NFL or NRL?

Time for NFL to Decide if its Football or Referees

Another week of NFL football left me somewhat perplexed and speechless at what I was watching. As a lifelong and suffering NY Jets fan, I was glad I had no access to the game and was forced to watch several other games. Sometimes, the best games to watch are ones in which you have no rooting interest and can just enjoy good football or realize how much these bobblehead announcers on T.V. just ramble on about a 2-yard run by a player who is on his 5th team in 3 years. The one thing that stuck out the most was how much the Referees have taken over the NFL and it may be time for the Commissioner and team owners to get together and put them in their place. Some quick questions I have are:

Who is the Star?
As I was watching several games, it really came into vision with how inflated these referees’ egos have become. When you watch a game and on first down a 350 lb. moves, it is a pretty obvious false start. Move the ball five yards back while another ref makes the announcement and let us get the next snap going. However, four, sometimes five refs huddle up in the middle, discuss their day, ask about dinner plans, and walk slowly twenty yards away to make the obvious call that Stevie Wonder could see. No urgency that the offensive team likes to run a hurry-up offense, there is another game being televised at 4: 30 and it is now 4:25? It’s almost like the clowns who beat on the side of the stadium wall pads begging to be looked at by T.V. cameras. Do they tell their grandkids to watch the games because they are going to tug on their ear like Caroll Burnett? How is it possible that they are walking all over the place and extending these games so much farther than they need to be? If they are too old to make the call and run as fast as possible to get ACTION going again, then they should retire. Perhaps the NFL should dock their pay for exceeding a certain amount of time and call it “Delay of game penalty”?

Are they betting?
For years I have listened to conspiracy theorists claim we never landed on the moon, Nostradamus knew the exact moment I would have my first beer (damn he was good, it was 13!) and other such nonsense. I always dismissed the suggestions they were betting in one way or another, but lately, I am strongly reconsidering. There are two reasons why I am coming around on this and both are compelling:
First, the NFL in a ‘hush-hush’ operation, currently has TEN (10) players suspended for gambling this year. Some for on-line casino bets, some for Vegas bets and several more for fantasy football wagers. At the same time, the NFL took off her clothes and got into bed with Caesars, Draft Kings and Fan duel and others and now has a team in Las Vegas. Am I supposed to believe not one single NFL referee has a wager placed on-line, or in Fantasy under the alias of “Ron Mexico”? I do not have proof, but I do fear the day will come and it will greatly impact viewership and interest in the games.

Secondly, while watching the games this Sunday, there literally were so many calls that left me shocked and upset and I wasn’t rooting for either team. Pass interference in the NFL has become what pornography is to the Supreme Court: “ I can’t define it but I know it when I see it”. Something is amiss when some calls are made, some are not and some literally have no contact of any kind. The pass interference call is a particularly brutal call because nobody can really define it. Announcers talk about heads turning back, tugs on the jersey and other gibberish, however it’s not universal and it is impacting games. Late in games a small tug on a jersey in the end zone becomes a 50-yard penalty, while in other games (NY Giants v Buffalo) a tug and hold of the arm in the end zone is ignored. It makes me wonder if the reason the referees take so long to huddle and discuss dinner plans is because one of the umpires has already told them “Hey dinner is on me, trust me, watch this next call”.

The referees have taken over NFL games, including Monday night football which had a dozen flags thrown against one team! Fans tune in to watch a game, drink a beverage and hopefully get to bed. They don’t want a 4-hour game because the referees want to be seen and talk about dinner plans. Make a choice Roger Goodell: National Football League or National Referee League?

-BSB