NFL's First Female Official - Chargers vs Pack, 9 Aug
 

Needs an asterisk or something.

It will be a first and actually historic for sure. But the problem is these officials may never make the regular season when it really counts. Unfortunately she might be the last for some time.

Peace

This had to be a tough call for her. A) Cross the picket line, drawing the ire of those who have been doing the job for a long time... yet achieve your dream, for who knows how long... or B) Refuse the job, and stand in solidarity with those who have not given you an honest chance in the first place. I don't envy her that decision.

I wouldn't bet a lot of money they won't see the regular season -- unless, of course, the union gives in. They are still FAR apart, as told to me from what I consider reliable sources. Whether they are back talking again, however, I don't know.

The NFL isn't going to invest the time, effort, and money they have in these folks just to cave half way into the preseason.

It was a smooth move by the NFL though. Too much grief from the NFLRA towards her and they come off as a bunch of sexist, GOB, pigs who are holding women back from their all-male domain.

They'll get it all worked out eventually and those guys will be like Crash Davis in Bull Durham- " I was in the show. I was in the show for 21 days once - the 21 greatest days of my life"

I do not see much of this becoming an issue for the NFLRA. I am sure they do not honestly care that much about her or anything they think will matter. Her career is probably over, at least at the level she came from. I know that is likely the case for the others. This very easily could get solved because it was pointed out to me that there were a few mistakes last night just in enforcements under the rules. If that continues to happen or someone gets hurt, the NFLRA will have a claim here to settle a deal on some level. Remember, the officials are locked out. They were willing to officiate without a contract. I think this could get bad for the league, because it is already starting with the media how unqualified the replacement officials are.

Peace

When a marquee player gets rocked with no flag, you'll see things start to happen.

Anyone that thinks a D3 official can make a seamless transition to the NFL is nuts.

The NFL can't wait to put out press releases touting the billions and billions of dollars in revenue each year (nothing wrong with that), but then wants to tell the players and referees association that they do not have any more money in their respective CBA negotiations. And then Commissioner Goodell wonders why no one believes a word he is saying.

Most recent analysis of the lockout I heard is that it goes away for about $100K per team.

That's not a large amount for those businesses.

Goodell works for the owners and the owners run the league. If they wanted to take care of these issues they could, it is just a matter of will and priority. The owners want to make the most money, they do not want to pay out to officials and players if they do not have to.

Peace

Unfortunately, this female ref will have little credibility since she is in the NFL as a replacement ref. Had she been moved up in competition with the regular NFL guys and prospects, then she would be deemed worthy. I wonder if the NFL is using her as a distraction from the real problem, which is the incompetence of replacement refs. There is NO way they can do the job well. The NFL game is too fast and too intense for crews of total rookies to handle. How sad.

Also, if any D-I ref worked as a replacement ref, they'd be done in NCAA ball. I know of a guy who did this the last time and he never worked D-I again. Reffing is a fraternity and loyalties run deep.

This and more extreme philosophies have been espoused at various blogs and message boards. I understand all of that. I am not a union member and live in a right to work state but I understand the good unions do and the flaws that they have. I also understand the current business climate in this country.

At some point, the planet Vulcan philosophy of "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" evaporates into the American principle of "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Each official must weigh for themselves the risk and benefit to accept employment under the present circumstances. Unless presented with the opportunity, none of us can say with 100% accuracy what we would do.

Gotta walk a mile in the other dude/dudette's shoes.

Actually there is a woman official at the D1 level that is likely to be an NFL official in the future from what I am hearing that is not this woman working now. So she might be the first, but she might not be the first picked the right way.

And there is already evidence that people from the D1 and lower college level are not going to get their jobs back or lose a lot of their standing. I know I benefited by this situation this year and picked up some games because of this NFL situation. And now unless I mess up now I could get a position because the guys that left may never come back.

Peace

I will speak for myself. If offered a replacement job in the NFL, I would not take it. I personally know 4 NFL guys (2 who have retired) and I would not take their jobs. Simple as that.

These referees will show us A) DIII officials are not ready for prime-time; and B) NFL referees are better than the general public thinks.

