What Needs to be Changed in Regards to the Refs?

[SissyBoyFloyd]

How about this one: If the refs cannot stop a play before it is run, then the play counts, especially after one of the refs has set the ball down for the center to grab it and is ready to hike. And like tonight, a team is rushing to get the play off to save time. In doing what that ref did tonight, he was stopping the clock which helps Chiefs, when the play is unsuccessful he gives them a do over to win the game.

The refs should not get to say that they meant to or were going to stop it. If any of the players stop, then fine the play is dead, but if no one is aware of it and everyone has fully run the play, it counts. You cannot give a team a mulligan because the ref was not fast enough or was so far away from all the players that no one could see or hear him, not even the other refs. Again, shut up and let the players play and decide the game, for the fans sake if nothing else. Every year they screw with fans heads and ruin great games with their need to decide results and be a part of the action.

Besides all that, they know they miss crucial calls, so at the very end of games, do not call anything that is not blatant and obvious to all. If you do it looks like you are favoring one team over the other, like tonight. It looked so apparent that the Bengals were not only getting screwed, but you felt as a fan that they were going to get screwed one way or another.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

I propose the NFL institutes a Ref Hunting Season, where Refs that have blown, and/or made the worst, calls are rounded up and placed in a fenced sanctuary for a period of time. Then fans of teams that lost games due to their bad calls get a chance to hunt them down. Any fan, who can find and bag one in the allotted time frame, can pay to have their catch stuffed and mounted and placed permanently in their home, cabin, or club house.

 

[slanidrac16]

Want the refs to be better?
Stop all replays.
Stop all reviews.
If you allow replays, Do not allow a team to see the replay before a challenge. If the refs have to make a call instantly , a team questioning the call should be subjected to the same.

Instant replay if available 50 years ago would have changed the history of the NFL.

I’m not serious about eliminating instant replay or review. But many times the refs actually made a great call and the replay proved it. But we don’t dwell on them.

Have you ever heard somebody claim we won the game because we were out of challenges but the ref got it right?

It’s all part of the game.

 

[oaken1]

Want the refs to be better?
Stop all replays.
Stop all reviews.
If you allow replays, Do not allow a team to see the replay before a challenge. If the refs have to make a call instantly , a team questioning the call should be subjected to the same.

Instant replay if available 50 years ago would have changed the history of the NFL.

I’m not serious about eliminating instant replay or review. But many times the refs actually made a great call and the replay proved it. But we don’t dwell on them.

Have you ever heard somebody claim we won the game because we were out of challenges but the ref got it right?

It’s all part of the game.

I still dont like replay. But I have come to accept it as a part of the game now.

But if they are going to have it they should make it an effective tool. The booth, new york, whatever, should automatically review every call made in the fourth quarter.

 

[Cards_Campos]

Want the refs to be better?
Stop all replays.
Stop all reviews.
If you allow replays, Do not allow a team to see the replay before a challenge. If the refs have to make a call instantly , a team questioning the call should be subjected to the same.

Instant replay if available 50 years ago would have changed the history of the NFL.

I’m not serious about eliminating instant replay or review. But many times the refs actually made a great call and the replay proved it. But we don’t dwell on them.

Have you ever heard somebody claim we won the game because we were out of challenges but the ref got it right?

It’s all part of the game.

How about just get the call right! Period. And I think coaches should get 3 challenges period and you can challenge penalties or lack there of. That will atleast add integrity to the game because of a ref misses a call you atleast had a chance to challenge it

 

[blindseyed]

Hire the blind

 

[slanidrac16]

How about just get the call right! Period. And I think coaches should get 3 challenges period and you can challenge penalties or lack there of. That will atleast add integrity to the game because of a ref misses a call you atleast had a chance to challenge it

The point is without replays we wouldn’t have the ability to see 47 different angles to finally reveal if the call was correct. On the Smith catch there was only one camera angle that revealed it wasn’t a catch. If that camera angle wasn’t there no one would have known it wasn’t a catch. And hey, the 49’s could have challenge it but didn’t. If they did the call would have been corrected.
Why just 3 challenges? Why not 5? The next thing we’ll complain about is now the games are going to long.

 

[BritCard]

Everything should be open to replay review and there should be a permanently "sky ref" watching the game and drawing the refs attention to obvious mistakes like with VAR in soccer.

 

[TRW]

USFL had official in the booth. Took about 30 seconds to review/change when needed. It's a simple fix but, as long as they are making their $$$$, there's no incentive for the NFL to change apparently.
And, for those that scream the NFL is rigged or biased against certain teams I don't know why you would keep watching. It's tantamount to thinking "professional" wrestling is real. LOL

 

[gimpy]

It sounds like on here, some want to call everything for 3 1/2 quarters, then swallow the whistle.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Nothing. It's football.

 

[gimpy]

Don't make "phantom" calls. Don't do makeups.

 

[JeffGollin]

Two separate issues:

1. Wrong Calls

2. Too much boring down-time.

Issues should be dealt with separately, with their goals: Fairer Calls and Less Down-time.

I’d like to see fewer calls subject to reversals. And how about alternating close calls and only requiring one foot be in-bounds to be considered “in-bounds. And simplifying/clarifying the “touch the goal line stanchion to be in-bounds“ rule.

 

[overseascardfan]

I think refs should face fines / suspensions if they are constantly making questionable calls / rulings and I mean all sports refs, not just NFL.

 

[gmabel830]

Everything should be open to replay review and there should be a permanently "sky ref" watching the game and drawing the refs attention to obvious mistakes like with VAR in soccer.

