Cory's Corner: Full-time refs aren't the answer

I just want to start by saying the refereeing in the NFL this season has been dreadful.

There have been so many bad calls that I’ve become desensitized to missed calls that decide or extend games. Case in point is Thursday night. I’ve often railed on Thursday Night Football, but the Dallas-Minnesota game was the best midweek game I’ve seen in a long time.

The problem was the two-point conversion. After the Vikings finally scored a touchdown to get within two points of a tie, Cowboys’ defensive lineman Cedric Thornton hit Minnesota quarterback Sam Bradford in the head, which would have given the Vikings another chance at a tie.

The refereeing has been awful, so why would you want to promote the refs with a full-time job? How is a full-time ref impervious to missed calls?

“I can’t fathom what a side judge would do all week to get better and make better calls on Sunday,” said former head of officials Mike Pereira via The MMQB. “Read the rule book? Watch a lot more tape?”

Periera can be self-serving at times, but he’s on the money here. It’s a bang-bang business. Refs can pore over reams and reams of data and watch endless video clips, but that’s only going to give them a marginal advantage. You are either a quality ref and rise to big-game high-pressure situations or you’re not.

The NBA has full-time refs. When’s the last time a call was missed? If you said yesterday, you’re right.

I’m not saying that calls must be 100 percent right, 100 percent of the time. If that’s the expectation, then we need robots because humans are going to miss calls. The calls I have a problem with are the ones that affect safety or the blatant ones that affect the outcome.

The Vikings had no business being within two points. The offense had plenty of chances to take advantage of two Dallas fumbles but couldn’t get out of their own way. But they magically executed the two-minute drill and put the Cowboy defense on roller skates.

The win gave Dallas a 2½ game lead for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, while the Vikings have now lost 6 of 7 and are still behind NFC North leader Detroit.

The game mattered. Making the refs full-time isn’t the answer, but at the risk of making games take as long as “Hamlet” maybe it’s time to let refs have full autonomy on instant replay in the final minute. If a ref has any inkling that a call may be wrong, he can ask to look at it again. The personal foul on Thornton would’ve been caught and the Vikings would’ve had a chance to not only end their losing spiral with a statement win, but the Dallas lead would’ve been more realistic.

The NFL remains the most popular sport and brand in America. Countless calls have been missed in the past, but what sets this season apart is the amount of calls that are having a true effect on the final score. 

The reffing surely won’t hurt the NFL’s Q rating, just as long as another Tim Donaghy doesn’t resurface. But it doesn’t make the outcome any more palatable when there are blatant calls that could and should be called. 

 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHEESEHEAD NATION WEEKLY NEWSLETTER HERE.

__________________________

Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn

__________________________

0 points
 

Comments (8)

Fan-Friendly This filter will hide comments which have ratio of 5 to 1 down-vote to up-vote.
Horse's picture

December 03, 2016 at 06:45 am

The ref was screened from seeing the right arm. Yes, refs miss calls. The solution is to put one more ref on the field and position him properly. Like on the "blind" sideline when the ball is in the RZ. You'd still get bad calls, but the greed pig owners can probably afford to pay for one more ref per game.

An even better solution would have been for Bradford to not throw a moon shot trajectory, increasing the chance it would be caught from 0.00.

0 points
0
0
NickPerry's picture

December 03, 2016 at 08:19 am

On that same play the Vikings RT was guilty of a false start, one that was so obvious it's not hard to understand why the Ref missed the "Love Tap" to Bradford's facemask. Was it a foul? Yup, but so is some of this stuff they've done for "Player Safety". It drives me nuts when a player's hand brushes the side of the QB's helmet and it's a 15 yard unnecessary call on the Defense. But this is now the game of Football.

The clothesline shot to Aaron Rodgers neck Monday night, that a foul. This hand to the face they missed Thursday is a foul but it should be a foul in the Lingerie League, not the NFL.

