I discuss penalties all the time, in the sense that the Green Bay Packers shouldn't commit so many of them. Though I do have to give them credit for cutting down on the special teams penalties so far this season. I did criticize the officials for failing to throw a flag on a shot to the head that concussed QB Aaron Rodgers, but as the title of this post explains, the first place you need to look after a big win or loss is in the mirror. I hate writing about officiating, but all of the recent news regarding Brad Childress's post-game tirade has made this issue impossible to ignore.

I don't expect much from NFL officials. The rules are subjective, the officials are human, and sometimes what looks like a penalty to one official doesn't to another. I'm just glad that NFL officials aren't as bad as the jerks in the NBA. Or some of the prima donna umpires in MLB. They're not perfect, but the NFL officials are the best in the three major sports.

The only complaints I've read about in "the worst officiated game I've ever seen" concern two plays. The touchdown pass to TE Visanthe Shiancoe that was overturned on review, and the touchdown pass to TE Andrew Quarless that he didn't have control of. The second isn't a problem with officiating, they don't have x-ray vision to see through three players, it's a problem with the coaches not challenging a play. Let's give them the Shiancoe touchdown pass, so they can have their tied game.

Then we can give to the Packers, thanks to Aaron Schatz for the descriptions, the 1st down reception to WR Greg Jennings that wasn't, and the 4th down carry by FB John Kuhn that went for a 1st down but was blown dead before he crossed the marker. Or we can look back at the tape and marvel at the lack of holding calls against RT Phil Loadholt (he ended up with only one penalty in the game). We could take a closer look at this all week!

Back to my earlier discussion of the Redskins game, if the official had actually called that penalty when Rodgers was hit in the head while throwing an INT, it could have turned the game around. Instead my complaints after the game were that the special teams sucked (again), and that Mike McCarthy turned down the chance for a chip shot FG so they could go for it on 4th and goal. Blaming the officials doesn't help a team at all going forward and instead they should look at what their players and coaches can control.

So are you okay with Childress complaining as much as he did and revealing info from a conversation that was supposed to be confidential? I'm not trying to be a smart aleck, I'm asking the question seriously.

I thought he took it too far and looked very Bush League, especially when you combine that with his comments on Favre, which were also a bit overboard even though Favre deserved the criticism. The Favre thing is best left to another thread anyway (and there are plenty already) but Childress did kind of set himself up for this by giving Favre special treatment. I think now maybe Childress is trying too hard to look tough to restore his credibility with the rest of his players and with the fans.

Having said that, I think Childress called a very good game. The rushing TD by Harvin was a brilliant play, and that screen to Peterson on the final drive was another great call, getting the whole defense going one way, then springing Peterson the other way. It helps to have players like Harvin and Peterson, but those were still well-designed plays that were called at just the right time. The only problem I had with Childress's game management was when he gave up too quickly at the end of the half.

"DakotaT" wrote:

That's the difference between a man and a boy. Mike is a man, Childress is a boy.

"Zero2Cool" wrote:

Or Mike's retarded and Chilly is competitive. Seriously, look at them on the sideline.. When Mike's upset about something, he looks like a damn boxer that is just coming out of a daze.

"Zero2Cool" wrote:

I liked what this guy had to say about it:

Source 

It's a bit hypocritical but ultimately a good post. I think what's important though is how Childress handled this. What did McCarthy do when faced with an 18-penalty game or the non-call on Rodgers in the Redskins game? McCarthy never addresses these types of things nor complains about what he can't control. Childress was out of line here.

Kuhn's forward progress was stopped. That was not a blown call at all from my understanding of the rules.

"Zero2Cool" wrote:

By rule, if forward progress is stopped, the play is dead. You don't have to have any part of the body touching the ground. That's why the refs will blow plays dead when receivers are being pushed backwards toward the line of scrimmage, even though they're still on their feet.

"Nonstopdrivel" wrote: