I know it’s not their faults, but the officiating for the Denver-Atlanta game was a disgrace. A complete and utter abomination of classic, mistake-free football.
I mean, taking 8 minutes to decide a fumble recovery/on-field bar fight? Even Phil Luckett would have had that sussed in a minute or two. And don’t even get me started on the longest first quarter ever. A friggin hour??? Now I have to say, get it together.
Now, needless to say, I’m not sure I could do even close to a decent job filling in the way these guys are holding up. You have to admit, it doesn’t look like a fun job to get right. At the end of the day, one side or the other will hate you, even when you make the right call.
But as a manager at the cafe I work at, it’s crucial to focus on the profitability of the business and not he said/she said. In the same way, referees (especially the scab ones) have to focus on the integrity of the game they’re deciding and not on what the coaches, players, and commentators say under their breath and right in their faces.
If you made a mistake calling an extra timeout, don’t hesitate to ask someone if that was the case. Don’t turn it into a double timeout trying to figure it out. If you made a mistake calling a fumble recovery, don’t hesitate to send it upstairs for further analysis. It’s easier to live with yourself and get the call right, than miss it and potentially change the fortunes of either or both teams.
Here’s to hoping that the league swallows their pride with these negotiations sooner rather than later.
Tweets from the game:
31m Arneet Singh @aceing82
NFL officiating reaches new depths on MNF http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8393575/replacement-officials-poor-performance-steals-show-denver-broncos-atlanta-falcons …
1h Arneet Singh @aceing82
My fantasy team is starting to give me a headache… #frustrated #someonetradewithme #whydidntikeepcjspiller
6h Arneet Singh @aceing82
Loving the human dressing room for Matt Ryan’s knee brace adjustment. #goodthinking #iwouldnthavethoughtofthat
7h Arneet Singh @aceing82
Manning throws 3TD’s in the fourth quarter to lead Denver to a 28-27 comeback win…wouldn’t that be something, haha. #clutch #dreaming #nfl
7h Arneet Singh @aceing82
This Atlanta defense could be one of the best this season. Looking good so far!
7h Arneet Singh @aceing82
I wonder how much more competitive this game would have been with proper officiating. #wecanonlyimagine #nfl #whatcouldhavebeen
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
I’m sick to my stomach watching the officiating here. #DENvsATL
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
What a catch by Thomas! Inexperience? Ha!
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
@MikePereira let’s hope the next two and a half minutes don’t take another hour.
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
And now the no-huddle comes in. Way to be late to the game, Denver. #DENvsATL #finally
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
Mike Tirico says, “Matt Ryan is looking like Peyton Manning.” #offense #explosive #beautiful
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
Denver needs to let Peyton Manning do his thing, run the offense in no-huddle! At this point, it IS a dire sitch and no huddle would work
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
@AshleyMFox I’m not sure they ever gained the players respect from the start
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
What was supposed to be the most hyped game of the season is turning into a mess #ridiculous #seriously #gettingtiredofthis
8h Arneet Singh @aceing82
There must be a record for “Longest Time Taken to Decide a Fumble”. This is embarassing. #cmonman
9h Arneet Singh @aceing82
@MikePereira I wrote it in my blog how sick of this I am so, no, you’re not alone. http://aceing82.blogspot.co.nz/2012/09/weeks-1-and-2-are-in-books-but-you.html …
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Salty, Scrambled Mind 