Around the League; Let’s talk officiating

[CGI_Ram]

So, here is something that happens so easily at RamsOnDemand… if you post a topic with a few questions… you get some good replies.

Good opinions. Funny stuff mixed in. The whole deal. You guys are awesome.

I love reading your replies.... So keep telling me what YOU think!

Today I want to ask about officiating.

Does it appear more calls (penalties) impact the game bigger? The judgement call ones, in particular?

Or is that age and time doing that to me?

I mean, there were always calls in the past like Emmanuel Sanders in our ‘99 run. But that was the rule at the time. Not a penalty extending drives “cheaply”.

I dunno... Super bowl LV was painful. Almost hard to watch at times. And… it wasn’t all Tom Brady. The penalties. It felt like the penalties really shifted momentum of that game, and they were (at least a few of them) close calls that probably shouldn’t have been called.

If there are penalties, call them. But if it’s close, don’t. Why is that a tough ask?

What do the stats say? LINK TO STATS

In 2008 defensive pass interference was called 156 times. In 2019 it was called 269 times.

Offensive holding... 2008 was called 485 times, 2019... 724.

Total flags according to this data (DATA LINK) 2019 = 3,572.... 2009 = 3,167. This site includes 2020, which shows penalties were actually down to 2,989.

Penalty data appears to move all over the map. That inconsistency seems odd too?

Is the rulebook just too ticky tack?

Too many rules?

Passing and offense-first approach by teams driving some of this?

Replay creating a “perfection mentality”?

What’s the deal?

 

[Karate61]

Well, if the damn refs would call penalties against Donald, those numbers would be even more through the roof!

NFL officiating is deplorable overall.

Maybe the penalties aren't harsh enough? What if penalties increased during a game? A ten yard holding penalty becomes 15, 20, 25, etc. with each call. Or make it a 20 yarder? That would probably reduce player cheating.

And, add more officials on the field. Have 11 refs, one watching each player. If I knew someone was watching me the entire game, I might not hold as much.

I think these two things would greatly reduce the amount of penalties called. Preventive medicine.

 

[bubbaramfan]

One of my biggest gripes about NFL officiating, high profile players get more leeway than lower cast players. Take Tom Brady for example. He barely gets touched and he gets a roughing penalty. The same doesn't go with a QB like Darnold. Another gripe is the inconsistency of pass interference. And my biggest gripe is the constant holding of Rams AD. He gets blatantly held with Refs looking right at it and they still won't throw a flag.

 

[Mackeyser]

My take on the Super Bowl was this: Britt Reid had a DUI and the life of one of the girls was in serious jeopardy and both were in bad shape. The league wasn't gonna let the Chiefs win and have the shining moment for the NFL be the league celebrating a team where one of the coaches may have killed 2 little girls during the lead up to the game. That's why you saw a TON of first half flags. I'm surprised they didn't flag Andy Reid for farting in the first half.

"Personal foul: Improper expulsion of gas. That will be a 15 yard penalty. This is the first penalty, a second personal foul would lead to ejection. First Down!"

I also think it's why it's the first Super Bowl since prior to SB 36 where it wasn't very close and wasn't a very good game.

I'm on record stating that after 9/11 (pretty sure I stated it in October of 2001) that there was NO WAY the NFL would let any team other than the Patriots win the Super Bowl after 9/11. They were 3-4 after losing at Denver and then suddenly went 8-1 the rest of the way with a rookie QB who had to step in the 2nd game of the season. When the Pats lost to the Jets at home in the 2nd week of the season, the story was that the whole country just didn't like it. With the Pats sitting at 3-4, it seemed something had to be done.

The Pats starting "getting calls" and they were winning close games. My memory could be faulty, but I recall a number of teams and fans of those teams lamenting the refereeing for the Pats during that run. Their defense was VERY good that year, but Brady wasn't "Brady", yet.

Also remember, prior to getting to the Super Bowl, that same Pats team had shenanigans at home with the infamous "Tuck Rule".

And then Belichick in addition to using cameras to film the Rams walk-through, also blatantly challenged the NFL's "let them play" attitude and had his DBs actively hold on every play as well as having a LB hit Faulk on every play, with or without the ball often blatantly spearing him with their helmets. It was so egregious that immediately following that game, the NFL directly addressed it with a directive to call ALL post-season games the same as regular season games.

But even then, the Rams were a very resilient bunch and the Pats still required help to win. Funny enough, THAT Rams team also only scored 3 points in the first 3 quarters.

What the NFL learned was that most fans LOVED the whole story book ending.

What's transpired is that the NFL for the first 8-10 weeks of the year tend to stay hands off. As well, you can bet if a team goes 8-0 or more, they're gonna lose at least 1-2 games down the stretch (except for the Pats, of course), even if it's to a basement team.