The Packers have been burned more than once for bad officiating. Do you have to hope it evens out over the game? Season? Games re getting so damn long now I feel terrible for people on the East Coast. Could you imagine MORE replay and making them LONGER. Put another ref on the field

0 points
0
0
Razer's picture

December 03, 2016 at 08:18 am

The game moves fast in real-time and will always be subject to human error. I don't have a problem with this reality. I don't need a longer game and I don't need a game administered from a booth. Simplify the rules and get the human confrontation back in football.

And, how about this - play well enough to beat your opponent and win the game. I don't remember a blown call getting in the way of putting an opponent away. Other than on defense, the Vikings did not play well enough to win that game. To cry about having victory snatched from your grasp is bullshit. They should have punched the Cowboys in the mouth many times through the game but instead practiced their 3 and outs. To complain about the officiating when your O-line is giving the game away is weak reality TV nonsense - not football.

0 points
0
0
Since'61's picture

December 03, 2016 at 08:36 am

NFL officiating has become deplorable to the point where many games are unwatchable. I don't see how full time referees would make a difference. Even with eyes in the sky it would difficult if not impossible to watch every player on every play. In the example mentioned in the article the ref was in a good position to see a roughing or blow to the head call but his vision was blocked by the defender's left arm which hit Bradford's shoulder while his right arm hit and grabbed Bardford's face mask. The call was missed but I'm not sure that a full time official would have seen it either. My problem is with the inconsistent and ricky-tack calls on holding, Def. holding and PI and the catch/non-catch that drive me crazy. We often don't see consistency from the same officiating crew in the same game never mind from week to week. I'm also not sure that more refs on the field would help. They would probably huddle up and review even more plays therefore making the games even longer. This issue has already gone on for too long and the league is long overdue in finding a better solution. Be nice to hear from the competition committee. Thanks, Since '61

0 points
0
0
egbertsouse's picture

December 03, 2016 at 08:53 am

Player safety in the NFL only extends to certain players. Bradford is not valuable enough to get that call. Tom Brady would have gotten it, though.

My favorite stupid ref call is the one where there is an incomplete pass and no flag for PI. Then the WR has a hissy fit and, 30 seconds later, here comes a flag.

0 points
0
0
Spock's picture

December 03, 2016 at 09:57 am

Razer, Have you already forgotten the "Fail Mary" call (in fact about 5 missed calls in that game changed the Packers from winning)? On a happier note: Joe Callahan now officially back on the Packer's practice squad. Love that; he made an otherwise boring preseason fun to watch! http://www.packers.com/news-and-events/article-roster-moves/article-1/Pa...

0 points
0
0
egbertsouse's picture

December 03, 2016 at 11:24 am

Callahan! Now we're getting to the Super Bowl!

On a serious note, we are desperately in need of CB and ILB help. Why is TT spending time checking the waiver wire to get Callahan back?

Oh yeah, draft and develop......

0 points
0
0
Oppy's picture

December 03, 2016 at 04:43 pm

The ability of the officials hasn't changed a single iota since the inception of football.

The two things that have changed are,

1) the sheer volume and complexity of the rules, and

2) the number of cameras, the angles, and the ability to and implementation of replaying those video clips of all those angles.

How many "bad" or "Missed" calls that are widely lambasted each and every sunday as though the refs are criminally negligent, would have even been known to be missed or bad calls AT ALL just 10 or 15 years ago, when there weren't nearly as many cameras and angles on the field, and broadcasts weren't playing close-up angles of every single call / missed call on the TV and Jumbotron before the next play even had a chance to occur?

Now, there are so many detailed, nuanced rules on the books.. which is supposed to take away the gray area, but in reality, makes the job of calling a proper game a lawyer's task.

It's all a mess. Either simplify the rules (I believe a great example was cutting away the push-out rule, for example) and let the Refs do their job unimpeded by myopic bullshit, or take the human element completely out of the game and start using technology with sensors and intelligent cameras to make all the calls. The problem is, people tend to argue that you, for some reason, just can't take the human element out of officiating.. but those same people bitch and gripe about every single bad / missed call.

Either way, I still believe officiating isn't any better or worse than it was at any given time. I believe our ability to second guess and triple examine has increased exponentially, and when there's more rules, there's also more opportunity to miss something.

0 points
0
0