Today the NFL sent a memo to its teams telling them to behave themselves on the field. This comes after a Week 2 in which several coaches were seen berating the replacement officials on the sidelines during games. All it really does, though, is continue to make the NFL look like fools for keeping the referees locked out for reasons that really just seem petty.
Now, this isn't a criticism of the replacement officials. They're doing the best they can. But they aren't NFL officials. And, as has been proven time and again this season, it turns out officiating an NFL game is hard. Not just anybody can do it. These guys, as well-intentioned as they may be, are in over their heads. They know it. The players know it. The owners know it. Even Roger Goddell knows it. Yet the lockout continues.
With the exception of the Seahawks being given an extra timeout because the officials didn't know the rules, the officiating in the Week 1 games, frankly, wasn't that bad. But the number of obvious mistakes last week were noticeable, and we're in for more of the same every week until the regular officials come back. And the officials not knowing the rules and having to huddle every time there's a penalty or a replay have made games drag on to unbearable paces. I got home at like 10:30 on Monday night and was shocked to see that the Broncos-Falcons game wasn't even at halftime yet! Two hours into the game! (And let's not forget the games that the officials seemed to lose control of completely.)
Then there's the Saints fan who just happened to be assigned as the side judge for last weekend's Saints-Panthers game. Maybe they should've checked on something like that before the officials assignments were made. And I didn't know this one until today, but evidently in another game last weekend, one of the officials actually told one of the players that he was on said official's fantasy team. Nope. No conflict of interest there either.
As embarrassing as those incidents were, the NFL's biggest problem here is that they look like total hypocrites. How much does the NFL get from the new TV contract? Yet the officials wanting some more money, too, is somehow unreasonable?
Even more importantly, a big emphasis over the past couple of years has been player safety. Yet they're putting player safety in the hands of untrained, underqualified officials who've missed countless obvious unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties already. Fortunately there hasn't been a serious injury because of a non-call yet. But it feels like it's only a matter of time until there is one. That's the players' biggest gripe with the league right now, and I don't blame them.
The regular officials are trained to look for the signs of a possible concussion. These guys aren't. With everything that's come out over the past year about post-concussion symptons suffered by former players years after they retire, you would think the NFL would be serious about doing something to prevent it. Junior Seau's suicide is still fresh on all of our minds. How many other future Hall of Famers won't get to deliver their own speech in Canton before the NFL steps up?
No one is benefitting from the officials lockout, and the game is suffering as a result. The fans deserve to see the type of game they would expect. The players, the best football players in the world, deserve to have the best, most qualified professionals officiating their games. The owners deserve to have their assets (the players) protected and their product (the games) to be something worth paying to see.
Worst of all, there was really no reason for the NFL to lock out the officials in the first place. And the lockout certainly shouldn't have lasted this long. The NFL is stubbornly clinging to its very petty stance, while the officials aren't really looking for that much. If the sides actually sat down at the bargaining table, I bet it wouldn't be that hard to find a middle ground. I can say one thing that's positive about this unnecessary lockout, though. It's given us all a much better appreciation of the NFL officials, all of whom will be welcomed back with open arms. I just hope it's sooner rather than later.
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