How do we fix the officiating?

[geezer]

First off, lets try to keep this limited to the overall officiating league wide and not specifics about any particular game. We all know we are less than satisfied with the officiating. I love a great game and very seldom does it all boil down to the zebra's. But when it does I get really disjointed.

It has been suggested that the NFL who is making billions, spend what it takes to make the officials full time. That would be a good start. I heard Mike Pereira on the tube suggesting they at least make the 17 referees full time. That would be a good start.

During the off season they could be in film study and training so stuff is called consistently the same across the league. During mini camps and spring they could visit all the teams and go over the rules with them and explain any changes and show points of emphasis.

It is beyond overdue for the league to do this. The integrity of the game is at stake here.

 

[CarlSr]

An old suggestion that I've always liked is that you can challenge anything, at any time, but your challenges must still be limited so these games don't last 7 hours.

 

[Schmoopy1000]

make full time refs, where that is their only job. that would be a start. With the money Ol' roger makes yearly, no one can tell me the NFL cant afford it.
While we are at it. Don't split up crews during the playoffs. They are a team just like the teams on the field. best teams ref the playoffs & best team from the playoffs (least amount of mistakes) refs the superbowl. (kinda like their own Playoffs so to speak) if they feel they need to cut a ref in the offseason to get better so be it.

 

[geezer]

Hey NFL, these are your fans, are you listening?

 

[WizardHawk]

All good places to start.

The question is with all of the deep deep pockets of the league why has none of it been done? We didn't invent these ideas and yet year after year we end up bitching about the officiating and year after year the league stands pat and does nothing to address it. If they really wanted these controversies to go away they would and it really wouldn't be that hard to do. So clearly they don't want to fix it.

 

[CarlSr]

I'd have to Google it, but I think they used to send the best teams of refs, minus guys that had only been doing it in the pros for a year or two. I believe they did that because some folks didn't want fairly green refs in the post season. After that wasn't the perfect plan, I think is when they started doing this all-star crew stuff.

 

[EKA]

I thought it was fixed already.

 

[JMR]

The role of central replay node that was implemented this season needs to be taken to the next level. The game is moving too fast for humans to consistently make the right calls and not make disastrously bad ones in real time, and there needs to be something introduced to the process to help slow the game down (figuratively) for the officials. Having some extra sets of trained eyes with modern technology at their disposal is just too obvious but not being used to the fullest right now.


Put a chip in the ball that can be used to determine where on the field the perimeter of that ball is at all times. No more wondering if it was enough for a first down if the ball crossed the plane.

 

[TxHeat]

Hey NFL, these are your fans, are you listening?

Goodell hasn't listened to a damn thing he's heard from fans. The day his ass is out of the commissioner's chair will be the best day the league has had in a while.

 

[redseat]

An old suggestion that I've always liked is that you can challenge anything, at any time, but your challenges must still be limited so these games don't last 7 hours.

That would make the game extremely long! Because you know coaching would challenge everything! IF this were the case make it maybe 4 challenges at any time.

 

[flyerhawk]

The role of central replay node that was implemented this season needs to be taken to the next level. The game is moving too fast for humans to consistently make the right calls and not make disastrously bad ones in real time, and there needs to be something introduced to the process to help slow the game down (figuratively) for the officials. Having some extra sets of trained eyes with modern technology at their disposal is just too obvious but not being used to the fullest right now.

I'm fine with this in a limited scope. But it could cause unforeseen problems as well. We don't refs calling more penalties simply because they don't want to be "called out"

Put a chip in the ball that can be used to determine where on the field the perimeter of that ball is at all times. No more wondering if it was enough for a first down if the ball crossed the plane.

How would they know when the player was down by contact?

 

[flyerhawk]

Football is, by far, the most complex team sport in the world. It is played at an extremely fast pace in which 22 players are all interacting with each other at the exact same time.

It's always going to be very hard and I'm not sure how much it would help to have a review of purely subjective calls.

 

[R.J. MacReady]

Goodell hasn't listened to a damn thing he's heard from fans. The day his ass is out of the commissioner's chair will be the best day the league has had in a while.

Rodger knows that nothing is really "broken" and that your not really unhappy about anything.
If you were really unhappy with the "product" you would voted with your feet.

The numbers reported by Reuters below suggest a "fake" outrage by some fans. They yell but can't look away.



From Reuters

Network CBS has drawn 19.5 million viewers on average to its Sunday afternoon NFL games, according to Nielsen data, an increase from its 17.8 million it averaged over the course of last season, continuing the NFL's run as a ratings juggernaut.

 

[PatsFan2003]

Look at defensive holding as a call and get it to actually penalize defensive holding.

make PI at the spot of the foul only if it's obvious or it's 15 yards.

Penalize any WR who acts indignant and looks to the ref for a call after every incomplete a 5 yard unsportsmanlike penalty.

