Referees Association ticked off at claims of officiating bias

[LesBaker]

If not bias, how about just incompetent?

You are correct.

And they are also protecting each other.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think some coaches are good at influencing or manipulating refs. Belichick tries intimidation. Pete Carroll is relentlessly annoying but still respectful, to the point that I think refs don't call much on them to avoid fifteen minute discussions with him on the sidelines. Fisher doesn't have the personality to win a ref battle. I don't recall the last Rams coach that did. Maybe it was Vermeil who was so nice that refs hated to disappoint him. There are only a few coaches that are good at it and consistently pull it off. The refs don't even realize it is happening to them.

Manipulating refs is a skill that coaches should study. It is a huge part of Pete's and Bill's game. Harbaugh was good at it too. Brady hitching about is just a tactic.


I do think there are obviously erroneous calls or non calls from time to time, but I don't know if that is a ref fixing a game or the NFL telling them to, on the sly.

 

[UKram]

i don't think the refs are overtly bias ... subconsciously yes which will affect how a game is called but there isnt much that can be done about it as its a subconscious decision.

sure the refs screw up .. but whats the alternative back to the replacement refs we had couple of years ago ?

 

[den-the-coach]

Stop making fun of the Referees Gentlemen....They are Patriots and don't ever forget that!

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

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.

These types of reports are meaningless. They need to look at Bad call and non calls on a ref by ref basis, AND a team by team basis. That way it can be discerned who favors certain teams over others, and who interferes with success of certain teams.

This would be a start in compiling evidence against any specific ref possible throwing certain games, like the Rams vs Skins game.

 

[dieterbrock]

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 dont understand why the rule is a change of possession, it makes no sense. Its not a change of possession anywhere else on the field unless recovered. So I've always thought that fumbles in to the end zone should be returned to the spot the fumble occurred unless recovered by the fumbler himself. (forget last 2 minutes of the game, make it the whole game)

 

[Zaphod]

NFL officiating is biased?

Never! They are most certainly all business, and the most professional officials Vegas can buy!

 

[Ramstien]

I hate them, they suck and are ruining the game.

 

[BadCompany]

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.

Why wait until the offseason? Why can't they be working on this sort of stuff full-time, during the week?

I'm not an expert on this - in fact I know virtually nothing of the inner workings of NFL referees - but in today's day and age you don't need to know anything about something to have an opinion!

So having said that, my plan to fix the officiating.

1) Make them full-time. This is a no-brainer to me.

2) Double their salaries. Yes, double them. If you want to attract good people, you need to give them a reason. Let's face it, this is not an easy job, and there isn't a lot of love in it. So make it worth their while, really worth their while, and maybe then you'll start to see people who might actually be good at it, and not those who happen to like it and who have been doing it for a while.

3) Wednesday to Sunday work week. During that week they will do a full a training program (nothing too strenuous, maybe 2 hours a day) so that they can be in shape, and keep up with the players. They'll also have video sessions to review teams in their upcoming games (team tendencies, coaches, problem childs, frequent calls/infractions, etc), and video sessions on other games, to start getting some consistency. Throw in some rule reviews, and maybe some brainstorming sessions on how to improve the game and/or their jobs. These will be eight hour days, just like any real job.

4) Refs don't stop working during the playoffs, While only some of them (the highest rated) will work playoff games (and ultimately the Super Bowl) the remaining refs will stick their schedules. Only with the added task of previewing upcoming games for their peers, and reviewing past games for learning purposes. Constructive criticism is never a bad thing.

5) Once the season ends, refs get 12 weeks vacation (see point #2). After that they come back to work, starting with a four week boot camp, and then back to their regular 8 hour work days (training, class room, video, rule books, etc).

 

[CGI_Ram]

My biggest complaint is the ticky tack calls.

If it’s not 100% a penalty - don’t call it. We are not watching the game to see officials.

Sometimes I swear they want TV time.

 

[RhodyRams]

These types of reports are meaningless. They need to look at Bad call and non calls on a ref by ref basis, AND a team by team basis. That way it can be discerned who favors certain teams over others, and who interferes with success of certain teams.

This would be a start in compiling evidence against any specific ref possible throwing certain games, like the Rams vs Skins game.

spin doctors

 

[Mikey Ram]

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

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