I just hope that the debacle that will unfold tomorrow and over the next few weeks will not be laid at the feet of the female official alone. She's going to blow one - but so will everyone else being moved up WAY above their current talent level, and likely multiple times.

But you are not taking "their job". They are locked out. Management can replace them and have opted to do so. The bargaining process willm be used insure they return to "their job".

The replacement official loses "their job" when it is over. Whether they are hired back in the future or are dumped back in to the job market is not under their control or the unions.

It is easy to say "I'll never do that" until actually faced with the decision. Be it based on low ethics or high desire to achieve, each individual makes their own choice at the crucial time

You can say it anyway you want, but it is their job you are taking. If it was not their job then the NFL would have fired all the guys they locked out. They have not done that and when this situation is resolved most of those will be back. I know if I was asked to be a replacement I would not do this at all. I have goals to work college and even higher if that ever would be an opportunity and that would be completely dashed if I made this decision. It is one thing to work in the NFL, but I would rather get there the best way everyone else could. I know the Referee personally that was being talked about in an article and I would not trade places with him at all. Even things he has accomplished he is being used to prove a point and what did he really get out of this experience? It is one thing to work a game, it is another when the national media is saying you do not know what you are doing and saying your background is not accurate. I could have seen that coming on some level. Sorry, I would not have wanted to be apart of that if I had the opportunity.

Peace

Does a substitute teacher take the job of a teacher out sick, in a conference, on strike? Of course not. The replacement refs are no more taking the regular officials job than that. When the bargaining process is completed, all will return to normal.

Unless of course the NFL says "to hell with it" and dumps them all and starts over. Possible, but hard to believe. Welcome to unionization vs. the free market.

The NFLRA should not over believe their inability to be replaced. They're good, great even, but they are also expendable just like the players that get cut.

they may not be "taking their jobs" but by taking these games it potentially weakens the bargaing power of the nflra....if no one had taken these jobs then it probably would have been settled by now...if were settled by now the regular guys would be working...so yes they DID take their jobs...

While there is a small difference between a strike and a lockout here, the idea that you're not taking "their job" is false. By working for someone who is locking out people that you supposedly align with and aspire to be, you facilitate that company being able to continue operations while they prevent your ally from working. If NO ONE would work, the company could not continue to make money while preventing the locked out individuals from working.

I think it says volumes regarding the solidarity of GOOD officials that the NFL was unable to persuade ANY D1 officials to work during this lockout. The fact that they had to go all the way to D3 / High School officials means MOST profession-respecting officials are not scabbing.

Of course not - teachers are allowed time off for sick, conference, whatever, and that's what substitutes are in existence for in the first place...
COMPLETELY different, see my other post.
Here is exactly what you're missing... the fact that some will "substitute" weakens the bargaining position of the locked out individuals.

They are expendable to a certain extent. Most rookie official are going to work with guys that are also rookies. Most NFL rookie officials are going to be on crews with several multiple year officials with 10 or more years of NFL experience. The NFL official I know said he when he came in the league everyone had 10 or 15 years on the crew they put him on and he was the only rookie. Well we have referees that have never done that position. Not that the referee is the only one that should know the rules, but there was a 7 minute discussion about a penalty enforcement which was basic if you know NFL rules in the game on Sunday and that would not have likely happen with an experienced crew. So the NFL is going to take a PR hit if these kinds of basic things happen.

Peace

The jobs don't belong to the referees. They belong to the NFL. The referee's own their labor. What we have is a disagreement over the value of that labor.

The NFLRA think their labor is significantly better than the alternative and so they've set a high price. The NFL doesn't agree and is willing to try the alternative. The new referees will turn out to be better, as good, or worse than the old referees. (I think we'll all agree on worse.) When that happens, the NFL will decide if they can live with the new referees' performance (The fans won't let them.)

Ultimately, the new referees are doing the old referees a favor as the NFLRA is going to be in the position of power when it becomes clear just how much better they are the the new guys.

Solidarity or arm-twisting?

Ah, but perhaps the replacements are in cahoots with the NFLRA! Perhaps they're being paid to do a crappy job in order to STRENGTHEN the position of the NFLRA! HA HA! :D

I think it's called extortion.

