NFL officiating is broken. How do we fix it?

[Orlando Buffalo]

Just now, Mr. WEO said:

 

First, there's no intuitive reason to believe that full time refs would make any difference at all.  They are required to have a decade or more of high level reffing experience before they are accepting into NFL training.  And, more, importantly, leagues with full time refs suffer from equally "bad" reffing--we all already understand this (see:  MLB playoffs, any NBA game). 

 

And when you watch any game Sunday, point out the flag throw where there was no ref/ump/line judge anywhere near the play.  

The first part is quite the walk back from "debunked" to " no intuitive reason", you claimed the first. As for officials I would argue baseball officials are the best in pro sports, so that would be a mark in full time column.  Secondly I have seen many times where officials are 20 yards away throwing flags, the only one I actually remember is from like 2012 vs the Rams where we had a pick 6 called back against us by an official who was about 40 yards behind the play and the call was literally without any contact to the player.

[Mr. WEO]

3 minutes ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

The first part is quite the walk back from "debunked" to " no intuitive reason", you claimed the first. As for officials I would argue baseball officials are the best in pro sports, so that would be a mark in full time column.  Secondly I have seen many times where officials are 20 yards away throwing flags, the only one I actually remember is from like 2012 vs the Rams where we had a pick 6 called back against us by an official who was about 40 yards behind the play and the call was literally without any contact to the player.

 

debunked.  yes.  the claim that full time refs would solve any problem has no basis in fact.  all evidence points to it having no better outcome than it does in the pro leagues.  

 

MLB refs are terrible.  Can't call a strike---the simplest call in all of sports.  Can't call correct play at the bases despite many reviews/angles.  Angel Hernandez is the worst referee/ump in sports history---he was allowed to make egregiously bad calls for 30 years...and he wasn't alone.  And mind you, MLB is the slowest pro sport in the world.  Compare that to the speed of the NFL game, with 22 guys running around at once.  The claim that MLB has "the best officials" isn't a serious argument.

 

This is all stuff for us to talk about between Sundays.  

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

11 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

 

 

-change pass interference. There is absolutely no reason for the defender to have to turn around…zero. He’s already beat. Wtf Is he then looking the opposite way while he catches up 

 

It is already in the rules that Defender doesn’t have to turn around. He just can’t make contact while not turning around. That’s fair no?
 

recall week 1 against the Cardinals. Ingram had plenty of contact but turned around and attempted play on ball so no call despite Cardinals fans complaints 

[frostbitmic]

Officiating has been bad for a long time. Every year the shield in all its brilliance makes more and more rules further making the Zebra's job even more difficult. We still don't know what a catch is, is a double tap the same as getting two feet in bounds, what is roughing the passer ? ... I see lesser QBs get pummeled and not draw a flag, yet you used to get a flag for even looking at Brady.

 

The rule book needs to be streamlined, seems even refs don't agree on what's a penalty or not.

Refs that are wrong time and time again need to be replaced

Eye in the sky needs to be used for more things to get calls as close to being right as possible.

 

There is a ton of $$$ wagered on the NFL every weekend, they owe it to the fans to get it right.

[klos63]

22 hours ago, Logic said:

It seems like bad calls by NFL officials become a bigger story every year. Far too many big games are decided by awful calls and non-calls, and it's diminishing the product and alienating the fans.

In my estimation, the biggest problem is that the NFL absolutely refuses to have full time officials. For a sport this big, which makes this much money, and which sees so much money wagered on it by the betting public, to NOT have full time officials, seems inexcusable to me. 

There is also no real accountability for egregious mistakes, and there needs to be.

I think the Tweet below proposes some logical solutions, but I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions on it, because I'm sick to death of this god awful officiating week in and week out.

 

 

How will having the refs 'full time' change much?  What will they be doing in March? April? 

 

I don't know how that will make them much better. There are very good officials that are not full time, so it can be done. Just need to find the good ones and get rid of the bad ones.

[blacklabel]

They don't want it fixed. They probably think it adds drama to the game. I go into every game expecting the officiating to be abysmal. When you set the bar underground...they still somehow go lower. 

[paulmm3]

16 minutes ago, blacklabel said:

They don't want it fixed. They probably think it adds drama to the game. I go into every game expecting the officiating to be abysmal. When you set the bar underground...they still somehow go lower. 

 

There may be something to this. In 20+ years of watching the NFL, I don't think the officiating is biased against the Bills. But I do think refs have a directive to keep games close, when in doubt. Bad calls seem to disproportionately help the team who's losing, unless it's a massive blow out. This would make sense from a business perspective too - keep games close -> keep more fans watching until the end -> more eyeballs on the TV for longer -> more ad dollars.

