Dear NFL,

Please get rid of some of the pussification rules you have put in place and pretty please get rid of the replacement officials that can't see E36 M3 with a seeing eye dog.

Thank you.

the pusification of the NFL is here to stay .. it'll only get more-so, not less

The game is pretty much designed to do pretty bad permanent injury to the players. If they want to make is safer, just remove the helmets and pads, those issue will mostly disappear.

aircooled wrote: The game is pretty much designed to do pretty bad permanent injury to the players. If they want to make is safer, just remove the helmets and pads, those issue will mostly disappear.

This is why the whole "oh rugby is soooooo much tougher" argument is bullE36 M3.

Rugby is a brutal sport only because of the scrum and hits out of nowhere, but besides that, meh.

Gear is made to HIT someone, not TAKE a hit. If they all played with the pads and helmets that the punter/kicker used, you would still have the same injuries every week. But I believe the hits would be different for the player receiving the hit.

Osterkraut wrote:

aircooled wrote: The game is pretty much designed to do pretty bad permanent injury to the players. If they want to make is safer, just remove the helmets and pads, those issue will mostly disappear.

This is why the whole "oh rugby is soooooo much tougher" argument is bullE36 M3.

Exactly, my response.

And that is not to take anything away from rugby players, those guys are tough as E36 M3 but safety equipment makes you feel a little more invincible. A receiver going across the middle and having a defensive player coming from the other direction trying to force an incompletion has got to be one of, if not the most, dangerous plays in ball sports.

As far as the replacement refs, I think some rose tinted glasses are in effect when remembering the old refs. They really weren't much better.

The replacement refs don't seem to be making any more game-changing bad calls than the "real" refs. From what I can see they're just inconsistent in a different way. What's more offensive is the way the coaches and players try to work them over. A couple of unsportsmanlike conduct yellow flags against coaches would do a lot to earn them some respect. it would also probably get their '92 Hyundai Excel turned over in the parking lot, so I kind of get why it doesn't happen.

jg

JG: I was in your camp last week. Having seen that queefs/taints game, I get it now. It is not just perception. These dudes are outta control.

When I first heard about it, I thought it was all fluff and announcers making a big deal out of nothing. But there has been some pretty bad mistakes made. Last Monday night was the absolute worst I've seen so far.

Whens monster truck racing season start again?

Monster truck racing never stops.

There were some pretty obviously botched calls today, if not for the replays, the last three weeks would have been an utter fiasco.

Okay. Maybe there have been a few bad calls, but Belichik just practically took a swing at one of the refs after the Pats/Ravens game.

I think the problem is twofold: The replacement refs bring a different skill set to the table, and the players and coaches have such little respect for them it's almost to the point of open hostility.

I still say one Sunday afternoon with some highly visible personal foul and unsportsmanlike penalties goes a long way toward solving the problem.

jg

i'll say this, the new refs seem to let the receivers and defensive backs battle a little more which I like. The only problem is at some point out of nowhere, they will call a phantom pass interference or defensive holding.

In reply to JG Pasterjak:

I saw the Belechik episode and wondered... WTF. Players and even coaches know what they can get away with. Collinsworth just said it's like a cross between the NFL and MMA.

IMO, kinda like kids misbehaving w/ the substitute teacher in charge.

It's not bad penalty-calling, it's all the childish sissyfighting on the field in between plays. There's 9 year old kids watching this now thinking that taking a swing at the opposing team's players because they looked at you funny is acceptable behavior. News flash: it's not.

The NFL is rapidly losing what little respect I had for it...

I'm with you JG -- it's a different skill set to learn the new "rules" that will be enforced. And to be fair, these refs aren't hacks brought in off the street. They do have experience at many other levels of play. But the big show always thinks itself "special" hence all the bellyaching.

Blaming the officiating is a time-honoured sports tradition at any rate.

fasted58 wrote: IMO, kinda like kids misbehaving w/ the substitute teacher in charge.

That is a great analogy for this.

In reply to Twin_Cam:

There are plenty of bad penalty calls going on.... The non call on Heyward-Bey during the Stoolers/Afraiders game. It clearly was a leap and made the "helmet to helmet" contact, but no flag. Then you can look at the loser Lions/Titans game. They called a helmet to helmet near the end of the game that I feel, shouldn't be called. The offensive player dipped his head after catching the ball while falling to the ground and the defensive player was aiming right about shoulder pad height.

Then the Sunday night game... Geez, it is why I want both of those teams to lose every week. If you can't fight "fair", take some cheapshots and see what you can get away with to try to win. And that starts with the coach and his control over his team.

JG Pasterjak wrote: I think the problem is twofold: The replacement refs bring a different skill set to the table, and the players and coaches have such little respect for them it's almost to the point of open hostility.

I don't think they bring a different skill set, except for the increased speed of the "pro" game, as so much as the NFL "stating", that you are replacements and will get replaced eventually. Then there seems like there is a underlying tone of "let the kids play" coming down from the top.

They are also apparently Raiders fans. (still, no excuse for the Steelers)

In reply to Ranger50:

In reply to DukeOfUndersteer:

No E36 M3.

The penalty calling is a mixed bag, but the big issue with the refs is the complete lack of control (and respect) in between the whistle. SWMBO asked why I was watching hockey last night because every time she glanced at the TV it was another fight. That E36M3's got to stop.