I'm ok with this, with the emphasis on "obvious mistakes". IMO, where both the NFL and soccer have gone wrong is implementing a system designed to change clear and obvious errors and then using it to re-litigate close plays. I very much dislike the automated offsides system used for VAR in soccer, which has basically made it where no one knows if a goal is really a goal until after VAR. I'd be fine with everything open to review, but only as a mechanism to fix truly clear and obvious mistakes that don't take 8 camera angles to figure out.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

USFL had official in the booth. Took about 30 seconds to review/change when needed. It's a simple fix but, as long as they are making their $$$$, there's no incentive for the NFL to change apparently.
And, for those that scream the NFL is rigged or biased against certain teams I don't know why you would keep watching. It's tantamount to thinking "professional" wrestling is real. LOL

Can not believe that is a real word. Had to look it up. And at my age! I actually thought you simply meant ¨can amount¨.

 

[oaken1]

here is the solution.

every official wears a go pro
when looking for penalties, only review the go pro ...not the tv cameras.
if it aint on the go pro then obviously the ref never saw it.

The human element has always affected the game and played a big part in creating and maintaining rivalries. The "Immaculate reception" was an incomplete pass based on the rules at the time. The refs screwed up, allowed Franco to make a play, steelers get the win...in the off season the league changes the rule to fit the results.

there shouldnt be any replay honestly. But, the NFL should by all means make officiating the primary employment of all officials. with what they get paid it should not be a part time job. They should be spending a few days a week practicing, watching tape, making calls, reviewing the games they worked, calling games in a VR system, studying rules, etc.
when you allow a guy to spend 50-60 hours a week doing something totally unrelated, then fly out to call a game in his down time you get hobby level results from a hobby level job.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

Every year now a conf. championship game comes down to a last second fluke or mistake, often by the refs or involving the refs. So, here is the perfect solution.

In the final 2 minutes of any championship game, remove all the refs from the field except for the one spotting the ball and keeping time, plus the chain gang/yard markers. Let the players totally decide the game. If a penalty like play such as holding happens, well tough, play through it like you do most downs. If a qb gets hit a moment after the whistle, just get up and play like a man for those 2 minutes. If in case of a fumble or possession question, you still have the booth to notify the one ref on the field whose ball it is.

 

[Red Dawn]

Every year now a conf. championship game comes down to a last second fluke or mistake, often by the refs or involving the refs. So, here is the perfect solution.

In the final 2 minutes of any championship game, remove all the refs from the field except for the one spotting the ball and keeping time, plus the chain gang/yard markers. Let the players totally decide the game. If a penalty like play such as holding happens, well tough, play through it like you do most downs. If a qb gets hit a moment after the whistle, just get up and play like a man for those 2 minutes. If in case of a fumble or possession question, you still have the booth to notify the one ref on the field whose ball it is.

Two Minute Thunderdome. Two teams enter, one team leaves.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Nothing should happen. People see these incidents through the lens of their own bias.

 

[Harry]

How about this one: If the refs cannot stop a play before it is run, then the play counts, especially after one of the refs has set the ball down for the center to grab it and is ready to hike. And like tonight, a team is rushing to get the play off to save time. In doing what that ref did tonight, he was stopping the clock which helps Chiefs, when the play is unsuccessful he gives them a do over to win the game.

The refs should not get to say that they meant to or were going to stop it. If any of the players stop, then fine the play is dead, but if no one is aware of it and everyone has fully run the play, it counts. You cannot give a team a mulligan because the ref was not fast enough or was so far away from all the players that no one could see or hear him, not even the other refs. Again, shut up and let the players play and decide the game, for the fans sake if nothing else. Every year they screw with fans heads and ruin great games with their need to decide results and be a part of the action.

Besides all that, they know they miss crucial calls, so at the very end of games, do not call anything that is not blatant and obvious to all. If you do it looks like you are favoring one team over the other, like tonight. It looked so apparent that the Bengals were not only getting screwed, but you felt as a fan that they were going to get screwed one way or another.

The problem with that is illustrated by the case in this game. If the Safeties saw him run on the field, perhaps they stop playing. Perhaps, don’t try to stop a play once the ref has put the ball in play. Let the play run and use replay to correct the clock. If it’s the play clock not started, just let it go. It creates no big advantage for either team.

 

[SissyBoyFloyd]

The problem with that is illustrated by the case in this game. If the Safeties saw him run on the field, perhaps they stop playing. Perhaps, don’t try to stop a play once the ref has put the ball in play. Let the play run and use replay to correct the clock. If it’s the play clock not started, just let it go. It creates no big advantage for either team.

The refs have more leeway than they pretend at times. Example is: Every game we all see the play clock hit 0:00 before the QB calls for the ball and it is hiked. We have all been told why, but still there is a wide area of how it is not usually called. I put that play yesterday in that same vein. Maybe I am wrong on this one, but you get the idea. We all know what they mean when they say, ¨If they wanted to, the refs could call holding on nearly every play.¨

The kickoffs have become a total farce and useless play. I would, as a coach, never run the ball out of the end zone. Over half the time you will be starting at the 5-15 yard line. The penalty calls on kick offs have taken one of the most exciting plays out of the game. It used to be a great equalizer and game saving play, not to mention fun that we all anticipated greatly.

If they wanted to bring it back into the game again as it once was, just remove those kind of penalties on kickoffs. How does a player running full speed down the field get held anyway. Leave it up to the players to avoid and get out of that one. The same with those clipping penalties where half the player's body is on the other playerś side not rear or back. Just let it go unless extremely flagrant, obvious, and meaningful to the result of the play.

What sayeth you, oh mighty football guru Harry?

 

[BulldogCard]

The late hit was called and ruined letting them play. It was a high pressure judgment call and ultimately a missed holding call that sealed it.