"Nice career you have here. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it."

This is probably true, but the NFL was not accepting applicants from major DI conferences either.

It is not even close to extortion. We all have choices and if you make the wrong one it could affect your career.

Just like I am seeing a story about a former Miami (that "U") player that was dismissed from the team and is filing an injunction to get back onto the team this season. That could affect his career too. It is not extortion to tell him this and that maybe a lawsuit is not in his best interest if he wants to get drafted or drafted high in the NFL.

Well if you want to work at the NFL level you have to leave something behind to make that move. No one is obligated to give you a job you resign from during or before the season.

Peace

Extortion is exactly what it is.

Everyone here knows that the NFLRA will make sure that no one who works the NFL in their place will ever work it again. That threat/reality is extorting referees from taking the job.

I agree that getting dropped by the conference you leave isn't extortion, but a consequence of your choice.

What makes you think that this is coming directly from the NFLRA? You must not be aware of who are the people over college conference or their loyalties to those that either once worked for them or what professional ties they have to those in the NFL. Better yet, if you are in independent contractor and you leave your job with no idea if and when you will come back, are the assignors supposed to hold your position for you? The WH in the Hall of Fame game was a crew chief at the D3 level in the same "alliance" as the people that assign the Big Ten, MAC and MVC. He had a a lot of responsibility as a crew chief and his opportunity to work at the level he was working affected a lot of people. His assignor had to replace him and had to replace some of his responsibilities. You think when this is over and possibly in the middle of the season they are just going to give him his job back as if nothing happened? I would not expect that treatment no matter why he was leaving even if he had some other reason for leaving where the end of that situation was totally unclear. And that does not include who the assignors are and their association with the NFL either in the past or currently. No different than the choice those 8 NFL position trainers made by refusing to do their job based on this situation. We all make choices and this was a choice many of those had the opportunity to make.

Peace

You don't think it would be a bigger favor to NOT work - giving the NFLRA a much more immediate position of power?

Maybe you mean something else - you should look up the word extortion. It neither fits the situation at hand nor even fits the quote you followed it with.

Um, yeah... definitely look that word up. I don't think that word means what you think it does. (Nod to Inigo Montoya)

The only power the NFLRA has is the difference in quality between them and the replacements. If it weren't for them threatening the D1 officials with being blacklisted, they would have no power. Time is more on the owner's side than the referees.

That threat is extortion. As Merriam-Webster puts it "to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power." It may not be the best word, but I think it fits.

I think the NFLRA is morally wrong to blacklist those who disagree with them that they are underpaid.

They do not have the power to blacklist anyone from the NFL. This is not MLB where the guys get to choose when they leave the game and in some cases pick their replacement. The NFL will get rid of officials and replace them with whomever they damn well please. It is their D1 supervisors that have the power in this case. If D1 officials give up their spot they might not get it back at all.

This is the wrong word for this issue. There might be some implied pressure, but not the way the system works. And it is not illegal to suggest that if you do something it could hurt your career. That happens even at our level. Heck if you want to move up for a lower level game and you have a contract, you must get the assignors or supervisors to release you if you move up. Then some assignors might not hire you anymore if you break contracts. That is not extortion, that is making a personal decision and knowing the consequences. It is the conferences these officials work for that have the power, not the NFLRA. The NFL hires officials not the NFLRA.

Peace

It's not illegal, no. Immoral, yes.

Immoral? No. It is business and those made a business decision.

Peace

The didn't ask them because the majority of those conferences are supervised by current or former NFL referees.

Correct and I'm sure they did not want to create a conflict for those officials becase they are the most likely pool for future NFL regular hires.

I really got tired of all the attention she got last night. In my eyes nothing more than a scab. And to hear her mentioned in the same breath as Violet Palmer (NBA official) is an insult to Violet. I am curious as to where Violet stands on this. Is she happy to see a woman working thesse games or does she think she is nothing more than pond scum ?????

I missed the game - how were the officials?