[klos63]

3 hours ago, Orlando Buffalo said:

The first part is quite the walk back from "debunked" to " no intuitive reason", you claimed the first. As for officials I would argue baseball officials are the best in pro sports, so that would be a mark in full time column.  Secondly I have seen many times where officials are 20 yards away throwing flags, the only one I actually remember is from like 2012 vs the Rams where we had a pick 6 called back against us by an official who was about 40 yards behind the play and the call was literally without any contact to the player.

Umpires work from Feb through October,  they are full time because the season can be up to 9 months long.  They stink overall.  The umpiring during the world series was terrible. And the umps have it great.  First class flights , per diems, great salary,  vacations during the season... and they still miss obvious calls at first base.

[That's No Moon]

On 11/8/2024 at 2:51 PM, finn said:

Have Congress or the FBI launch an investigation of point shaving. My guess is that the officiating will improve, fast. 

Ah yes, Congress. The last bastion of integrity and efficiency.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

6 hours ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

It is already in the rules that Defender doesn’t have to turn around. He just can’t make contact while not turning around. That’s fair no?
 

recall week 1 against the Cardinals. Ingram had plenty of contact but turned around and attempted play on ball so no call despite Cardinals fans complaints 

They absolutely make you turn around. It’s called and spoken about every week. You have to turn and play the ball and it’s pointless 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

1 hour ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

They absolutely make you turn around. It’s called and spoken about every week. You have to turn and play the ball and it’s pointless 

Turning and playing the ball lets the DB get away with contact. You don’t like that rule?
 

You just want them to make contact without attempting to make a play on the ball?

[gonzo1105]

Simplify rules that are open to interpretation. Make the game simpler. Work with the NCAA to foster a developmental system for college referees at the FBS level. Applicants must be in the top 10% of their position in their conference grading to be eligible to be promoted to the NFL and only the top 10% of officials in the NFL are eligible for promotion.

 

These guys make great money for being Part Time. Like we're talking 6 figures good money. Its time to reward the top guys. I'm not saying thats perfect but it would be a big step towards making it better at least.

[flomoe]

On 11/8/2024 at 2:51 PM, finn said:

Have Congress or the FBI launch an investigation of point shaving. My guess is that the officiating will improve, fast. 

You’re kidding, right???

Have the 2 most corrupt parts of a ridiculously corrupt government, investigate corruption within the NFL???

Congressmen that make 160k/year have net worths well north of $10mil.

If anything, somebody needs to check the betting habits and net worth’s of NFL execs and NFL Refs. Maybe then it would shed some light on the piss poor officiating.

[Brianmoorman4jesus]

1 hour ago, Sammy Watkins' Rib said:

Turning and playing the ball lets the DB get away with contact. You don’t like that rule?
 

You just want them to make contact without attempting to make a play on the ball?

I’m saying….if there’s no contact it’s no foul. They call a penalty when the guy DOESNT turn around to play the ball. Like face guarding. Obviously if there is contact that’s a different story. How have you never seen what I am taking about. Several times every game you hear the guys say, you have to turn around and play the ball

[BananaB]

There is no fix. This is exactly what they want, control

[bobobonators]

I think the way it’s evolving with the real-time assistance from the replay booth without a red flag even being thrown is how it needs to go completely. 
 

let the refs do their thing on the field - and all plays are instantly reviewed by official in booth/nyc. Wherever. 
 

the technology is there. It’s a no brainer. 
 

part of the issue with officiating is not only the officials, but the rules themselves. We all know what a catch looks like when we see it. Stop the lunacy with the nuances that go 30 bullet points deep on what constitutes a catch in the end zone. 

[Sammy Watkins' Rib]

2 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

How have you never seen what I am taking about. Several times every game you hear the guys say, you have to turn around and play the ball

 

Yes, i hear them say that in reference to the contact that is also being made. Hence, if you turn around and make contact, less likely to draw a flag. 

[reddogblitz]

On 11/8/2024 at 10:44 AM, R.O. said:

Doesn't College have automatic reviews from the Press Box?

 

They should do that.

 

Please don't do what college does. Seems they review everything and they take 2-3 minutes to decide anything.  I find college games hard to watch due to this.

 

If the replay refs can't figure it out in 30 seconds or less, obviously its not clear and obvious so go with the call on the field and keep

 The game moving.

 

Also please do not get a geeked out with GPS chips on the football and players etc. Come on it's football, not a video game or something.

 

The answer IMHO is to simplify the rules.  Catch the football and take 3 steps and its a catch regardless if he makes a "football move" whatever that is.  If a guy has possession of the football getting 2 feet in bounds, its a catch regardless if he "maintains possession throughout the process of the catch". Take out all the subjectivity.  Too much of that.  If holding can be called on every play, either call it on every play or change the rules to make the call more obvious and such that it doesn't happen on every play.

 

The fact that they won't do this makes me wonder they don't want to so they can have the subjectivity to control the outcome if needed.  With gambling becoming a league sponsored activity it makes me more suspicious of that.