 

[ducky]

The only way to fix the officiating is to fix fan expectations.

QB's don't complete 100% of their passes. Refs don't get 100% of the calls correct. Just the way it is.

Ref's today are better than they have ever been by a LARGE margin. The only thing that has changed is that fan's have HD big screen TV's an ultra slo-mo replays now so they complain more.

 

[CarlSr]

That would make the game extremely long! Because you know coaching would challenge everything! IF this were the case make it maybe 4 challenges at any time.

You missed the part where I said the challenges had to be limited because it would make the games long. :-/

 

[beardown07]

Go back to the way the rules used to be.



That said....Geezer. Give it a fucking rest mainge. That call didn't cost Detroit Jack Shit. They shit the bed in the second half, after building a significant enough lead, that they should've been able to put them away, which would remove any doubt as to who deserved to win. But they didn't. They got conservative and self-imploded.

One call doesn't make a game, unless its the dumb Seattle/GB game

 

[DonMan]

IMO a big part of the problem is the officials have way too much control of the system that evaluates the performance of officials. One result of this is that annual "grades" for officials are based mostly on seniority, with only a small percentage being determined by performance. So once an official has been around for a few years, they're "locked in" regardless of bad calls.

As others have mentioned, technology could be used to speed up portions of the game, and possibly make it easier to officiate at the same time. In particular, using two poles connected by a chain to measure for a first down is so pathetically stone age (and inaccurate) it's beyond laughable.

 

[DutchBird]

Trying to address a few points here:

1) Use a central centre for ALL reviews.

2) Use a standardized set up for cameras, to be implemented in ALL stadiums at the same positions. Cameras along the sidelines (both directions), goal lines (both directions), and arguably one or two central from above. If these are considered to many cameras, tell FOX/ESPN/CBS/NBC to go ditch most of the pointless cameras they have around anyway. THESE camera shots are to be used for reviews, and these only.

3) Put in chips in the ball (a hawk-eye like system is unfortunately not feasible).

4) To determine where the ball was when a player went down, you can sync images (i.e. the chip in combination with video imagery). Still leaves some situations impossible to judge, but should take care of many. A variant of such a system is already in place in for instance cricket (where they use sound recording synced with video to determine whether someone contacted the ball with the bat/glove on bat) for instance.

5) Down is down, and not the current BS where someone is not down because he is lying on top of a (pile of) player(s). Should make consistency with (4) much easier.

6) Make refs professionals, full time.

7) Quality is officiating is most important. I want consistency of officiating - not the nonsense that one has to has so many years experience before being allowed to play in the play offs and such. Coach refs to be consistent.

8) Hold officials accountable - how some are still in this league is stunning. If you are good enough, you are good enough, whether you are 25 or 75.

9) Make some penalties reviewable. I know in rugby they have an actual video ref on site, that can be used to review penalties, and even (retroactively) punish players, dispense penalties and such (including negating scores). The broadcasting companies have instant replays available for the viewing public. Might also make them (or create them) immediately for the booth referee... who could - for instance - buzz down for penalties for missed face masks or horse collars. You might even provide him (or one) standard with one with as only task to view the O-line from a camera angle behind the QB to spot egregious holds.

10) Make refs explain to the public the decision (example the non-call on intentional grounding over the weekend, which seemed beyond comprehension, until the ref actually explained what the rule is).

11) Broadcast the whole process of penalty discussion and so on (whether this is the intra-crew conference or the discussion with the booth review). Works great for cricket and rugby, where it is a great help in understanding of the process of a decision, including the questions asked. Sometimes - in rugby, they have miked up the ref and have that mike open for the whole match. And anybody wining about a curse word here or there should get their panties examined.

12) Perhaps equip some refs with a 'ref cam' carried on the head. I have seen in it rugby (and also cricket). Sometimes very enlightening since it gives one a good idea of what the ref actually sees, and makes - to the general public - quite a few WTF was he (not) looking at moments understandable.

11) For those who fear the game will take too long, take out a few of the commercial breaks.

 

[SteveDallas]

IMO a big part of the problem is the officials have way too much control of the system that evaluates the performance of officials. One result of this is that annual "grades" for officials are based mostly on seniority, with only a small percentage being determined by performance. So once an official has been around for a few years, they're "locked in" regardless of bad calls.

As others have mentioned, technology could be used to speed up portions of the game, and possibly make it easier to officiate at the same time. In particular, using two poles connected by a chain to measure for a first down is so pathetically stone age (and inaccurate) it's beyond laughable.

Speeding up the game is the last thing the NFL wants. More money in stretching them out. When I was a kid the games came on at 12:00 and 3:00. After the first game there was always time for a short post game show with highlights from around the league. I hated when the early game went into overtime because you would miss the first 5 or ten minutes of the late game.