Don't forget Dee Kantner either! ;)

The network, REALLY, went out of their way to try and either call her by name. Heck, they even spent almost five minutes telling us about her playing in The World Series Of Poker and how that didn't DQ her from working in the NFL and that the league also did extensive background checks on all its officials. Speaking of which:

Pereira says Eastin “never would have been hired” under normal procedures | ProFootballTalk

Mr. Pereira has been real critical of the NFL including claims of that they're embellishing some of the replacement officials' credentials:

Pereira says NFL is embellishing the credentials of replacement officials | ProFootballTalk

I didn't really notice much in the Packers v. Chargers game.

The call people are going to be talking about is in the Bills v. Redskins game, which featured an official calling a touchback when the ball was downed on the 4 yard line. They put the ball on the 20 and it necessitated a challenge from the Bills to get the spot corrected.

Wait, what happened to the ball (the entire flight)? You say the ball was downed at the 4, but did other things happen to confuse the crew? (Main reason I ask is that in most cases, this is the same rule at all levels from NFL to pee-wee.)

I'm trying to find a clip of the play as I didn't see it...from what I've read, it sounds as if the ball was nowhere near the goal line. There was no penalty on the play (such as a kicking team player being the first to touch the ball after going OOB (illegal touching) with the touch occurring inside the 5...which in the NFL would mean a touchback would be awarded), and there was only one kicking team member in the end zone, but he was nowhere close to the ball.

Here's the play:

NFL Videos: Referee gaffe in Buffalo

The bargaining power of any union is always proportional to the degree of skill and the quality of work that it can provide compared to any replacements. That is why, for example, auto and mechanics, police and firefighters unions are traditionally very strong, while unions for jobs that can be easily replaced such as janitors and unskilled line workers are comparatively weak.
When "replacements" are adequately skilled off the street to perform similar work with less training than the cost of negotiating, then the union really has no choice but to capitulate, and the members must accept that they either need to develop greater skill to justify increased wages* or accept that they can be replaced quickly. Fortunately, in many ways, this is an individual choice. But when the union can prove that it promotes the skills and quality of work that the owners need in order to succeed, then it can frequently win enormous concessions, and secure a healthy relationship that benefits all the parties (workers, owners, stakeholders and customers).
The union vs. scab debate has long been filled with the "always-or-never" narrow-minded mentality ideologies that is currently ripping our country apart in every other politically related discussion. If the officials are indeed much more skilled than the replacements then it can do nothing but help the NFLRA. If they find that the replacements can handle the game, then at least the truth has come out and everyone can re-assess the value that they provide. But to not take a look at the skill of those who would take the field in their stead is to be complacent with the status quo. And if there is anything that I've learned from war, it's that complacency kills.

*Working conditions must always be up to standard. Non-union employees who don't take the time to learn the rules for occupational safety are inviting their own hazards. Most industrial machines will kill you if given the chance, and the government has plenty of avenues for redress. Not taking them up on those opportunities when necessary is being complacent with your own life, and manifest stupidity.

Wow, that's horrifying. Like I said - this would have been the same at ANY level of football. It's not like they implemented an NCAA rule on accident. Yuck. (And as badly as this was screwed up, it shouldn't have taken a challenge to get them to get the rule right, and it shouldn't have cost them a replay challenge once the referee went under the hood and saw what happened).

I'm REALLY curious to know what caused them to move it from the (almost) right spot up to the 20. Someone said something, the referee then talked with the HL, agreed, and left it at the 20. What caused them to move it?

PS - ball should be at the 5, not the 4.

Ouch. I wish we could hear the R's initial explanation. Sounded like he said something about a "fumble"?

No, its not illegal. But that something that is done should be something society values as wrong -- a crime, moral wrong, etc. Being a replacement official, even if you're in the union, doesn't come close to rising to that level. As I've said from the start of this thing: behave in an unprofessional way at your own risk. It is unprofessional to treat people poorly simply due to the fact that they made decisions that were not in YOUR best interest. It is unprofessional to use your job in leadership or in an authority position in an organization (D-1 conference, in this case) to retaliate against those who made decisions that, again, were not in YOUR best interest.