Edited November 10 by reddogblitz

[Sierra Foothills]

On 11/8/2024 at 9:15 AM, Logic said:

It seems like bad calls by NFL officials become a bigger story every year. Far too many big games are decided by awful calls and non-calls, and it's diminishing the product and alienating the fans.

In my estimation, the biggest problem is that the NFL absolutely refuses to have full time officials. For a sport this big, which makes this much money, and which sees so much money wagered on it by the betting public, to NOT have full time officials, seems inexcusable to me. 

There is also no real accountability for egregious mistakes, and there needs to be.

I think the Tweet below proposes some logical solutions, but I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions on it, because I'm sick to death of this god awful officiating week in and week out.

 

 

 

I'm in the group that doesn't believe making officials full-time will improve officiating. I actually don't think the zebras are the problem with NFL officiating.

 

On 11/8/2024 at 9:28 AM, Sojourner said:

No need to get fancy, it’s very simple. 
 

Fines or dismissal after X amount of errors in a season. If they make an incorrect call, miss a blatant penalty or have an error that affects the game negatively.

 

Every NFL official is graded after every game. Good officials are rewarded with post-season assignments. Poor officials are terminated.

 

There is accountability as it pertains to the actual zebras.

 

On 11/8/2024 at 9:32 AM, MJS said:

I don't think it is getting worse, personally. I think it has been this way for a long time. I also think it isn't as bad as most are saying, but the bad calls are really frustrating when they happen.

 

 

To your first comment, I disagree with those that say it's the preponderance of cameras and social media scrutiny that makes it seem like officiating is poor. Officiating is poor and it's affecting the product and people's enjoyment of the product. Many people are talking about unwatchable games.

 

On 11/8/2024 at 9:49 AM, NoSaint said:

Fewer tv angles may actually make the game more enjoyable in this regard. 
 

im not sure officiating fell off a cliff so much as we can now hyper monitor every detail

 

 

Several posters in this topic have advocated for fewer cameras but as you know, it's not gonna happen.

 

I think the NFL should double down and require pylon cams for every game (they only do some games). I also believe that a ball tracking chip, when synced with the video (to monitor forward progress) would be a useful way to determine whether the plane has been broken.

 

On 11/8/2024 at 10:11 AM, Mr. WEO said:

Also, simplify the rules.  Offensive holding should be radically simplified--it's a penalty if you take a guy to the ground---not for transiently grabbing his jersey sleeve for 2-3 seconds.    Also, a TD pass should be ruled as such immediately   when the ball in the receivers possession crosses the plane (same as a rushing TD)---the catch should not have to "survive the ground".  These are only 2 examples where, in seeking clarity, the rule have only introduced hopeless complexity, leading to all of these contorted referees interpretations.  Get rid of challenges.  Let the "eye in the sky" decide if they disagree with any call.

 

I agree that there are some rules that should be simplified but I strongly disagree with the bolded. 

 

On 11/8/2024 at 10:54 AM, RiotAct said:

bring back Red Cashion!

 

That would be great but unfortunately he's no longer with us here on earth.

 

On 11/8/2024 at 11:44 AM, That's No Moon said:

It's not broken. It's exactly how they want it to be. If they felt like it were broken you'd see them try very hard to fix it to protect the product.

 

Remember, the NFL put themselves into the same category as the WWE. Sports entertainment. 

 

IMO most serious NFL fans believe that the officiating is broken and is adversely affecting the product.

 

On 11/8/2024 at 12:43 PM, Bleeding Bills Blue said:

The judge required to call that penalty on the hit to burrows head is behind him.  He doesn't see the front of burrows face.  The ball was out, and it didn't affect the throw.  Ref's don't want to call a penalty on one of the last plays of the game if it doesn't really affect the end result.  

 

The ref required to call the "hold" on gesicki (i put it in quotes because its making rounds on twitter), is called by a back judge in the end zone.  From what he saw (the back of ravens jersey), gesicki was pressed at the line and couldn't get through it.  His dramatic attempt after to try and get a call doesn't resonate with the ref, because A - I don't want to call a ticky tack foul on a 2 point conversion at the end of the game, and B - He never once turned and even looked for the ball.  

 

I agree with your post 100%. What happened to Burrow's facemask should not be roughing IMO. Also re the non-call on Gesicki 1) He's "The Boy that cried Wolf"... as usual he was complaining when he should have been playing 2) There were two defenders in press coverage in his face... there's zero chance he was going to get a free release and pre-snap, there was no way Burrow was even considering throwing him the ball. Again inconsequential to the play.

 

The best major rule change the NFL could make is one that Bill Belichick made years ago: Everything should be challengable. That includes penalties which are currently not challengable.

 

Edited November 10 by Sierra Foothills

[LabattBlue]

One thing that needs to go away is the monitor on the sideline.  Replay central should have a 72” tv.  Why do you need a ref with a 19” on the sideline? Just another way to speed things up.