NFL officially admits scab refs fucked up, cost Green Bay the game.

[MadHound]

""In Monday's game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Seattle faced a 4th-and-10 from the Green Bay 24 with eight seconds remaining in the game.

"Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a pass into the end zone. Several players, including Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, jumped into the air in an attempt to catch the ball.

"While the ball is in the air, Tate can be seen shoving Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields to the ground. This should have been a penalty for offensive pass interference, which would have ended the game. It was not called and is not reviewable in instant replay."
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/09/25/161732519/bring-back-the-real-nfl-refs-debacle-at-end-of-game-adds-to-outrage

So now, even the NFL admits that the scab refs are a failure. Now, the question is whether they will do anything about the situation, or continue to watch players get needlessly hurt, fights breaking out, and the game of football get destroyed.

Frankly, I think there is one way for this to get settled, and settled quickly. Nobody goes to the stadium next week, absolutely no one. No fans in the stands, no money for vendors, owners, the teams, the NFL. Just stay home. If that happened all around the league in the same week, the NFL would would have the refs back on the field the next week. Nothing else seems to be convincing them, not injuries, not blown games. So it is time to start hitting them in the pocketbook.

[russspeakeasy]

1. 100 %

Money is their only motivation. I will not attend, or watch the NFL until there is some semblance of competent officiating.

[joeglow3]

2. I miss honest fuck-ups like coin tosses and celebrations in the end...

...being called incomplete passes.

[awake]

3. As a owner of the Green Bay Packers

I own a share of the Packers and I am outraged at the BS that was called a game last night. I can not believe the Sh#$ storm the NFL has created with these scab clowns (I will not even call them Refs). The only good that may come from this is that more people are waking up to how friends of Mitt act to cut down the workers so they can pad there own pockets, let us remind everyone that the NFL is acting just like Mitt will if he get in to the White House. Reelect Obama and kick out the clowns!

[gateley]

8. I'm sorry FOR you. I'd have much preferred that exciting last play with the correct call.

I've always said I'd rather see an exciting game and have my team lose than a one-sided thrashing.

We (Seahawks fans) are hurt by this, too. There will always be an asterisk by that W.

I really feel for you guys, and don't feel comfortable with our "win".

[LiberalFighter]

51. I'm a Packer fan diehard.

If it had been a legitimate touchdown I would had been disappointed but not outraged.

The scab refs are not competent. The guy that made the td call had absolutely no professional experience prior to this season. What was his experience? College hockey and beer pong? I think someone also indicated that his experience included high school and low level college football.

[gateley]

58. The ultimate rage should be directed toward the NFL owners -- what/whoever that group is.

I understand your devastation and outrage, though. I used to be a rabid Seahawks and Mariners fan, and both have lost games due to bad calls (probably every team has). But last night was a whopper! I'd guess most Seahawks fans agree. Like I said, it's not a good-feeling win.

[LiberalFighter]

59. IMO Goodell should be fired.

And they should get rid of the restriction of future teams owned by shareholders.

Oh, they should fire the NFL review department (whatever that was) that agreed with the referees.

[Baclava]

4. "Regular" refs butcher that call all the time, they almost never call PI on a Hail Mary

NFL Official Statement

NFL STATEMENT ON FINAL PLAY OF GREEN BAY PACKERS-SEATTLE SEAHAWKS GAME

In Monday's game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Seattle faced a 4th-and-10 from the Green Bay 24 with eight seconds remaining in the game.

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a pass into the end zone. Several players, including Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, jumped into the air in an attempt to catch the ball.

While the ball is in the air, Tate can be seen shoving Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields to the ground. This should have been a penalty for offensive pass interference, which would have ended the game. It was not called and is not reviewable in instant replay.

When the players hit the ground in the end zone, the officials determined that both Tate and Jennings had possession of the ball. Under the rule for simultaneous catch, the ball belongs to Tate, the offensive player. The result of the play was a touchdown.

Replay Official Howard Slavin stopped the game for an instant replay review. The aspects of the play that were reviewable included if the ball hit the ground and who had possession of the ball. In the end zone, a ruling of a simultaneous catch is reviewable. That is not the case in the field of play, only in the end zone.

Referee Wayne Elliott determined that no indisputable visual evidence existed to overturn the call on the field, and as a result, the on-field ruling of touchdown stood.

The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review.

The result of the game is final.

