6. Given this, I think it is false certitude that makes us believe the "regular refs" would have done any better. In the hands of a Triplett or a Hochuli, you don't think there would have been a substantial chance of (i) listening to the wrong official in one of *their* interminable conferences and thus making the wrong call "on the field"; and (ii) you don't think there would have been a substantial chance of the dreaded "no indisputable evidence" affirmation of that wrong call. I'm sorry, I just don't have that kind of confidence. If Karma is going to screw you, it's going to screw you.

Originally Posted by: Wade 

I completely agree with you that it should have never even come down to the last play as 2 bad calls before it should have ended the game.

But this I have issue with. The real refs would have had a conference. And they would have made the correct call because they had a conference.

The fake refs didn't have a conference. They looked like a bunch of confused people out there.

Originally Posted by: zombieslayer 

I understand your position. As I said I would have said the same on Sept 19th. Not any more. It is painfully obvious the officials are uniquely skilled individuals and should be treated as such. As for the other employees, many others can answer the phone. Many others can upload data to the computers. many others can do what the average NFL corp employee does. And if they make a mistake I doubt that it will cost a team a victory. If they want a union let them form one. I doubt it will do them much good.

Originally Posted by: wpr 

The referees' union and NFL team owners remain at odds on several issues -- pay, staffing levels and the arbitration system, to name a few. But Scott Green, the referee who's head of the NFL Referees Association, says there's one proposal above all others that he and his colleagues can't manage to swallow: the league wants to freeze their long-running pension plans and switch them to less attractive 401(k)-style retirement plans.

"The key is the pension issue," Green told HuffPost, adding that the pensions have been around since the mid-1970s. "A lot of our guys have made life-career decisions based on assuming that pension would be there."

Replacement refs, normal refs, I couldn't care less. Bottom line, you have to make the right call as accurately as you can. I can't fathom how anyone can say the last drive was legit.

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

And save the bullshit about "shouldn't have come down to the last play" because guess what, the game is 60 minutes!

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

Jeff Triplette and Ed Hochuli have lots of conferences.

And still make the wrong calls afterward.

Originally Posted by: Wade 

In Monday’s game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Seattle faced a 4th-and-10 from the Green Bay 24 with eight seconds remaining in the game.

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a pass into the end zone. Several players, including Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, jumped into the air in an attempt to catch the ball.

While the ball is in the air, Tate can be seen shoving Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields to the ground. This should have been a penalty for offensive pass interference, which would have ended the game. It was not called and is not reviewable in instant replay.

When the players hit the ground in the end zone, the officials determined that both Tate and Jennings had possession of the ball. Under the rule for simultaneous catch, the ball belongs to Tate, the offensive player. The result of the play was a touchdown.

Replay Official Howard Slavin stopped the game for an instant replay review. The aspects of the play that were reviewable included if the ball hit the ground and who had possession of the ball. In the end zone, a ruling of a simultaneous catch is reviewable. That is not the case in the field of play, only in the end zone.

Referee Wayne Elliott determined that no indisputable visual evidence existed to overturn the call on the field, and as a result, the on-field ruling of touchdown stood. The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review.

The result of the game is final.

NFL's Response wrote:

For the NFL to "support" the call is to me grossly absurd. There is visual proof for crying out loud. The proof is indisputable and yet the NFL refuses to acknowledge it?

Originally Posted by: Zero2Cool 

Representatives of the National Football League, including commissioner Roger Goodell and chief legal council Jeff Pash, were locked in negotiations Tuesday afternoon with representatives of the locked-out NFL Referees Association in New York City, a source with knowledge of the talks told me.

Speaking for the fourth consecutive day, and trying to end a stubborn labor dispute that has enflamed the country, the two sides did not appear close to a deal on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the emerging and major reasons why a deal has been so elusive, according to the source, is that the NFL is insisting on getting some control of the officials back that it has ceded in past negotiations with the NFLRA. This includes the league's desire to have three seven-man officiating crews in reserve with the ability to replace -- either for a game or longer -- underperforming current officials.


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/09/25/nfl-referee-negotiations/index.html#ixzz27VVipkYh