This appeared on a website dedicated to NFL officials,in response to a posting critizing Gerry Austin (and his crew) for their handling of Saturday's Giants/Steelers game:
Re: Dissapointed with Gerry Austin
« Reply #7 on: Dec 19th, 2004, 10:03am »
These guys don't lose their ability to make judgments...the problem is the micro managing coming from the League office...they just don't know from week to week what they are supposed to call and what they are not.
In the past you trained your officials and allowed them to make judgments based on just that judgment. Did an action on the part of a player put his opponent at a material disadvantage and you make the same call at one end of the field as at the other. You didn't have the league office having the ability to play over a play five or six times on Tuesday morning to give you a totally subjective grade and then publically humiliate you by not giving you a playoff game.
The game sucks right now...players are not allowed to play. There are too many ticky tack fouls being called because the league each weeks tells the officials what to concentrate on. Illegal contact fouls...3/4 of them are ticky tack and have no effect on the play. Just because the Pats went overboard and the officials did not crack down properly on calls that should be made. Now breathe too hard and it is an illegal contact foul.
And don't get me started on these roughing the passer calls. 3/4 of them are bogus as are most of the defensive pass interference calls. It was excellent judgment yesterday not calling pass interference on that play at the end of the Giants game, it was incidental contact. But the unnecessary roughness penalty was a joke; but these guys are afraid that on Tuesday they will get marked down by the clowns in NY who grade them.
And then I am reading on the board how this guy is good (Coleman) and this guy stinks (White)...most of the key calls are not made by the referee anyway other than roughing the passer.
We as fans are being cheated out of enjoying a game when after every play we are told a flag is down and then a 5 minute conference and then the ref piously turns on the mike and says, "illegal contact on an eligible receiver, 5 yard penalty and automatic FIRST DOWN." And we eat it up and talk about how wonderful this guy is on the mike.
Oh to go back to the simpler days. You trained your officials and trust them to make correct judgments based on their feel for the game and especially late in the game didn't want them screwing a team with a totally ticky tack foul to decide the game.
Now I will put this to you:
When was the last time you TRULY enjoyed an NFL game (especially compared to a college or hs game)?? I mean for the game itself..not for any enjoyment you got out of it for home team rooting/wagering/fantasy team purposes,but for the game itself?? I think the above post hits the nail on the head as far as how (and WHY) the NFL has deteriorated in last few years ....(although last night's MNF was actually pretty good....for once...)when you have the possibilty of a 7-9 or 8-8 team winning a division...SOMEthing's wrong...
an interesting forum btw
http://refereestats.proboards22.com/...?board=general
be forewarned about the pop-ups though