[MadHound]

6. Really? Do regular refs also have multiple fights breaking out during virtually every game?

Yes, the regular refs do screw up their far share of calls. But the sad fact of the matter is that these scab refs have a much higher percentage of blown calls than regular refs. Furthermore, these scab refs simply can't control the game. Fights are breaking out in virtually every game. Major and minor players are suffering extensive injuries with no penalties for the perpetrators. The results of games, whether they win or they lose, are being decided by the refs. Not just the Green Bay/Seattle debacle, but other games as well.

The fact of the matter is that these scab refs are having a horrendous effect on the game, and now even the NFL is admitting that they're making bad mistakes.

[Baclava]

9. so don't leave it up to the refs to decide the game, GB had ONE TD the whole game

Seattle's defense owned their asses

Goodell is pissing on his own shield though, and that's hilarious to me

[russspeakeasy]

11. Put the bottle down....right now !!

Never leave it to the refs ??

[Baclava]

14. Seahawks fans are all over the web: "We were robbed in SBXL, THEY OWED US ONE!"

ha ha

Time to bust out the conspiracy theories. The refs are getting paid off by Vegas. Is it a coincidence there are so many underdogs winning this year?

[MadHound]

12. Can you take off your Seahawk fanboy glasses for a minute,

And look at what is really going on?

This isn't just about last night's game. This is about the past three weeks, how the refs have impacted all the games. Not just with bad calls, but by not keeping the game itself under control. You have players flat out stating that they are going to push the limits with these refs, because they know they can get away with so much more.

For instance, helmet to helmet hits are more common this year because players know they can get away with them. WR Darrius Heyward-Bey was carted off the field due to an obvious helmet to helmet hit, yet no penalty was called. Same deal with Tony Romo, nailed by a helmet to helmet hit, one that wasn't called. Thankfully, he didn't appear to suffer any serious injury.

Meanwhile, out on the field, the refs have lost control of virtually every game. Multiple fights and brawls during most games, that is symptomatic of their loss of control.

The fact is, if this continues, we are going to see some poor player die out there, on the field, during a game. That's not hilarious, that's sad, and it can be laid right at the feet of Goodell, and more importantly the people who are Goodell's bosses, the team owners.

[Baclava]

19. I'm not a Seachickens fan - ha ha

oh, and Seahawks fans can now officially STFU about SB XL now

[MadHound]

20. Well, whatever fan you are, you are missing a huge part of the picture,

This isn't just about winning or losing, but the needless injuries, the loss of control of game after game, and the general degradation of the game of professional football.

Are you going to laugh about that as well? If so, then you really have no clue, or simply don't care about what is going on with this issue.

[Baclava]

22. I hate all refs, new refs, old refs, replacement refs....always have

Fuck Goodell - I want the old game back - with real hitting and letting them play the game.

This arena league shit is worse than any refs and my hope is Lord Goodell gets fired over this.

I piss on his shield

[MadHound]

27. Ah yes, the good ol' days,

When Jim McMahon got spiked into the ground by virtually every defensive lineman in the league, and now pays the price with early onset dementia.

The good ol' days when Reggie Brown got nailed on a helmet to helmet hit, and had to be revived with CPR right there on the field, is that the sort of "real hitting" you want to see again?

Or how about Dennis Byrd, who went helmet to helmet, mano a mano, with his own teammate back in '92. I remember that game, and the fact that Byrd hasn't walked since. Yeah, gotta love the "old game"

Trouble is, you can't play the "old game" with these new, modern players. Their size, speed and strength have increased dramatically, just over the past twenty years. Far too easy for these new players to inflict life threatening, career ending, life ending injuries unless they are reined in by regulations and penalties.

If you want to see blood and guts and gore, "real" hits and such, I suggest that you switch to that human cockfighting spectacle known as mixed martial arts. I'm sure it has all the violence you apparently so desperately crave.

[Baclava]

31. Helmet to helmet hits will continue...no matter who the refs are - it's impossible to stop inertia.

These "new" rules now expect defensive players to stop in mid-air and repel the force of gravity when a player suddenly ducks to avoid the hit. No rule will ever do anything about that.

Your whole premise about "preventing injuries with real refs" is bogus.

[MadHound]

34. Yes, helmet to helmets will still occur, but the point is for the rules to reduce them,

And it has worked.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/study-rule-reduced-concussions-kickoffs-201306940--nfl.html

That is just on kickoffs alone, and only after one season of rule changes. Others examples are the amount and severity of injuries received after spearing was made illegal. They went down, dramatically.