After the first 8-10 weeks, they seem to analyze the various story lines out there and teams "heat up" or "cool off". They maintain enough that even a major injury or series of major injuries leave them enough wiggle room to give them the leeway they need to have the outcome they want.

So yeah, since SB 36 I think it's fixed. Have there been glitches? Yeah. I think us going to the Super Bowl was a glitch because I don't think New York could fix the error the on field judges made wrt to the NRC DPI that would have basically ended the game. Without that, we gutted out a tough win and went to the Super Bowl... where all of a sudden...our offense didn't know which way was up... funny, that.

I don't think the NFL arguing in court that they're not a sport, but "entertainment" helps their case that they give a shit about "the integrity of the game". Unlike MLB where their being a sport comes with anti-trust ramifications, being entertainment makes stuff like this less of a deal. No fan has standing to assert fraud.

To pile on, I think this is part of why they have resisted full-time refs and refuse to allow any NFL personnel to criticize the refs openly, even when they send a letter the next day admitting that they "got it wrong"... whatever that BS means after the fact. A collection of those letters doesn't get one in the playoffs...

Also, thanks to all of the rule changes favoring the offense, the defenses have countered with even better athletes making the talent imbalance outside of the skill positions that much greater. If the NFL started this year calling the trenches straight up, offenses wouldn't just grind to a halt, they'd go backwards at a record clip. They literally can't call it straight at this point or fans would go from complaining about the refereeing to complaining about the game... a much worse complaint.

Lastly, with so many new fans being more of the fantasy football variety and player oriented fans than team oriented fans, the impetus to treat star NFL players more like star NBA players continues... as we've seen with Tom Brady getting a benefit "blow to the head" call when instant replay clearly showed it was to his shoulder pad, but a ref standing literally feet away from Goff being smashed in the face would almost never draw a flag (I'd say never, but there may have been a rogue call I can't recall)

sorry, I did it again. but yeah... the refs are a sore subject for me.

 

[FaulkSF]

 

[bubbaramfan]

Great post Mack. Lets hope with Kroenke building a "NFL West HQ" Rams will get some Ref love via the NFL front office.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Replay creating a “perfection mentality”?

This one makes sense to me.

Instant replay is better than ever, camera angles, number of cameras on the field, and high definition images.

They got cameras on the endzone cones, first down markers... Hanging from cables all over the field.

We are splitting hairs on whether the toe touches the line, or not. The ball touches the ground, or not.

With good old fashion officiating without replay... If you are close to stepping on the line... You are putting the call into the officials hands. So live with it.

Next time, stay further off the line.

Simplify things.

But, I get it. We have technology so why not use it? It has a good side.

But I do think it's turned every play and call into a slow-mo over analysis.

 

[WarnerToBruce]

My take on the Super Bowl was this: Britt Reid had a DUI and the life of one of the girls was in serious jeopardy and both were in bad shape. The league wasn't gonna let the Chiefs win and have the shining moment for the NFL be the league celebrating a team where one of the coaches may have killed 2 little girls during the lead up to the game. That's why you saw a TON of first half flags. I'm surprised they didn't flag Andy Reid for farting in the first half.
...

Although I agree with most/all of this post, I still have to add this image:

 

[Riverumbbq]

NFL names Maia Chaka to officiating crew, making her first Black female referee

Maia Chaka was named to the NFL Officiating Development Program in 2014.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[bubbaramfan]

You can see the constant holding on Donald from the nose bleed seats. No need for a camera or instant replay.

 

[Angry Ram]

Oh glob. Let's not lol.

Everyone knows my stance on this subject. I think its a lazy excuse to blame refs. Yeah bad calls happen. You still have the rest of the game to overcome that. Man up and beat your damn opponent. The aints had a chance on the next drive and in OT and failed twice in a row. But no, it was the refs fault.

Yes, bad calls happen. And I think its this weird obsession with getting everything perfect. Plus everything can be captured in stills and gifs that are shared on twitter further drives that agenda. Refs get a lot of things right in real speed, but all of a sudden a gif shows up and its suddenly incompetent refereeing. Its so dumb. Rule changes every year after media members are constantly bitching and moaning about everything doesn't help either.

Just win man.

 

[RamBall]

My biggest gripe with officiating is the lack of consistency. If it is a penalty when 1 team does it, it should be a penalty when the other team does it. Teams or players shouldn't get preferential treatment just because of who they are. AD is held on almost every play, there is no way in hell the Rams should be called for holding more frequently than their opponent. It seems that official play favorites and don't care how obvious it is that they are determining the outcome of a game.

 

[BC Ramfan]

I too think NFL refereeing is so bad that it is either laughable or fixed.

The instant replay of multiple camera angles on TV gives fans all over the world enough info to make many calls within seconds, and make them correctly. Not all, but most of them. But what does the NFL, a bajillion dollar industry do: nooo, they take the ref over to a TV and after 2-3 minutes accessing what we have seen long ago they finally come back with a call.

