NFL Referee Problem

[Buffalo Bob]

Also we have no idea what the zebras have been told behind closed doors. Plenty times in the past new rules or change in the interpretation of them has caused an initial rash of flags, then things have settled down after a couple games.

I wish we had year by year fan polls going back 50 years on how people rated the officiating. I would be willing to bet not many complained about the refs in 1969 then about the mid 70's it started climbing and it never stopped.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Bob

I would be willing to bet not many complained about the refs in 1969 then about the mid 70's it started climbing and it never stopped.

What’s your logic there



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[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Bob

I would be willing to bet not many complained about the refs in 1969 then about the mid 70's it started climbing and it never stopped.

Originally Posted by MTK

What’s your logic there

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As an example:

In the mid to late 70's they outlawed the head slap and at the same time allowed offensive lineman a more liberal use of their hands while blocking. Prior to that an offensive lineman had to keep his hands closed, horizontally inside his own shoulder pads and not allowed extend his elbows in excess of a 90 degree angle.

Any violation of above and illegal use of hands could be called. It was one of those infractions that is very easy to spot even if you are standing on the sidelines and the play is ran from the opposite hash mark. Not much subjectivity was needed on whether or not a blocker illegally used his hands.

I was actually playing in High School when the head slap was outlawed and they started allowing offensive lineman to use their hands more. We were actually told the best way to avoid an illegal use of hands penalty while blocking was to grab your own jersey when engaged.

My point was under the old rules and their interpretation whether or not something deserved a penalty was black and white plus could be spotted 30 yards away. Now there are a lot of gray areas, especially with what offensive lineman can get away with. To accurately see if a lineman committed a foul under today's rules a referee has to be standing right on top of him.

In summation as the rules have evolved the game has become more difficult to accurately officiate by the book which will lead to more questionable calls and non calls. Everything used to be cut and dry, it isn't anymore. I could go on and on.

[SFREDSKIN]

Guess what? Guess who Sunday’s officiating crew for our game is?
Clete Blakeman and his crew who officiated the Packers vs Lions, what luck we
have.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Bob

In the mid to late 70's they outlawed the head slap and at the same time allowed offensive lineman a more liberal use of their hands while blocking. Prior to that an offensive lineman had to keep his hands closed, horizontally inside his own shoulder pads and not allowed extend his elbows in excess of a 90 degree angle.

For me High school was 70-74 and College 75-77. As D lineman I loved the head slap it worked for me , I also loved to tackle the shoulder pads(horse collar) . In those days you were allowed to tackle a player /ball carrier by any means necessary exempt the face mask. The good old days and I swear there were less injuries back then too! point is you're right wasn't near as much bitching about Refs as now.

[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by Giantone

For me High school was 70-74 and College 75-77. As D lineman I loved the head slap it worked for me , I also loved to tackle the shoulder pads(horse collar) . In those days you were allowed to tackle a player /ball carrier by any means necessary exempt the face mask. The good old days and I swear there were less injuries back then too! point is you're right wasn't near as much bitching about Refs as now.

You're about 4 years older than me. I was stuck somewhat in the middle on liking the rules as by trade I was a middle linebacker in High School and College but was a back up guard and tackle, so I gave head slaps but had to take them also. It was pretty screwed up playing O-line as you could not extend your arms but the the dude you were trying to block can beat you in the head. Playing defense was fun in those days. I could not imagine doing it now, especially trying to tackle a QB. I think you are supposed to pick them up and lay them down while placing a pillow under their head.

[Giantone]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Bob

You're about 4 years older than me. I was stuck somewhat in the middle on liking the rules as by trade I was a middle linebacker in High School and College but was a back up guard and tackle, so I gave head slaps but had to take them also. It was pretty screwed up playing O-line as you could not extend your arms but the the dude you were trying to block can beat you in the head. Playing defense was fun in those days. I could not imagine doing it now, especially trying to tackle a QB. I think you are supposed to pick them up and lay them down while placing a pillow under their head.

Had a game where my main goal was to tackle the QB by his pony tail, hehehe ...............and I got him , his Coach bitched but the Refs said it was fair game.

[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by Giantone

Had a game where my main goal was to tackle the QB by his pony tail, hehehe ...............and I got him , his Coach bitched but the Refs said it was fair game.

I think it still is fair game even to this day. I believe if the hair hangs out of the helmet it is considered part of the uniform. Probably it isn't done very often because of some unwritten rule among the players.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Buffalo Bob

As an example:



In the mid to late 70's they outlawed the head slap and at the same time allowed offensive lineman a more liberal use of their hands while blocking. Prior to that an offensive lineman had to keep his hands closed, horizontally inside his own shoulder pads and not allowed extend his elbows in excess of a 90 degree angle.



Any violation of above and illegal use of hands could be called. It was one of those infractions that is very easy to spot even if you are standing on the sidelines and the play is ran from the opposite hash mark. Not much subjectivity was needed on whether or not a blocker illegally used his hands.



I was actually playing in High School when the head slap was outlawed and they started allowing offensive lineman to use their hands more. We were actually told the best way to avoid an illegal use of hands penalty while blocking was to grab your own jersey when engaged.



My point was under the old rules and their interpretation whether or not something deserved a penalty was black and white plus could be spotted 30 yards away. Now there are a lot of gray areas, especially with what offensive lineman can get away with. To accurately see if a lineman committed a foul under today's rules a referee has to be standing right on top of him.



In summation as the rules have evolved the game has become more difficult to accurately officiate by the book which will lead to more questionable calls and non calls. Everything used to be cut and dry, it isn't anymore. I could go on and on.

I would say since the first time someone put on a black and white striped shirt and started calling penalties people complained about the refs.

I can pull up discussions here from 10 years ago saying the refs are worse than ever.

Next year at this time we’ll have the same complaints about penalties and how it’s “the worst ever”.



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