Yes, helmet to helmet hits are going to occur, as you say, there are times when you simply can't break the laws of physics. But the overall point of these new rules is to reduce the amount of injuries overall. However, with these scab refs, who aren't penalizing players for helmet to helmet and other hits, the amount of injuries is going up. Heyward-Bey went to the hospital last Sunday, Schaub had to have his ear sewed back on, Romo, well frankly it's amazing he was still able to play. Defensive players throughout the NFL have stated that they are going to press the boundaries with scab refs in, which is going to mean more injuries, more helmet to helmet hits. Is that what you really want for your Sunday afternoon entertainment, watching more and more players being carted off the field to the hospital, or worse, dying on the field.

Sorry, but with the increased size, strength and speed of modern players, you've got to put some sort of limit on the damage that they can do. Your rationalization, that if we can't prevent all cheap hits then why try to prevent any, is illogical and bogus. Or worse yet, professional football would get sued out of existence as more and more players sue for damages that could have been prevented by a few rule changes.

[Baclava]

38. These guys get payed millions to play a game. They know it's a violent game.

They've done it all their lives, for the most part. What you gonna do? That's their choice.

Yeah the cheapshots have been all but eliminated and that's a good thing for player longevity, but don't make it flag football.

I hate the new refs as much as the next guy and want the games better policed with quality guys, but thinking it's all suddenly going to be a kiddie safe playing field with the old refs back is pure fantasy.

I just heard Pete Carroll say it was the correct in the EZ - I laughed.

bat the damn ball down next time DB's - you should know better

[MadHound]

41. So, just because they get paid hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars,

It's OK to expose them to gratuitous injuries?

Sorry, but that doesn't fly.

Nobody is saying that it's going to be kiddie safe with the regular refs back on the field. But it will be better, safer, and actually make for a better, more entertaining game for both the players and the fans.

That's something we all want, isn't it?

[Baclava]

43. They know the risks everytime they step on the field.

Everyone’s team has had crappy calls...and players blow out their knees without even getting hit (see Revis)

Sorry….but if the regular refs would have made the same call against a non media darling team (like the bucs, bengals, lions, ect.) Mike Pereira would be on the airwaves right now quoting the rule book and qualifying how the refs actually got it correct despite what your lying eyes tell you.

But since a call actually went against the pack for a change, and they’re the replacment official, the entire state of Wisconsin goes into mourning/protest and they’re getting mob together to attack the replacments.

[MadHound]

44. Don't you get this, it just isn't about the Packers, or the game last night.

It's about what is going on in the entire league. Geez, wake up.

And your casual dismissal of injuries is, quite frankly, disgusting. Like I said earlier, if you want to see more guts and gore, go watch UFC.

[Baclava]

45. It's fucking football - not soccer - go watch that if you're afraid of seeing hitting

wait - I bet you never played football, did you?

Injuries are part of the game, you'll never legislate them out. It is what it is.

[MadHound]

46. Well d'uh!

Of course injuries are part of the game, but again, what is wrong with trying to minimize them? Let me guess, you want to go back to the days of leather helmets and no pads

Oh, and you would lose your bet. I've not only played football, but soccer and rugby as well. Any other dumb questions you want to ask me?

[Baclava]

47. Leather helmets would certainly eliminate head hunting....hmmmmmm

Nobody wants to see players hurt - don't even try and dump that shit on me...and it's not a social experiment, it's football - don't ruin the game, that's all I ask. Keep defense a part of the game. I hate arena ball.

and if you played rugby you get taught early not to tackle with your head. If the NFL really cared about player safety they'd make more improvements to helmets/equipment.

[MadHound]

48. Well, they are making improvements to the helmets,

And you say that you don't want to see players hurt, but on the other hand, you apparently want to let the players play. So where do you draw the line? Penalties on spearing? Penalties on helmet to helmet hits, where do you draw that line?

[Baclava]

50. How about start calling chop blocks by the offense on defensive linemen?

Defensive players get no rule protection by RB's spearing them in the head with THEIR helmets.

You don't see anybody crying for the defense, do you? It's just football.

I'm more concerned with inconsistent calls for pass interference and defensive holding.

That's more what I meant by 'Let them play'.

