Referees Association ticked off at claims of officiating bias

[NateDawg122]

Someone needs to tell them that if they sucked less this wouldn't be an issue. Easy solution.

Oh, and put sensors on the football so the refs don't even have the opportunity to mess up ball placement, because that happens all the time.

 

[DR RAM]

I'm sure the Vegas money is much more incentive than working the postseason.

And here is something that I have always believed, in all sports. If you can show bias against a crew, with an objective panel, and it happens 3 times, then they should not be allowed to ref your game. Whether they do it on purpose, or not, bias is real.

Our game vs the Redskins was more than bias, it was a conspiracy.

 

[Prime Time]

Keep in mind that this is from the NFL Operations site which wants to make their refs look as good as possible. But to keep this thread fair and balanced, here you go...
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https://operations.nfl.com/the-officials/these-officials-are-really-good/

THESE OFFICIALS ARE REALLY GOOD
Every week, officials take the field ready to put months of preparation, training and hard work on display, knowing that the whole world — and the Officiating Department — is watching.

In 2016, NFL teams ran more than 40,000 plays from scrimmage. The NFL Officiating Department meticulously reviewed and graded its officials’ performance on every one of them. Every play. Every game. And not just from one angle: Evaluators reviewed each play seven times — once for each of the seven officiating positions.

Each game averages about 156 plays, so a typical official who works 14 regular-season games is evaluated on nearly 2,200 plays in a single season. The Officiating Department reviews game footage looking for the calls that were made correctly — and also the ones that were missed.

There is nowhere to hide on the football field. Whether working a closely contested Super Bowl or the final minutes of an early season blowout, officials are expected to exhibit the same high level of excellence on every play.

They’re human, of course, so on-field miscues will occur. And while the 124 officials in the NFL aren’t always perfect, the evaluation process shows that they come very close.

“I happen to believe that the players don’t play perfect games, I really don’t think coaches coach perfect games, and I don’t think officials work perfect games. It’s not a game that is perfect.”
25-YEAR NFL OFFICIATING VETERAN MASON “RED” CASHION

They got it right 95.9 percent of the time throughout the 2016 season, according to the league’s evaluators. In almost any other career, that level of proficiency would be praised. Yet more is expected from NFL officials — not just from the players, the fans and the media, but from the officials themselves.

They are carefully selected, extensively prepared and rigorously evaluated to ensure that they call games correctly and consistently — so that the players, not the officials, determine the outcome. This process results in the outstanding officiating that players, coaches and fans expect and deserve.

Officiating an NFL game — making split-second decisions at full speed and at field level — takes decades of work and dedication. While fans may not always agree with every call, one thing is certain: These officials are good.

“IF YOU WERE GOING TO WRITE A 10-CHAPTER BOOK ABOUT WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE AN OFFICIAL IN THE NFL, THE FIRST NINE CHAPTERS WOULD DEAL WITH PREPARATION. THE LAST CHAPTER WOULD DEAL WITH THE GAME.”— JERRY SEEMAN, NFL DIRECTOR OF OFFICIATING, 1991–2001

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS
For NFL officials, on-field success depends on preparation.

While fans see officials only on game days, much more happens away from the field — even before the officials ever don the stripes in the NFL. Each season, the quest for officiating excellence begins before players report to training camps.

In July, the league kicks off the officiating season with a mandatory training clinic in Dallas. Officials take written exams, testing their knowledge of the rules and mechanics for their positions. New rules and points of emphasis are thoroughly covered as officials prepare for any situation they may encounter on gameday.

“The clinic is so important to how the season’s going to go,” said Dean Blandino, the NFL’s former senior vice president of officiating. “Our goal every year is that everybody leaves on the same page. And that will basically kick-start the season.”

An added emphasis on fitness keeps officials in shape for the growing physical demands of a game that gets faster every year: NFL offenses ran 150 percent more no-huddle plays in 2013 than in 2008, according to The Wall Street Journal. The league tests officials’ conditioning and agility to ensure that they can keep pace with the game’s best athletes.

“With up-tempo offenses, our officials have to be more efficient in spotting the ball and getting in position,” Blandino said. “Because if they’re not in position, they can’t effectively officiate the play. We have to continue to evolve.”