Look -- I WANT the NFL officials to get as much salary and benefits as possible. The NFL makes a lot of money and the officials play a significant role in that. And I think virtually all replacement officials would agree that the game would be better officiated with the regular officials than it is with what amounts to as a crew of NFL rookies.

However, the NFL has made a firm offer that the union has refused. That's fine -- negotiations can be a *****. But unless the NFLPR can convince the players to not play (and they can't) the games are going to go on and they must be officiated. Its the officials in the NFLPR that have chosen not to accept (and possibly for good reason) the NFL's offer, so others will be needed to fill their place. I'm sorry, but they've had their chance and can't complain. Blackballing, ostracizing, threats, etc. are all examples of unprofessional behavior, and you can't separate professionalism in your life. In other words, you can't be unprofessional in one part of your life and be a professional on the football field. It doesn't work like that.

Aggie- thanks for putting succinctly what I have tried to say the last couple of weeks. If I were in a union, I would probably look at the issue somewhat differently but I'm not. I do understand both sides of the issue.

The replacement officials, or as I have preferred to call them, substitutes, have the same right to persue their dreams and goals as did the existant officals. One may deem them unethical, immoral, scabs, what have you.
It is for their conscience to decide. If they are not up to the task, that is for the league to decide. Coersion, blackmail, extortion, undue influence- however one wants to put it, is wrong.

There is an officials code of conduct. I don't see anywhere that it says that an official has to reject employment because some other official is in a negotiating impasse with the assignor. We are not to publically speak ill of another official.

Concern rises as the season gets closer......
 

"I'm even more concerned than I was before they started playing the games," Mike Pereira, the Fox analyst who is the NFL's former director of officiating, said by phone Sunday. "They're struggling, though it's no fault of their own. They're competent officials for the level they're on, like, in Division II."

NFL needs to blow whistle on replacements ? USATODAY.com

It's been rough to say the least...there have been plenty of gaffs...especially penalty enforcements. But the NFL has not put these people in positions to succeed and even minor things are amplified by the public.

I hate to blast my fellow officials ... but these guys are awful. Not saying I'd do better ... but I would also not have taken the job --- and they did.

I can understand some speed-of-the-game issues. But these folks are screwing up basic penalty enforcements, forgetting to review scores, and making bad rulings on plays where the rules are the same as NCAA, so they should not be screwing them up.

Frankly, their performance is embarrassing.

The NFL knew they were bringing people up to a level at which they had never worked. While I do find the gaffes painful to watch, I cannot imagine league executives NOT putting their heads together to find someone to conduct an intense fire-hose training session (12-16 hour days if necessary) to get the guys ready for the subsequent weeks. If the league doesn't take action after seeing the errors so far, they're complicit in the quality of work they are getting out of the guys.

The real blacklisting is coming from the D-1 conferences. They have said that any of their officials who go to the NFL now are fired from their conference. I wholeheartedly agree with this. The conferences don't need to be trying to replace officials at this stage of the season. Any official who goes to the NFL now should know that they didn't earn their spot there and that they will never get back there once this is over. And watching them, I can see they are way over their head.

NFL referees lockout: Roger Goodell not backing down - latimes.com

Nyuk, Nyuk, Nyuk......
 

Nuf Sed
 

Ray Anderson said the following: 'We believe that officials should be evaluated and performance issues addressed in the same way as players, coaches, club management and league staff.'

Funny, because how come I do not hear Commissioner Goodell evaluating owners like, say, Mike Brown, who is 91 games under .500 as an owner. I am sure, now that Goodell has this evaluation 'kick', he will now hold owners responsible for their teams losing ways. Yeah, fat chance.

And Commissioner Goodell then wonders why everyone thinks his credibility is as low as David Stern's.

I am not a big fan of this situation or the fact that officials are crossing some kind of line, but the media has to do a better job talking about this situation. It is clear they cannot do a little more research to verify some of what they are talking about. They act like a guy that once did HS does not do any other level of football. Granted it is not the NFL level and that will be a problem, but do not totally undervalue the experience of those working these games. This is why the media just annoys me.

Peace

Big East and anyone else ?????
 

Couldn't agree more with your quote...........

I know that Terry McCaulay assigns the BE, but I am not up to date on other DI assigners. Are there any other active NFL officals who are currently D! supervisors ?????

