The NFL has scheduled the replacement referees "internally through Week 5 of the regular season," so the league is "preparing to move forward” without the regular refs, who continue to be locked out, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. ESPN's Chris Mortensen noted the “greatest concern from coaches and executives about replacement officials was played out in full public view” during Seahawks-Cardinals Sunday. The referee “erroneously gave the Seahawks an extra fourth timeout with 30 seconds left.” The NFL noted the same scenario occurred before with the regular refs, but the league "had created what was supposed to be a foolproof safeguard, an extra eighth official on the field to serve as a liaison with an experienced officiating supervisor in the booth." The league said that the booth supervisor "communicated the error and correction to the field but the message fell incomplete and the Seahawks got their extra timeout” ("Monday Night Countdown," ESPN, 9/10). Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said of the extra timeout, "The official made a mistake. Mistakes happen. I'm thankful it didn't affect the game. I'm not happy about it. I shouldn't be happy about it. But I'm pleased our team handled it the way that they did" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 9/11).
UNDER REVIEW: Packers G Josh Sitton said there were “a lot of things” the NFL replacement officials “didn’t necessarily get correct” during the team’s game against the 49ers on Sunday. But Sitton said, “That wasn’t the reason we lost the game. We got outplayed, out executed. It’s definitely noticeable. I’m not going to be B.S. you, it’s noticeable, for sure. You can see it when there’s a certain call, a penalty or something, and they’ve got to huddle up for an extra 30 seconds because they don’t know what they’re doing, and they’ve got to discuss it” (GREENBAYPRESSGAZETTE.com, 9/10). GRANTLAND.com’s Charles Pierce wrote the NFL’s “kept media is going to spend the next seven days telling you that the scabs worked out pretty well, but it doesn't make what the NFL is doing any more correct.” This is a “billion-dollar enterprise that is nickel-and-diming the people who it otherwise would assure you, relentlessly, have the ‘toughest job in the game’" (GRANTLAND.com, 9/10). In St. Louis, Bryan Burwell writes what the NFL is “trying to sell us on today is that replacement officials are just as good as the real ones,” an assertion that is “nonsense” (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/11).
IT'S ALL RELATIVE: PRO FOOTBALL TALK's Michael David Smith wrote the replacement refs "are doing just fine." Many of the fans and members of the media "who have bashed the replacement officials have actually been wrong themselves and criticized the replacements for calls they got right." Fans should not look at whether the replacement officials "made any mistakes on Sunday," but whether they "made more mistakes than the regular officials would have" (PROFOOTBALLTALK.com, 9/10). In Ft. Worth, Mac Engel writes under the header, "NFL Replacement Refs Are As Good As The 'Real' Ones" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 9/11). ESPN's Tony Kornheiser said 85% of coaches challenges Sunday were denied, “which means the calls were upheld.” Kornheiser: “You’re the NFL, you can live with that” ("PTI," ESPN, 9/10). ESPN’s Dan Le Batard said the “refs were great” on Sunday. Le Batard: "I’m not even grading on a curve. ... Under the circumstances, I thought it was pretty normal and excellent and I think we see many mistakes from the regular refs every week, usually though not a fourth timeout” (“Dan Le Batard Is Highly Questionable,” ESPN2, 9/10). ESPN’s Jemele Hill said, “We need to stop acting like these officials that are on strike were the best officials ever. They made mistakes too” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/10).
CLOSE ENOUGH FOR GOVERNMENT WORK: The N.Y. Daily News’ John Harper said of the refs, “It’s not a big topic of conversation today, doesn’t seem like, among football people. I think the refs are going to have to cave if they want their jobs back” (“Daily News Live,” SportsNet N.Y., 9/10). Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said the officiating was “good enough” because “people are not walking out of stadiums going, ‘Wow, this officiating is terrible. We’ve got to do something about that.’" Cowlishaw: "That’s what the locked-out officials needed. They needed more controversial calls.” But L.A. Times columnist Bill Plaschke said, “I thought it was bad yesterday because it seemed like several were on the verge of losing control of the game, and that’s the bigger picture." Denver Post columnist Woody Paige: “It wasn’t chaotic, but there was a great deal of confusion. It still doesn’t look very professional to me” ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 9/10).
