Questionable officiating in the NFL this season can be attributed to "younger officials" and the fact that the league "turned over 20 percent of the staff," according to Fox' Mike Pereira. The former NFL VP/Officiating, Pereira said, "You wanted younger officials, you got younger officials. You turned over 20 percent of the staff. You have over 25 new officials ... and there's been an adjustment period there. You can't work a Super Bowl until you've been in it for five years because this game is quicker and more complicated. I think this influx of new people has hurt things. The second thing is three management changes in the last six years" ("Fox NFL Sunday," Fox, 11/29). Asked how the NFL can improve officiating, Patriots President Jonathan Kraft said, "I’m going to leave that one to Park Avenue to figure out. But those guys have a tough job. I don’t think there’s a conscious effort to mess things up. Everything they do is an attempt to get to the right place." He added future technology would "help the refs to do their jobs even better than they do today" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/1). ESPN’s Steve Young said, “Fundamentally, officials are in a no-win
situation. On one side ... is digital perfection. Everything they do has
to be stopped to a million frames per second, and they’re trying to
officiate to that level which is impossible as a human being. The other
side is they’re part-time employees." Young: "Make them full-time
partners." ESPN’s Trent Dilfer said, “If the league really cared about getting it
right then they’d be committed to training the refs properly. ... Let’s
use the resources out there to train these refs so they can get it
better out there" ("Monday Night Countdown," ESPN, 11/30).
STRIPES NOT STARS: In Boston, Ben Volin wrote NFL referees "have been one of the top story lines" of the '15 season, and "not for the right reasons." There have been "egregious mistakes in high-profile situations, most of which the NFL has admitted to." The league has "implemented several significant changes over the last several years, and they may be having an adverse effect on the game." The "most significant change is with the instant replay system." Sources said that the league office's involvement in real-time review situations "has mostly caused the officials to question their calls on the field and rely" on NFL VP/Officiating Dean Blandino and the league office "for guidance." Many officials also "wonder whether Blandino is the best person to be guiding replay calls and officiating in general, as he has never been an on-field official in the NFL" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/29). In Phoenix, Kent Somers wrote the Cardinals and 49ers both were "underwhelmed by the job referee Pete Morelli and his crew did Sunday at Levi’s Stadium." Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said, "The officials were struggling. Mightily. I mean, they can’t count to three" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 11/30). ESPN’s Shawne Merriman said, “It’s the worst it has been for a long time, and I really can’t blame the officials too much because ... they change a rule every single week.” ESPN’s Max Kellerman: “One of the reasons American football doesn’t export the way basketball does ... is basketball is elegant, it’s easy to understand. When you watch it, it translates easy. Football has the most Byzantine rules, and then they change them all the time.” Kellerman: “The rules are impossible to follow” (“SportsNation,” ESPN2, 11/30).
ROOM TO IMPROVE: ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert wrote the past seven days have "brought more grist for the NFL officiating debate than any similar time period in recent memory." The public's sense -- as well as that of "some within the game" -- is that officiating is "worsening as scrutiny intensifies." There "seems little doubt that the frequency and impact of mistakes are in a crescendo as the final month of the regular season approaches." Referees are "under unprecedented scrutiny" and, as a result, are "struggling to perform." Unfortunately, there are "no quick fixes or obvious solutions." The NFL and its officiating department "have little choice this season but to ride out the ebb and flow" (ESPN.com, 11/30). ESPN Radio's Mike Golic said, "I've heard people talk about ripping up a lot of the rule book and actually starting over and I am starting to say maybe that's not a bad idea. Make it as black and white as possible so everybody, including the refs, know what the hell they're talking about." ESPN's Tim Hasselbeck said, "I'm not trying to take a shot, but I think the reality is that these are really good athletes running up and down the field at a high speed and the league has tried to get younger with these officials" ("Mike & Mike," ESPN Radio, 12/1).
HEAD SHOTS: The BOSTON GLOBE's Volin wrote of Rams QB Case Keenum being left in a game last month against the Ravens despite exhibiting signs of a concussion, "Let’s place the blame on everybody -- on the trainer for not identifying a potential concussion, on Keenum’s teammates for not alerting anybody to the severity of his condition, on the concussion spotter for not stopping the game once Keenum entered the huddle on the next play, and on [Rams coach Jeff Fisher] for being the man in charge." The NFL’s concussion protocol "won’t work unless everyone is committed to the same goal" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/29). In Pittsburgh, Rob Rossi wrote the NFL "keeps getting it wrong when it comes to concussions." It is "wrong when players are in the position of self-reporting symptoms," and it is "especially wrong because at every NFL stadium there is an independent medical spotter empowered to halt the game for a medical timeout." Rossi: "When will the NFL Players' Association have the proper response to the league that treats its members like disposable razors?" The union "should demand -- publicly -- a better system for diagnosis of a possible concussion." So "should the Steelers, starting with" Chair Dan Rooney and his son, team President Art Rooney in light of QB Ben Roethlisberger self-reporting a concussion on Sunday (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 11/30).