It is not the active ones they have to worry about alone. Many supervisors have kids working in the NFL or were former NFL officials themselves.

All I was said is it was made clear that those working for those guys might not have a place to come back to. After all, they are giving up their spot and just like anything else, no one is required to bring you back if this gets settled.

Peace

The speed of the game issues are overstated. The media hears that, thinks, "yeah, the NFL is faster than college and HS" and automatically believe the officials with only college experience can not adjust. Where do they think first year officials in the NFL come from?

The problem, as I've said before, is you have 7 rookies out there rather than 1 or none, as it usually is.

Totally agree, especially with the last part.

Peace

Trust me, NFL officials arrive more than 2 1/2 hrs before the game.

And trust me, you will see better officiating on Saturdays than Sundays until this debacle is over.

+1

End of Seattle vs. Arizona game is the exact type of situation the NFL officials are hoping will happen more often.

There will be quite a blooper reel from today's games.

The timeout debacle? That was ugly.

I watched the 49er / Packer game and the officials were rough but not terrible. They did miss a crucial block in the back during a Packer's TD and there were a lot of flags but most seemed legit.

The reviews after scoring plays are a little ridiculous.

What made the IBB worse was that they *did* flag it and somehow the official got talked out of it. And it wasn't some marginal "maybe-side-block" it was clearly an IBB.

What was more surprising to me is that the league representative didn't know the rule. Seattle should have been charged their third and final team timeout after the injury...it didn't matter that the injury occurred after an incomplete pass. The only time they wouldn't charge a timeout after an injury is if the injury came as a result of a foul, if the injury occurred during a down with a change of possession, field goal or during a try attempt, or if the opponent called a timeout. Ideally, the timeout should not have been granted, but once they did, the damage was already done and there's no penalty for an official granting a 4th timeout.

The mistakes that the officials made today are not all that different than what the officials in the NFL made last year. I think that the current officials are just under a stronger microscope. We've seen games where fouls were missed last year, flags waived off that shouldn't have been, you name it and it happened last year. It doesn't matter which official is working, the same mistakes have happened before and they'll happen again no matter which group is working.

I give the guys credit that have been working because in years past the lower level college conferences have been overlooked when it comes to the NFL hiring them. I think the current NFL officials have been doing as good as can be expected and they have proven that you can hire from other conferences other than D-1. It's sort of like the teams that are starting to realize that even some players in lower college conferences are draft worthy. Perhaps now the NFL will realize that a future Super Bowl official may very will be officiating in some D3 conference. There are officials all over the country who are good enough to be D-1 but have fell through the cracks. Some of that has to do with geographics so you get left with working D2 or even D3.

In the Denver/Pittsburgh game the crew blew the 2nd half 2:00 warning. Denvers INT return for a TD ocured with 1:58 remaining and after the TD but BEFORE the PAT attempt they took the 2 minute warning. Procedure there is to try the PAT and THEN take the 2 minute warning before the ensung kickoff.

I find it funny that many out there on this forum and others similar to this are giving the replacements a pass for things that they screw up in a professional game, while if they screwed the same thing up in a televised HS game, they'ed be crucifying them.

Face it, it's not good.

While I would love to see the "real guys" back on the job, I don't think the NFL is rushing to get back to the negotiating table. The replacements really weren't that bad.....Overall I would give them a 7 out of 10....... for this week.

?????????????
 

Does anyone know if the NFL will be mixing these guys up during the upcoming weeks or are these "crews" etched in stone......also I wish Fox would get rid of Mike Perriera until the lockout is over, the bias is very unprofessional on his part..... oh and one other question. Are there any "back up" officials for these guys in case someone gets injured ??????

Thanks guys !!!!

I've found Mike to be quite fair in his assessment. If you follow his Twitter, you'll see that numerous times, he's commenting on good calls made in games...not just the negative ones.

Me too.

Actually I think the evaluations have been mostly negative. I only understand to some extent as these are basically NFL rookies that would never be in this situation regularly. For example it takes a guy years to become a Referee on a crew and in this situation no one had any NFL experience. I think it is a perfect storm for mistakes. I am not so sure I give them a pass because they choose to do this stuff, but it is understandable. The regular guys would not likely make the same mistakes these guys are and that should be expected. This is why I hope this is resolved soon.

