared to MLB umpires, NFL "officials" are an embarrassing disgrace.

I still cannot believe the call in the Jet/Pat game at the pylon.

Jet fans have every right to be furious.
 

Rmfnlt

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It shouldn't be that way. If that were true then the refs are definitely guilty of bias. It's like favoring the beautiful over the ugly or the wealthy over the poor. We know that happens in life but if the NFL wants to fix its failing ratings then they should address this major issue of referee bias and incompetence.
To be honest... right now, inconsistent officiating is perhaps the least of Goodell's worries. The ratings are going down for a lot of reasons... mostly political now.

But, you're right, it shouldn't be that way - but that's been going on forever (better teams get more latitude).
 

Ram_Rally

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Once the Rams become a good team, things will change. It's been a long time now... but I seem to recall the GSOT Rams got a lot of leeway (except in the SB against NE :mad:).


As soon as Fisher showed up, he promoted a "chippy" (still hate that word) style of play. Then, Williams shows up and of course, they were going to get borderline calls against them. I think the Rams led the league in personal fouls every year those two coached the team?

I've seen some questionable ones this year... but this team is FAR more disciplined than anything Fisher trotted out there.

Things will improve once they get better... and as the stench of the "chippiness" rep they got wears off.
Yeah, there's been a few calls that I've have but we even got help on one play (the phantom PI against San Francisco) !
 

Prime Time

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To be honest... right now, inconsistent officiating is perhaps the least of Goodell's worries. The ratings are going down for a lot of reasons... mostly political now.

But, you're right, it shouldn't be that way - but that's been going on forever (better teams get more latitude).

True but he needs to start somewhere and soon. The game's popularity is slipping away before our eyes. He could also remind the refs that people are not watching because of them but because of the players. I've been watching the NFL since the early 60's and they are wrecking it in increments season after season.