Officials also go to training camp, where they officiate practices and work preseason games to get into regular-season form. They prepare for these games as they would for the regular season, and they are evaluated the same way.

During the season, the final whistle of a game marks the beginning of preparation for the next week. Before leaving the stadium, each crew member gets a flash drive with the TV broadcast of the game that he or she just worked. Many review the video on the flight home.

While most of the league’s 124 current officials have full-time jobs outside of football, their heads are always in the game: From one week to the next, they spend hours breaking down tape, getting ready for the next contest, and reviewing with crew members and supervisors what went right, what went wrong and what could be improved.

On game days, officials emerge from the tunnel ready to put months of preparation, training and hard work on display, knowing that the whole world — and the Officiating Department — is watching.

MAKING THE GRADE
The Officiating Department’s weekly evaluation process is thorough. Senior Vice President of Officiating Alberto Riveron and the Art McNally GameDay Central crew work with eight officiating supervisors to review every play from each of the seven officiating positions: referee, umpire, down judge, line judge, field judge, side judge and back judge. The eight supervisors — former officials with decades of experience — identify successes, areas for improvement and points to emphasize.

Supervisors are not just evaluators — they’re teachers.

“We focus on teaching, training, positioning and mechanics. Our evaluation system is the best way to achieve consistency across the league.”
DEAN BLANDINO, FORMER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF NFL OFFICIATING

Officiating supervisors grade one game in person each week. From a booth above the field, they observe the officials, keying on positioning, mechanics, accuracy, professionalism and more. Grading begins at the stadium, and supervisors will leave with a flash drive of the game so they can get a closer look.

Depending on how many teams are in action in a given week, supervisors also may evaluate a second game. They’ll receive a hard drive with the additional footage from Art McNally GameDay Central and grade that game using the same strict criteria.

Officials receive their grades early in the week and discuss them with the supervisors and their fellow crew members. Weekly training videos are distributed to every official to clarify the handling of specific calls. In the middle of the week, senior leaders from the Officiating Department hold calls with crews to go over specific plays.

The department also distributes weekly media videos every Friday for the public and those who cover the sport. These videos clarify controversial calls from the previous week.

All of this is done in pursuit of consistency across every officiating crew — from game to game and week to week. Pass interference in Buffalo must be the same as pass interference in San Diego.

"THE KEY TO OFFICIATING IS LEARNING TO FOCUS COMPLETELY FOR EIGHT SECONDS AT A TIME, 160 TIMES IN A ROW."— 25-YEAR NFL OFFICIATING VETERAN MASON “RED” CASHION

THE RESULTS
A typical 2016 NFL game averaged more than 156 plays — a number that has remained high in recent years as more teams run up-tempo offenses.

More plays create more chances for an official to be graded — and also increases the possibility of error. Still, officiating proficiency actually has increased over that same period.

According to the league’s exhaustive grading system, the 2014 season saw a per-crew average of fewer than one incorrect call and only 1.7 no-calls — a penalty that should have been called but was missed — in each game.

Even on the toughest, most controversial calls that were elevated to instant replay review, an official’s initial ruling on the field is confirmed nearly two-thirds of the time. Only 37 percent of on-field calls have been overturned since 1999.

A JOB WELL-DONE
The evaluation process culminates when officiating crews are evaluated for the past season’s work, with rewards and consequences.

The top officials and crews each year receive the ultimate recognition in officiating: the privilege and responsibility of working an NFL playoff game. For some, decades of hard work and preparation pay off in a potentially once-in-a-lifetime Super Bowl or conference championship assignment.

For others, a subpar season-long performance could mean remediation, or even a demotion. All NFL officials serve on a year-to-year contract, and they have to prove their mettle every year. There is no guarantee that they will return the next season.

The vast majority do succeed. Fortunately for the NFL, its players and its fans, these officials are good.

 

[Selassie I]

Make EVERYTHING review-able and the problem will be solved.

 

[LesBaker]

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.

I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. When fans of every team are complaining nearly every time their team loses a game you have an issue that you have to address.

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.

It's one of the top reasons people have been tuning out along with too many commercials and the political thing. Yes it's true.

There are A LOT of serious converging drivers hurting the NFL right now. The Washington Post did some real work on the topic and came up with some great info. Look at all the negative topics here, go look at the graphs in the link. Protests are in the lead but not by that much. Game delays and off field image are right there too with too much advertising right behind. Game delays are the refs calling penalties.