[countryjake]

37. Thank you, but you forgot to mention Steve Gleason!

This Terminally Ill Former Player Is The New Face Of The NFL's Concussion Issue

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/steve-gleason-nfl-concussion-issue-2012-8?op=1#ixzz27VnoO9D8


http://www.teamgleason.org/


Steve Gleason’s Story

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/21/steve-gleasons-story/

[JoeyT]

60. MMA ain't gonna work either.

Mainstream MMA isn't actually that brutal, not anymore anyway. When it was first becoming popular it was pretty nasty, and enough people got hurt and they started adding rules. Getting hurt is much less likely now, and when you get hurt it's less likely to be a crippling injury. And that's a damned good thing.

I dunno what you'd go to if you just wanted straight up pointless violence that ends in injuries or brain damage. Backyard Wrestling maybe?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

30. There were at least three bad calls

against GB. I thought the pass interference call was even more obvious than the final play.

&feature=player_embedded

[hifiguy]

36. That was a truly horrible call.

Had that been properly officiated, the Seahawks never would have been a position to throw that Hail Mary. Send these assklowns back to Pop Warner. Simply unbelievable. The NFL moves far too quickly for these gits to be even remotely competent.

[LiberalFighter]

52. Seattle owned their ass for the first half

The second half was different

[Baclava]

56. Seahawks led Packers 7-0 at halftime - who would have believed that?

Watching those young DE's ripping around getting 8 sacks made me jealous.

Nice adjustments in the second half by GB to counteract them though...after that the the flag fest was ridiculous.

[The2ndWheel]

21. The fights are on the players

They're supposed to be professionals, and this isn't hockey.

The players and coaches aren't giving these refs any respect. The refs haven't earned much respect, but everyone knows they have little authority. It's like a class with a substitute teacher for a day. The kids do things that they otherwise wouldn't do if the actual teacher was there. They try and get away with even more the usual. Same with the players and coaches in the NFL this year.

[MadHound]

23. How do the regular refs keep things from getting out of hand?

Oh, yeah, they throw the flag, quickly and emphatically. If that doesn't work, they throw another flag the next time the incident occurs, oh, and the league throws in some post game fines as well.

The scab refs aren't throwing the flags they need to control the game. Players are getting helmet to helmet hits, and other illegal hits, yet no flags are called on the perps. That leads to general frustration on the part of one team or the other, or both, and a fight breaks out. Yet even when a fight breaks out, even when refs are having players put hands on them(a big no-no), still, no flags are being thrown.

You can argue for player professionalism, but that's not how it works in the real world or the real game. That is part of the reason the refs are there, to keep control of the game and to minimize injuries and mayhem.

[The2ndWheel]

33. These refs are clearly not ready for this

Not knowing the rules, not wanting to get booed, whatever it is, they're not refs at an NFL level. They never had a chance. Maybe in Week 1, if they threw those flags then. Maybe.

However, if the players and coaches are going to go above and beyond what they would normally do during the game because they know they can take advantage of these particular refs, then they shouldn't complain about these refs after the game.

Do what you need to do to deal with the obvious and understandable frustration, but they're all aware of what the situation is. Everyone knows the refs are terrible. So go for the helmet to helmet hits, and start physically touching the refs...I guess.

[bluedigger]

5. There were three blown (non) calls on that play alone.

The first was an illegal block to the back by an offensive lineman while Wilson was scrambling. The Packers were jobbed, and the NFL has become a joke.

[Mr Dixon]

7. SMH

The reality is way more football fans will be watching next week count on it, and they will go to the games oh I few will stay home in protest not going to make a difference.

[sadbear]

10. Yep. It doesn't matter who caught the ball.

The game should have ended on an offensive pass interference call.

[Blue_Tires]

13. The line on the game was Green Bay -3.5

There are tens of millions of butthurt degenerate gambling addicts today...

[MadHound]

16. World-wide, the switch in money is estimated to be 150-250 million

Worse, it distorts the line on whether the Packers will go to the Super Bowl.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8422934/seattle-seahawks-vs-green-bay-packers-disputed-mnf-call-shifted-150-250m-bets

By the by, just exactly how do you define a "degenerate gambling addict"? Lots of people gamble once in a while, are they degenerates as well?

[Blue_Tires]

25. It's more of a joke...

I've never heard "gambler" without the modifier "degenerate" in front of it, especially when it comes to sports betting...And let's face it, the hardcore, devout gamblers (and the amounts gambled) are the ones most likely to be apocalyptic today...

It's just a mark of pride--I may have occasionally put down the occasional wager myself

[MadHound]

29. Oh, I'm sure there are lots of gamblers, hardcore and otherwise, that are furious today,

That's a huge amount of money to switch hands on one blown call.

