NFL Referees

[jamiche]

This isn't totally OT but tonight's gopher game reminded me why I think that NFL officiating is superior to the other sports. Yes, NFL refs make mistakes, but they never "become" the game. I'm so tired of guys like Hightower (college hoops), Joey Crawford, et. al. (NBA) and a myriad of major league umps deciding to join the athletes on stage. Maybe we learn the name of the head linesman of an NFL game, but no one else on the crew. It's an imperfect, human function, but the NFL does it best by far.

There's a difference between making a mistake and dictating the outcome of a game. That is why MLB, the NBA and, increasingly, college hoops have a credibility problem.

 

[rcpratt]

Basketball is much, much harder to officiate than football. So many calls that can go either way, so many things that could be called every time down the floor.

The NFL is even easier to officiate than MLB, in my opinion. Baseball is still much easier than basketball - there's really only one thing to have your eye on, although it can often come down to a frame-by-frame type call.

 

[cncmin]

This isn't totally OT but tonight's gopher game reminded me why I think that NFL officiating is superior to the other sports. Yes, NFL refs make mistakes, but they never "become" the game. I'm so tired of guys like Hightower (college hoops), Joey Crawford, et. al. (NBA) and a myriad of major league umps deciding to join the athletes on stage. Maybe we learn the name of the head linesman of an NFL game, but no one else on the crew. It's an imperfect, human function, but the NFL does it best by far.

There's a difference between making a mistake and dictating the outcome of a game. That is why MLB, the NBA and, increasingly, college hoops have a credibility problem.

Disagree to some extent - NFL officials make a lot of mistakes on the biggest call in the game - pass interference. They also are somewhat inconsistent in judgment calls (personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct) and such, which are also big penalties. Finally, recall that the Vikings got beat by the Steelers, possibly due primarily to the "trip" call that was made on Dugan. On the other hand, the Vikings beat the Lions a couple of years back only because the refs gave the Vikings a fortunate PI call on their last series. That said, I fully agree that referees control basketball games much more often than football games, especially with the advent of significant use of instant replay (all of their calls are heavily scrutinized). In this regard, the NFL may have virtually eliminated one scary factor that can exist in all major sports - the gambling referee.

 

[jamiche]

Disagree to some extent - NFL officials make a lot of mistakes on the biggest call in the game - pass interference. They also are somewhat inconsistent in judgment calls (personal fouls, unsportsmanlike conduct) and such, which are also big penalties. Finally, recall that the Vikings got beat by the Steelers, possibly due primarily to the "trip" call that was made on Dugan. On the other hand, the Vikings beat the Lions a couple of years back only because the refs gave the Vikings a fortunate PI call on their last series. That said, I fully agree that referees control basketball games much more often than football games, especially with the advent of significant use of instant replay (all of their calls are heavily scrutinized). In this regard, the NFL may have virtually eliminated one scary factor that can exist in all major sports - the gambling referee.

NFL refs absolutely do make mistakes. The distinction is that they don't become the game. Not the same for hoops and baseball.

 

[jamiche]

Basketball is much, much harder to officiate than football. So many calls that can go either way, so many things that could be called every time down the floor.

The NFL is even easier to officiate than MLB, in my opinion. Baseball is still much easier than basketball - there's really only one thing to have your eye on, although it can often come down to a frame-by-frame type call.

I disagree. The NFL is the fastest, most violent, most chaotic sport with the most number of players.

 

[ulmer]

Ulmer

I`m not sure if baseball or football is harder to call or not I just want to know why It`s so damn hard to get an offensive foul called in Purdue.

 

[ChemEGopher]

We need younger basketball refs. This isn't being "age-ist" or anything, it's just the truth. Why do we expect these 60+ year old guys to be able to keep up with 10 super athletic 18-22 year olds running up and down the court? Although I cannot speak based on personal experiences, from all accounts physical ability, reaction time, and eyesight all worsen with age. I have noticed a definite correlation with best refs being younger than the average age. Obviously there are exceptions, but I don't think anyone can disagree with that statement. At the very least, there should be conditioning standards that referees should be required to meet.

Perfect example from last night was the phantom foul on Kramer's break away lay-up that Hoffarber got called for. The ref was completely out of position because he couldn't keep up with the play so he just made the call assuming Hoff touched Kramer.

 

[tikited]

We need younger basketball refs. This isn't being "age-ist" or anything, it's just the truth. Why do we expect these 60+ year old guys to be able to keep up with 10 super athletic 18-22 year olds running up and down the court? Although I cannot speak based on personal experiences, from all accounts physical ability, reaction time, and eyesight all worsen with age. I have noticed a definite correlation with best refs being younger than the average age. Obviously there are exceptions, but I don't think anyone can disagree with that statement. At the very least, there should be conditioning standards that referees should be required to meet.

Perfect example from last night was the phantom foul on Kramer's break away lay-up that Hoffarber got called for. The ref was completely out of position because he couldn't keep up with the play so he just made the call assuming Hoff touched Kramer.

+1

I couldn't believe Hoff was called on that play unitil I noticed where the ref was.

 

[rcpratt]

I disagree. The NFL is the fastest, most violent, most chaotic sport with the most number of players.

They also have SEVEN referees for each football game. Not buying the "most number of players" argument.

 

[Flash23]

I disagree. The NFL is the most violent sport.

Ever heard of UFC???????? I think taking knee kicks to the head, body blows, and fists/elbows to the face while scrumming on the ground is a lot more violent.