Check the link, this is a good read. The NFL is very much head in the sand about these problems right now and this falls right at Goodells feet.

There is a lot to talk about here so I wanted to post the link.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...wership-actually-says/?utm_term=.85f819d7c0a6

This is another good article about ratings.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/9/26/16364210/nfl-ratings-down


One thing rarely mentioned is that many of us stream the game online. So we are still watching, but we don't show up in the "ratings".

 

[LesBaker]

They got it right 95.9 percent of the time throughout the 2016 season, according to the league’s evaluators. In almost any other career, that level of proficiency would be praised. Yet more is expected from NFL officials — not just from the players, the fans and the media, but from the officials themselves.

The Officiating Department reviews game footage looking for the calls that were made correctly — and also the ones that were missed.

This isn't true, no fucking way, because holding and PI is missed a handful of times a game. So if there are 156 plays a game that means at the percentage of calls they claim are correct they miss 1.6 calls a game. You can't sell me that in a million years. They miss that many holding calls per quarter.

The league tests officials’ conditioning and agility to ensure that they can keep pace with the game’s best athletes.

LOL are they actually expecting ANYONE to believe that. C'mon you guys.

Make EVERYTHING review-able and the problem will be solved.

IMO every flag thrown should be looked at quickly by a guy in a room and he gets a certain amount of time to over turn it or not. You can't rely only on coaches who don't often have a good view and on road games questionable plays don't get put on the big screens while for the home team they are replayed right away.

We at home see different angles within seconds and can very often decide if it's a good call or not. Not every time, but probably most of the time. It's not hard to do.

 

[Rmfnlt]

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.

The only thing that influences my viewership is the Rams.

Last 2+ years? If I happened to not have anything else to do, I might watch the game.

This year? I haven't missed one yet.

None of that other stuff (National Anthem, officiating, etc.) influences whether I watch or not... only the Rams so.

 

[RedRam]

I pulled a couple of screenshots while watching a replay of Sunday's game.

In the first, the JAX RDE is clearly lined up in the neutral zone. That play was blown up and instead of the five yard penalty and a first down for the Rams, they ended up having to punt.

In this shot, Quinn is called for an offside penalty while lined up in a similar, maybe even slightly less egregious, fashion as the example above. WTF refs? What say you??

If y'all don't like the constant criticism, perhaps consider getting a firm hold on your ears and yank your heads out of your @$$es!!

 

[Rmfnlt]

The Washington Post did some real work on the topic and came up with some great info. Look at all the negative topics here, go look at the graphs in the link. Protests are in the lead but not by that much. Game delays and off field image are right there too with too much advertising right behind. Game delays are the refs calling penalties.

Check the link, this is a good read. The NFL is very much head in the sand about these problems right now and this falls right at Goodells feet.

There is a lot to talk about here so I wanted to post the link.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...wership-actually-says/?utm_term=.85f819d7c0a6

Thanks for posting!

Interesting... officiating was not on the list... had it been, I wonder how it would have played into the reduction in viewership.

 

[FaulkSF]

@RedRam, me and @CGI_Ram were talking about that very play in the live game thread glad you called it too.

I reffed intramural in college, and it's not easy. I'm not asking these professionals for much, just call a fair game so that your impartial judgment doesn't give one team an unfair advantage.

 

[EastRam]

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...

Refs are bias? Ok. But selecting them based on age is total bullshit

 

[EastRam]

This isn't true, no freaking way, because holding and PI is missed a handful of times a game. So if there are 156 plays a game that means at the percentage of calls they claim are correct they miss 1.6 calls a game. You can't sell me that in a million years. They miss that many holding calls per quarter.



LOL are they actually expecting ANYONE to believe that. C'mon you guys.



IMO every flag thrown should be looked at quickly by a guy in a room and he gets a certain amount of time to over turn it or not. You can't rely only on coaches who don't often have a good view and on road games questionable plays don't get put on the big screens while for the home team they are replayed right away.

We at home see different angles within seconds and can very often decide if it's a good call or not. Not every time, but probably most of the time. It's not hard to do.

They need to move the flipping ump back at the LB position. They cannot see a damn thing behind the O line. College didn't move the ump!