Peace

One need not be biased to judge that the replacement officials are inadequately prepared, insufficiently skilled, likely to damage the product, and bad for the game. I'm sure they're wonderful people.

However, I think that judgment is biased. I think the replacements performed well enough that the NFLRA should be nervous. If anything, this week will convince the NFL they don't need the NFLRA. The replacements are only going to get better.

The NFL has already told the ones on strike that it will never get back to the point of "entitlement" but instead it will now be about "accountability". This came from the supervisor of NFL officials. What he stated was that seeing how these current officials are it has opened up some ideas where if an official isn't performing up to standards they could then use some of the replacements as "bench officials". In short, if the ones on strike ever come back, we have someone on standby to replace you if you screw up. As already mentioned, these guys will get better each week. If the lockout doesn't get resolved in the next 3 weeks, they may as well keep the replacements all season. Resume bargaining in the offseason.

That all sounds nice, but they are a bad weekend or call away from outrage. The general public and media is not on the NFL's side with this issue and constantly highlighting the inadequacy of the officials. Just look out the media overreacts when the regular officials do something they do not like? You think the public is going to be like, "Let these guys stay." I honestly do not think so. And these officials are not even close to what would be the replacements if the regulars were to not grade out properly. I know of a few personally that could not work D3 ball on a regular basis and struggled to work a decent high school schedule that are working these NFL games.

Peace

Not trying to argue here, just remembering how in years past how the general public has wanted to hang the crews that "caused their team to lose" and that the NFL should "fire" all the officials and start over. Now that their wishes are partially coming true for the moment we'll see how they like it. Their are mixed opinions on all the fan boards. Some are welcoming the "new blood".

That is fine that they want new blood and I am not saying that fans love officials. But the mistakes that are made are often procedural rather than judgment. Not many times did NFL officials not enforce a penalty from the proper spot. Or award timeouts that were not there. Or the ball is put in the wrong spot by several yards. Those are different than missing a PI or not calling a holding here or there. Heck this weekend the officials picked up a flag on a clear BIB. We all make mistakes and if you saw my game this weekend we had a doozy, but my situation was not on national TV either.

Peace

I think that's why the NFLRA is in trouble here. They aren't making many judgment errors. Procedural errors will go away far faster than judgment errors. I think the NFLRA is within a week or two of being replaced permanently.

I definitely wouldn't say a week or two. However, I would say if this goes to a half-season, then things may change away from the RA's favour.

A week or two is way too soon, but if things go pretty much like they did this past weekend, the NFL is not going to be in a hurry to renegotiate, unlike what many have predicted.

I am not so sure about that, because every mistake is highlighted more. With that being the case, it was not predicted that this would end for several weeks anyway. Thank God no game's outcome has become a factor yet. There are 100 NFL shows that will dissect every mistake even if it is not a real mistake.

Peace

Well there were more PI calls in this past week than the first weeks of the last two years. Some were totally considered wrong or had no contact. And that flag on the BIB a bad pick up even at the college ranks. And football is mostly procedural anyway. This is not a sport with all judgments. We make judgments and we have to get the other things right. And they are not going to replace the current guys with these guys, even in the worst case scenario. Do not fool yourself, this is not MLB or that situation.

Peace

See: PATCO strike, 1981.

Not in the same ballpark. One is a government service, the other is a business. There is much more PR to what the NFL does and if you have guys and gals working games that have never worked a D1 game, that is a harder sell to the public when they screw up. And if a team loses a game because of a suspected bad call, that will hurt the NFL more than what happen in that strike or situation.

Peace

Over / Under 5 weeks
 

I am taking the over at this point.....The league wants to prove a point and unless the their is a MAJOR screw-up, the league will win the p.r battle with the public and the public will agree that their is no difference between the current guys and the "real" guys...... (proving what little they know)

However - as officials, I think it is fair to say that 90% of us want the "real" guys back !!!!!

Not what this idiot thinks......

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