Psst, if you ever want to watch hard core sports betting in action, watch a group engaged in play by play betting, absolutely insane.

[LiberalFighter]

54. Now that you bring that up...

What is the likelihood that one of those scab refs was involved?

[yortsed snacilbuper]

15. It gives the losers something to whine about!

[MadHound]

18. No, there are bigger issues that that.

Mainly the injuries. More and more players are flat out stating that they are going to press the boundaries with the scab refs in, because they know they can get away with a lot more. Darrius Heyward-Bey got a helmet to helmet hit, had to go to the hospital for it, yet no penalty was called. Tony Romo got a helmet to helmet hit, thankfully wasn't hurt, but still, no penalty called. Sooner rather than later, some poor player is going to die on the field, and these scab refs won't call a penalty.

[ladjf]

17. They should have waived the no penalty call rule. Then called the offensive foul which would

have ended the game correctly. nt

[obamanut2012]

24. Was the scoring play not reviewed and allowed by an NFL booth official?

Several posters on DU have said this is so. If so, shouldn't the NFL booth folks have disallowed the TD last night?

There is a legit reason for unions, and I'm hoping NFL football this season will make some folks pro-labor.

[MadHound]

28. It was reviewed,

But the booth refs can't call the flag that the field refs missed.

[LiberalFighter]

55. The process for the review was botched.

Mainly the step before the review consisting of the refs conferring amongst themselves before making a ruling.

[fishwax]

32. The ref on the field performs the official review, not the booth official

The booth official only decides whether or not there will be an official review. In this case, the booth official determined that there should be a review, and the referee, after performing the review, determined that the play should stand.

[obamanut2012]

39. Okay, thanks -- someone else told me something different

[Baclava]

61. Phil Luckett, the moron from the Thanksgiving Day fuckup, was the official in the replay booth

you can't make this shit up sports fans

all refs suck - some more than others

[KamaAina]

26. I hear Golden Tate is starting his own basketball team

the Golden Tate Warriors.

[cbdo2007]

35. Sports in general have gone way downhill. We need to have a mass fan strike to show them all who is

REALLY in charge.

[countryjake]

40. I agree with your plan for settling this lockout, but...

it does need to be something decided upon well in advance...this coming next week is much too soon. I say that because so many fans just don't have the resources to toss away a ticket to the "big game" so cavalierly, no matter what cause they may support. Saving for months to able to purchase tickets to see your team play is pretty common these days, with the economy in the shape it's in.

I do think that fans need to organize a protest around this refs' lockout and set a date for a nationwide boycott, if the NFL continues to deny the refs' their due, but I am hoping that the uproar over what transpired last night (and all throughout these short three weeks of the season and also, during the entire pre-season play), will finally convince TPTB to listen to the pro referees, reach an agreement, and allow them all to return to their rightful places on the football field.

[countryjake]

42. Boycott the NFL, Now!

Boycott the NFL, Now
by Jason Linkins, Posted: 09/25/2012 1:31 pm EDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/25/boycott-the-nfl-now_n_1913277.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

"So boycott the NFL. Even if it's lonely. Even if it's futile. I watch the Sunday morning political shows every week, so I know what it's like to participate in a weekly exercise in futility. It's survivable. Just find some friends, and do anything else in the world on Sunday. But boycott the NFL."

[dembotoz]

49. boycott the nfl???? can assure you that any packer fan who wants to unload his ticket will find an

eager buyer no matter what the product is

will have to get much worse than this

[fascisthunter]

53. they have cost more games than that one

[cleanhippie]

57. Yeah, it was the refs. I'm sure that the 8 sacks and poor performence by the Packers...

had NOTHING to do with it.

[Alduin]

62. Good god.

It's only a fucking game, the third out of 16. It wasn't a playoff game or was it a championship game. It affects none of us.

[Nevilledog]

63. NFL statement misses the goddamn point..there was no simultaneous catch !!

Have the balls to make the call and correct this travesty and don't wuss out by only addressing the equally egregious but non reviewable missed pass interference call.

Proof positive there was no "touchdown" but only a helluva interception:

[IMG][/IMG]

[Rom19750]

64. Legit?

Last edited Fri May 24, 2013, 06:02 PM - Edit history (1)

Now how can one determine a fixed game from a legit one?

___________________________
football betting picks

[hrmjustin]

65. Welcome to DU my friend!