[RamTime]

Originally posted by grantsrc

RamTime, I cannot speak for all officials but I have some thoughts on many of the topics you have brought up on this forum so far.

The link you provided above shows many "cheap shots" from a Super Bowl that took place a few years back, 2001. The video shows these in slow motion, and many of clips do not provide the entire action of the play. The video also shows "cheap shots" that only happened to one team, the Rams. Although many fans, mostly Rams fans, might feel these hits were in violation of the rules, it is hard for any of us officials, fans, sportscasters or otherwise, to rule on these hits by watching a slow motion video clip. Some are close, but IMHO, many of the hits appeared to be ok. The two late hits, neither of them were malicious, the contact started inbounds or at the sidelines, and were not intended to injure the player. Many of the leading with the helmet shots appeared to be ok. None of the hits were helmet to helmet. Now, I do not officiate under NFL rules and I am not familiar with the precise wording of the rules, but from what I can tell, they appear ok.

On a separate note, many officials get a little sensitive when it comes to questioning judgment calls. It is part of the job that we all endure and it is something that we need to reflect on and learn from. Many of these judgment calls are broadcasted on TV in super slow motion, from an angle that the official isn't privy to. At times unfortunately, officials do miss calls. We are human and it is part of the game. Many times what nay-sayers forget is that we (the people watching TV or in the stands) are not on the field of play. We did not get the privilege of that camera angle. We don't know what the official is looking at or where his zone of responsibility is. We CANNOT duplicate what the covering official(s) saw or ruled on in terms of judgment calls.

To put it this way, what if everyone had a camera following them around all day? Each day, thousands of people tuned in and watch and listen to the play by play announcers comment on our lives, offering commentary and opinionated feedback to our everyday decisions. Would they agree with every decision we make? Would we in turn make the "right" decisions every time? I imagine it now, "That was a bad call RamsFan, I would have turned right back there but now you are stuck in construction and will be late for work." Next thing you know, your bad call shows up in a forum like this and we waste countless hours debating if you should have taken a right turn or not.

Now, imagine we are doing that exact same thing but the turn in question happened four years ago. You no doubt have changed as a person. You make different decisions now as opposed to four years ago. And in a situation like the one I described above, you might not have made that right hand turn. But who are we to say if that was the right or wrong decision? We weren't in your shoes. We don't know what your thought process was. We have no way in telling whether your decision was right or wrong. You see where I am going?

The last thing I will say is I appreciate you taking time to research and find out information to your questions. Many fans will not go the extra step to inform themselves on the intricacies of the rules or workings of the game. Keep in mind, none of us, at this forum or otherwise, are fully qualified to judge whether these calls were correct or not.

By the way, who claims the officiating was corrupt? Did the NFL say anything about it?

Fair enough