The NFL with Substitute Teachers

So, during the NFL off-season, a lockout started.  With last season's NFL lockout and then the NBA lockout and now it looks like a new NHL lockout looming, this one was relatively minor and didn't make headlines much. Then the preseason started.  And the little lockout wasn't really the focus.  Then week 1 started the regular season.  It was a bit hairy, but they pulled through.  They did better than anyone thought they would.  Maybe it will be okay.  Then week 2 got worse.  "It seems like the coaches and players were pushing to see how far they could get away with things.  Now they know and they're keeping it there.  Now week 3 is in the books and all hell is starting to break loose.  For those of you who don't know, the regular NFL refs are locked out.  That means the muscled Ed Hochuli (seen to the right) and company keeping law and order over the rough and tumble gridiron.

Now the previous (regular) refs weren't perfect; no one is.  The picture of Hochuli is actually from an old ESPN story about his apology for blowing a call that cost a game.  It happens.  But Hochuli and company maintained control of the games.  They made calls with decisiveness and quickness that maintained order, a modicum of fairness and, most of all, the pace of the game.  The replacement officials don't do any of that.  There are grievously blown calls (at least they blow them both ways) and not enough discipline during the extra-curricular shoving matches.

Where did they get these refs?  They could have probably just brought up DI (I'm not going to bother with the FCS BCS BS) referees who know the rules.  There are rules changes form college to the pros, but they aren't much to remember if you study.  Pass interference in college is up to the spot of the foul, maximum 15 yards and a first down.  The pros is spot of the foul (no limit) and first down.  So if your QB is an arm with a life support attached, you could probably get a 80 yard penalty.  There are some other rules, like a player can get back up and run if he isn't down by contact (touched while down) in the pros.  Once you're down, you're down, in college.

But these officials aren't from the DI college ranks.  For one the bigger conferences (Big 10, Pac 12, SEC) treat their officials DAMN well.  They wouldn't want to lose the gigs for a temp position at the NFL.  And most of said conferences (and the other biggies) told their officials if they left, they wouldn't have jobs to come back to.  So these officials are borrowed from the Arena league (lots of different rules and nowhere near as much pressure...if you're asking "What's Arena League"...exactly) or as far down as DIII.  When the Sports Wife asked what is DIII, the Sports Bro-In-Law explained that that's where you find Bob's Really Good College and the like.  These guys aren't ready for this kind of pressure on this stage.  They are substitute teachers and the NFL players and coaches know it.  The NFL is making money hand over fist off of fines for complaining about the refs.  It doesn't matter that the players and coaches are absolutely correct in their complaints.  They're still getting fined.  Take a minute and open another tab in your browser.  In the google bar type "replacement officials complaints."  Look at some of the links/headlines that pop up.  Fox and Del Rio from Denver have already been fined.  Belichick, Shanahan, Harbaugh, and probably some of the Green Bay Packers after tonight, will all be fined this week.

The NFL has been preaching an awful lot lately about caring about player safety. (With a class-action lawsuit from 3000 former players, I'd be preaching, too).  But hits that go uncalled, penalties unenforced, and arguments that should be diverted aren't being controlled by these officials.  Frustration boils over and leads to more vicious hits and more fights. If the NFL truly cared about player safety, they'd settle the issue with the original refs and get the game back to the way it should be.  We're three weeks into the regular season and now it is starting to affect the outcome of games.  Now that it is doing this, it will probably start getting the owners' attention.  It shouldn't have to come to that.  Roger Goodell should have settled this issue earlier.  The replacement officials are starting to lower the quality of your product.  The question is will it hurt the demand for it?  Or will we continue to complain into our beers and blogospheres while we watch?