What's with the ref on replay looking at a laptop on the field. That's a money grab from Microsoft. Do it in the booth like college!

 

[Lurker]

According to the league’s exhaustive grading system, the 2014 season saw a per-crew average of fewer than one incorrect call and only 1.7 no-calls — a penalty that should have been called but was missed — in each game.

That's all I needed to read to completely overload my bullshit sensor....
I would find it more believable if they said they were incorrect on only 1.7 no-calls per play....and that's just the offensive line....Probably 2.7 if you include the secondary

 

[Rabid Ram]

Prime example plays like gurly had the TD but ruled a fumble while ball hit pylon ruled a touch back never seen it called that way before yet now there's been another in jets Pats game. So rams get it against sehags and jets against pats but no one else in the history of diving for the end zone?

 

[NateDawg122]

Prime example plays like gurly had the TD but ruled a fumble while ball hit pylon ruled a touch back never seen it called that way before yet now there's been another in jets Pats game. So rams get it against sehags and jets against pats but no one else in the history of diving for the end zone?

Honestly, I think that rule is one of the dumbest rules in football. I don't think fumbling out the back of the endzone is deserving of a complete change in possession. I think it should be a loss of down and the ball is placed at the 20. If it happens on 4th down then the other team gets the ball at the 20.

 

[Mackeyser]

The issue may seem like bias...and it may be in part.

The LARGER issue is that there isn't near the uniformity in HOW the game is called. Each crew calls the game a little differently.

The disparity isn't as great as it is in baseball where the strike zone is so damned individual to an Umpire that teams plan around the crew.

Still, the ultimate REASON for officials to be full-time is so that they can spend the off-season running clinics and reviewing film from the season AT THE SAME location so that the entire officiating corps is taught to make the SAME CALL THE SAME WAY.

Moreover, when it comes to "points of emphasis", every crew from day one will be very clear as to not only what the point of emphasis is, clearly articulated, but also agree what constitutes a foul and what doesn't in the context of a play.

That would make comparing games and teams much more real. I mean, if one call can swing a game, then how much is a game swung if a crew one week "lets them play" in the secondary versus a crew that will make calls in the secondary.

That's huge and rarely is it factored in because the routine thinking is that a team just has to overcome the refs. Okay, I suppose, but if a crew calls holding calls for the OL really close, a more run-oriented team might have a bit of an advantage over a pass-oriented team.

There are five things that truly affect the outcome of games:

1) Health. More than anything else, as the season wears down, often weaker, healthier teams will pull out wins that weren't possible if both teams were at full strength.

2) Scheme. As we've seen, even with lots of similar players, scheme can make all the difference.

3) Execution. Scheme doesn't mean anything without executing by each player.

4) Consecutive road games. Historically, teams win less than 20% of the 2nd or 3rd consecutive road games. Road wins are hard. Consecutive road games are extraordinarily hard, no matter which team is playing.

5) Refereeing. How the game is called is huge. We've seen juggernauts made pedestrian because the calls essentially attack the strength of a team. Hard-hitting defenses being called for personal fouls is but one example of the game not solely being a contest between two units, but also a measure of which team better adapts to how that individual game is called.

If we had true uniformity in how the game is called, THAT would give us a much greater ability to determine the best teams.

I dunno why the league doesn't see this as priority one.

 

[Mackeyser]

Honestly, I think that rule is one of the dumbest rules in football. I don't think fumbling out the back of the endzone is deserving of a complete change in possession. I think it should be a loss of down and the ball is placed at the 20. If it happens on 4th down then the other team gets the ball at the 20.

I respectfully disagree.

Because in every other instance a team cannot advance the ball on a fumble, unless the other team recovers the ball, the ball should be placed AT THE SPOT OF THE LOSS OF POSSESSION and the down should be considered over.

In this case, the special application of the touchback rule isn't in the spirit of the rule (put in place after the "holy roller" play.

This is another instance of a rule not being consistently legislated. There is no reason for a special case. If the ball is recovered by the defense, the normal touchback rules apply. If the ball is fumbled forward, it goes back to the spot of the loss of possession, irrespective of whether it went out of bounds. As long as it went forward, the singular rule should apply.

Why is this so hard???

 

[Rambitious1]

If not bias, how about just incompetent?