Official-ly Unacceptable

     The NFL officiating is reaching a point where there needs to be some changes to the rulebook. These are real NFL officials who are primarily responsible to uphold the integrity of the game yet there are repeated instances where they are just slipping up and recently, the occurrences are becoming routine. Too often, the officials are involved in a headline. And it isn’t in a positive way. Yes there have been some situations in which officials have been scrutinized, many times on big stages. There are different circumstances and some are right and some are wrong. When you think of things such as the Tuck Rule, which is no longer in play, fans may not agree with that rule but it was the correct call according to the rulebook. 

     Then you have a situation like last night: The Redskins vs. Giants game came down to the last drive and the Redskins faced 2^nd and 5. RG3 throws a 4-yard pass to Pierre Garcon and hurries back to the line because he was running the 2-minute drill. One official is seen signaling 1^st down, so the Redskins do what most teams would do on first down, take a shot. The pass falls incomplete and when the Redskins regroup, they are suddenly faced with a 4^th and 1. There are numerous officials standing on the field, each with whistles and bright yellow flags. They simply cannot let an error like that happen in a key divisional matchup.  Mike Shanahan acknowledged after the play that the play-calling sequence would have been different had they known they needed the first down on 3^rd down. That basically stole a play from the Redskins, who are now mathematically out of playoff contention with that loss. 2 weeks ago on Monday night, there was the situation at the end of the Carolina Panthers vs. New England Patriots game. If the referee with the best view threw the flag, you have to follow through. And even if you choose not to, you have to at least offer an explanation.

     There are other situations where the referee’s are just making a mistake, which is fine because after all, they are humans. However there has to be something that can counter that bad call. For example, a lot of people may argue that Ahmad Brooks hit on Drew Brees was not one that should have drawn a penalty. That was a play late in the fourth quarter, which consisted of Brooks hitting Brees, Brees fumbling, and the 49ers recovering. Instead, it was a roughing the passer and the Saints retained the ball, got 15 yards and an automatic first down. Saints won the game. Just yesterday, there was a roughing the passer penalty called on a Texans linebacker who hit Tom Brady helmet to helmet. However, on replay it is shown that Brady was already falling due to another hit and the Texans player was falling as well and there was no intention to hit Brady. That should not have been a penalty but instead, New England got 15 yards and a first down.

     I understand that with all of the new additions, such as all turnovers and scoring plays being reviewed and how the quarterback can’t snap the ball till the referee clears the area after placing the ball may be slowing the game down a bit more than the average fan would like, but some penalties must be reviewable. I’m not saying to give the coaches more challenges, but if they want to use one or both of their challenges to correct a missed call by an official, they should be able to. Maybe the NFL does something where penalties are not reviewed in the final two minutes or maybe only certain penalties are, but something should be done. There are too many zebras deciding the outcome of key games, when it should be they guys in the helmet.