To me the simple answer is a SKY JUDGE, or a 3-man Sky Judge crew. All they have to do is watch TV (though the NFL with its bajillions could set up even more/faster/better camera angles). Within seconds, the Sky Judges could adjudicate 90% of flags correctly. Sometimes it might take longer, but they will certainly have a better view than the on-field judges, and faster. Fans won't have to wait 3 minutes -- waiting 3 minutes for a call is ridiculous.

The unwillingness of the NFL to adopt a simple remedy like this is IMO another nail in the coffin re "NFL Officiating is Suspicious". I agree with the OP that WAYYYYY too many very debatable calls happen that have MAJOR game-determining effects. OK, say it's 3rd and 23. Very iffy PI called. TD scored instead of a punt. But teams that can't overcome things like this don't deserve to win? It's a game of inches even if officiated perfectly.

As far as consistency re "drawing the line" on PI, Holding, and other similar judgment calls, I can't understand the "Let Them Play" philosophy. Advantage the cheaters? Great idea, SMH. Holding is particularly bad but PI is mostly a crapshoot as to whether it will be called, they're both pushing and grabbing at each other. Yet it's often a HUGE call or non-call. How about, no hand fighting: you can't do anything but play the ball?

My 2c.

BC

 

[blackbart]

I think if they are going to to trouble to have instant replay there should be no play that cannot be over turned. If there is a shot from a camera that shows there is an obviously blown call or non-call, fix it.

Saw way too many shots to Goff's head that were never called, how the hell does that happen when there is a ref assigned to watch specifically for that call????

Are games fixed? I wouldn't doubt it there is a lot of money being passed around related to this "entertainment".

 

[Mojo Ram]

Total flags/penalties will go up again when the stadiums are full of fans again and the refs throw them in response to crowd reaction rather than what he actually saw on the field.

2020 was the best officiated season i've seen in forever.

 

[kurtfaulk]

Oh glob. Let's not lol.

Everyone knows my stance on this subject. I think its a lazy excuse to blame refs. Yeah bad calls happen. You still have the rest of the game to overcome that. Man up and beat your damn opponent. The aints had a chance on the next drive and in OT and failed twice in a row. But no, it was the refs fault.

Yes, bad calls happen. And I think its this weird obsession with getting everything perfect. Plus everything can be captured in stills and gifs that are shared on twitter further drives that agenda. Refs get a lot of things right in real speed, but all of a sudden a gif shows up and its suddenly incompetent refereeing. Its so dumb. Rule changes every year after media members are constantly bitching and moaning about everything doesn't help either.

Just win man.

Are you kidding man?

Did you see the 2nd qtr of the superbowl? Every time the chiefs d made a stop the flag came out for dpi. By halftime the game was over. It was a joke.

If they called superbowl 36 like that the Rams would have been ahead by 50 at the break.

.

 

[FrantikRam]

Oh glob. Let's not lol.

Everyone knows my stance on this subject. I think its a lazy excuse to blame refs. Yeah bad calls happen. You still have the rest of the game to overcome that. Man up and beat your damn opponent. The aints had a chance on the next drive and in OT and failed twice in a row. But no, it was the refs fault.

Yes, bad calls happen. And I think its this weird obsession with getting everything perfect. Plus everything can be captured in stills and gifs that are shared on twitter further drives that agenda. Refs get a lot of things right in real speed, but all of a sudden a gif shows up and its suddenly incompetent refereeing. Its so dumb. Rule changes every year after media members are constantly bitching and moaning about everything doesn't help either.

Just win man.

VERY well said.

And the problem even going down this path is that every franchise has something like this.

The Bert Emanuel Rule still rankles years later

<i>To our readers: Mike Evans' 2016 NFL Catch of the Year and the big Bucs' offseason catches </i><i>— DeSean Jackson, O.J. Howard and Chris Godwin </i><i>— inspired us to mark the start of the...

www.tampabay.com

We as Rams fans can say the ball hit the ground, Bucs still had chances. But the majority would have said that's a catch - and we likely still win even if he catches it.

Let's not be Saints fans. The NFL isn't fixed (one of Saints fans favorite go tos is the NFL "needs football to succeed in LA, hence the no call")

 

[Ramlock]

Offensive Holding down by 247 penalties YOY from ‘19 to ‘20

All of the offensive lines didn’t improve that much. That’s intentional.

 

[Ellard80]

i said this last year and ill say it again... its popular to bitch about donald getting held. I'm not saying it doesn't happen... but if you want them to start calling more holding penalties then you better get rdy for some 2-20's for the rams because our guys going to get called a bunch also.

I prefer it when they don't call holding as much... the game flows better and it doesn't turn into a grind of 2nd and 18's for both teams all day long.

 

[Mackeyser]

Although I agree with most/all of this post, I still have to add this image:
View attachment 44110

Hahahahahaha! Pretty much...