Officials Need to Speak

August 19, 2018

Tis the season, football season that is. At this time of year, I watch A LOT of football and it’s a wonderful time of the year. You get to see some things that don’t happen all that often, during the regular season: trick plays and guys fighting for a roster spot, coaching staff trying new things, personnel and packages. Some teams and players are about to embark on fairytales and Cinderella stories, some are making their final steps on a football field. Preseason is beautiful and tragic all at once. A writer could fill a career just on the happenings on the sideline during the curtain raiser of the NFL.

But, I’m not going to. I’m going to focus on the zebras, who are also in their preseason. Much has been spoken and written about many high profile rule amendments and additions, the new catch rule and lowering the head to initiate contact. Apparently, the officiating crews are struggling with how these rules are to be applied. Flags are flying like a ticker tape parade and not even the zebras seem to know why. Many of these infractions are either phantom or seemingly misapplied interpretations of a rule.

The appalling flag thrown in Minneapolis on a perfectly good sack. Offensive pass interference at 1.24 left in the first quarter in the contest between the Broncos and Bears, where number 80 is nowhere near anyone until he is tackled with the ball. Is being tackled now an offence?

Time and time again this preseason, flags have been thrown in error, but we get it, the official crews have to work out these new rules too. But, they need to admit they are struggling. Coaches and players are beholden to management and the media, they hold press conferences. All the while the team in black and white retain a holier than thou silence. They are the officials and shall not be challenged!

With the amount of inexplicable penalties awarded the NFL and the referees need to stand together and either say “these are the rules, we have tried to play under the new requirements and it is no longer possible to play football, sadly we are dissolving the NFL” or just come clean and admit they just aren’t sure what they’re calling.