Apologies to any offended parties ....

For many watching the Saints-Panthers game yesterday, it became too much to believe.

I recognize officiating to be a difficult job, but how about consistency within one game.

1. Pass interference - call it tight, or call it loose, but pick a method and stick with it for a few hours ... reasonable people will recognize the valiant effort in that ...
2. Get out of the way ... if you didn't pull the flag on the defender 15 yards back, you might consider throwing one on yourself ... unbelievable.... Maybe 50, 60 yards from the line of scrimmage, and you defend Joe Horn. Put away the ref gear, and try out for the Panthers.

Seriously, officials should be held accoluntable. Be consistent, and pay attention to the game.

I don't believe it's a "rant" to state that officials should be consistent and aware. Whether the Panthers or Saints win is of no import here; but players and coaches should primarily determine the outcome of a game through their respective efforts.

Posting my thoughts to a "fan" site would serve little. As I previously stated, a reasonable person will have much less to complain about if, for example, pass interference [both offensive + defensive], is judged on a consistent basis throughout a given game. Determine your standards [within the confines of the rules] and apply them evenly.

Funny thing about officiating [and p.s., I've done a fair bit of it myself]: many "judges" can't handle being judged.

I don't believe it off-topic to remind officials to be consistent and aware.

Sorry if you took offense.

I guess if Joe Horn had hit the goal post you'd be complaining about the inconsistencies of field equipment!

Truly informative stuff !

As for your assumptions, you're entitled ...
Wrong, but entitled ...

Funny how pride prevents people from admitting error, and forces some to defend ridiculous action ... or causes them to cast aspersions on those who might question an official's actions.

Can anyone tell me about Phil Luckett's change from referee to back judge?

I liked him as a referee.

..Mike

I guess a post is missing here because there is a reply to nothing.

To OBMUG:
If you really have done any officiating, your attitude does not reflect it. The saying is that we must start out perfect and get better. The reality is that we are all human beings and do make errors in judgement. You may think that the DPI calls were inconsistant, but thats with your view on TV with many replays, and possibly a bias as to a favored outcome. I don't think any official especially professionals, strive to be anything other than consistant.

To Jugglingref,
Referee mag ran an article on Luckett a few months back as to why he switched.

Unfortunately money was tight for me a few months ago - I had to decide to not renew my membership with NASO. I will again in the new year, but perhaps you can tell me a bit about the article?

The article referred to came out a couple of months ago. It talks about how Luckett's career has been affected by the incident. I'll try to find it at the house. In the meantime, if you've never read the original article done by Referee Maganzine about the whole incident, you really should read it. It's posted on the mag's website:

http://www.referee.com/SampleArticle...eadstails.html

You guys are fast. I took a phone call and never even got off the page.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for a genuine, reasonable reply. I appreciate it. The reason the thread looks strange now is that a member who shall remain nameless [he may be the moderator, or co-administrator and has posted over 1450 messages to this forum] made a few insulting posts to me, then chose to withdraw his barbs, which he has the power to do here [ kind of like a ref changing the tenor of a game ]. As a result, the thread looks pretty strange, and may responses appear inflammatory.

Yes, I have done a decent amount of officiating [primarily basketball], though I haven't in the past few years. Do I understand inherent difficulties in officiating ? Of course. Do I still expect consistency ? You bet I do. Thanks again for a mature response.

oops, I meant "my" responses .... sorry for the typo ...