Those People Who Mr. Goodell Call 'Officials'
Hmph.
That about sums about the way I feel about the National Football League at the moment. So does the rest of America, or so it seems.
I guess it is a good move on my part that I did not write this post last night around midnight after I saw this happen to my beloved Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.
The fact that this blatantly awful call was on national television amplifies the situation more than people realize. Through the first three weeks of this NFL season, it is no secret that the gentlemen (and lady in one instance) that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hired to work this season until the regulars get their labor situation figured out with the owners of all 32 franchises in league are just embarrassing.
These officials have consistently made bad call after bad call (just YouTube NFL replacement refs bad calls and you will be able to waste a solid amount of time at work or in class shaking your head) and I think we all were just sitting around and waiting for one of these blunders to cost a team a game. In fact, the argument could be made about the Sunday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots. I mean even Bill Belichick got fired up about the ending to that game.
I personally think the ending of that game was too close to call simply because the ball looked to go right over the upright which according to the rule book is a good kick. It just seems as if the officials should have taken the time to look at it again for clarity. I mean, all Belichick wanted was an explanation.
Back to the game last night. Thanks to the upgrades in technology and the decision of my roommates and I to splurge a little bit and get cable with DVR capabilities, I recorded last night's game. I was unable to watch past the first quarter (which was absolutely terrible for both sides-a combined 0 points, a handful of first downs, and Aaron Rodgers getting sacked four times) because of club basketball practice going from 9:30-11:30 p.m. last night. So naturally, I planned on watching the rest of in the coming days.
I arrived home just in time to see the last three minutes of the game, which began when Green Bay was clinging to a 12-7 lead. They were backed up into their own end of the field and barely got enough room in three plays to get a punt off. Thanks to great coverage downfield the Seahawks had to start around midfield without any timeouts. After a few completed passes and a first down, the 'Hawks had one last legitimate shot for the endzone with :08 left on the clock.
I am not going to post the video again because the link is above and most of anyone who is reading this anyways has seen the play at least a dozen times on ESPN in the past 24 hours. But the result is complete poppycock.
First off, the man who caught the game winningtouchdown interception from Russell Wilson was Golden Tate, a man who I have despised ever since he was in college. The guy is a great athlete sure, but I really am not a fan of people who taunt their opposition when their team is not very good. I realize Tate was a consensus First Team All-American in 2009, but while he was at Notre Dame the Irish went 3-9 in 2007, 6-6 in 2008, and 6-6 in 2009. Yes, you read that right, the nincompoop never played for a winning team for his entire tenure in South Bend. Yet he always seemed to show up his opponent after making a first down catch, and was quite annoying when he did it. I will let this video speak for itself. What a loser.
Secondly, the play should have been null even if he did in fact catch it, which he did not. He shoved #37 Sam Shields out of the way in one of the most blatant moves I have ever seen. I mean, I know the unwritten rule is that on a Hail Mary type play as this one, all pass interference calls go out the window because you want the players to decide the fate of the game and not the officials. That is, until the officials make a decision on the game anyways and it is in fact the wrong one. Aside from that, the call the officials made on the play was the WRONG call. It was CLEARLY evident that Packer safety M.D. Jennings had possession of the ball and came down with two feet in the endzone making it an interception. I am not disregarding the fact that Tate had an arm on the ball when they came to the ground, but a common man can see that Jennings obviously has the football. Just look at this photo.
When one ref calls the play a touchdown and the other calls it an interception, you know something is up. I mean just look at the background of the blog right now. It is comical yes, but I think it is the poster for whole debacle of replacement referees in the National Football League.
Personally, I think Roger Goodell needs to get his head out of his rear end and set up a new labor agreement with the regular officials. Aka PAY THEM. You operate a multi-billion dollar business of professional athletes, front offices, coaches, and fans. I think you can afford a couple more pennies to get back the professional officials. I mean is it really that difficult?
I know I am preaching to the choir of football fans in America and should possibly consider the fact that the replacement jokers are "doing their best" and we should "give them a break". No. Not any longer. Give me back what I love to watch on Sundays in the fall. Give America back the product that they invest into their teams. We as fans deserve it.
Proud Buckeye and Sports Enthusiast,
Eric Seger
Daily Segs
Some links for your pleasure: Who needs Obama or Romney? Let's vote for this guy and his enthusiasm. Your Heisman frontrunners, including Ohio State's offense. Need some more laughs? I got you. Love this. Sure hope this doesn't happen to my beloved Buckeyes this weekend.
That about sums about the way I feel about the National Football League at the moment. So does the rest of America, or so it seems.
I guess it is a good move on my part that I did not write this post last night around midnight after I saw this happen to my beloved Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.
The fact that this blatantly awful call was on national television amplifies the situation more than people realize. Through the first three weeks of this NFL season, it is no secret that the gentlemen (and lady in one instance) that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hired to work this season until the regulars get their labor situation figured out with the owners of all 32 franchises in league are just embarrassing.
These officials have consistently made bad call after bad call (just YouTube NFL replacement refs bad calls and you will be able to waste a solid amount of time at work or in class shaking your head) and I think we all were just sitting around and waiting for one of these blunders to cost a team a game. In fact, the argument could be made about the Sunday Night Football game between the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots. I mean even Bill Belichick got fired up about the ending to that game.
I personally think the ending of that game was too close to call simply because the ball looked to go right over the upright which according to the rule book is a good kick. It just seems as if the officials should have taken the time to look at it again for clarity. I mean, all Belichick wanted was an explanation.
Back to the game last night. Thanks to the upgrades in technology and the decision of my roommates and I to splurge a little bit and get cable with DVR capabilities, I recorded last night's game. I was unable to watch past the first quarter (which was absolutely terrible for both sides-a combined 0 points, a handful of first downs, and Aaron Rodgers getting sacked four times) because of club basketball practice going from 9:30-11:30 p.m. last night. So naturally, I planned on watching the rest of in the coming days.
I arrived home just in time to see the last three minutes of the game, which began when Green Bay was clinging to a 12-7 lead. They were backed up into their own end of the field and barely got enough room in three plays to get a punt off. Thanks to great coverage downfield the Seahawks had to start around midfield without any timeouts. After a few completed passes and a first down, the 'Hawks had one last legitimate shot for the endzone with :08 left on the clock.
I am not going to post the video again because the link is above and most of anyone who is reading this anyways has seen the play at least a dozen times on ESPN in the past 24 hours. But the result is complete poppycock.
First off, the man who caught the game winning
Secondly, the play should have been null even if he did in fact catch it, which he did not. He shoved #37 Sam Shields out of the way in one of the most blatant moves I have ever seen. I mean, I know the unwritten rule is that on a Hail Mary type play as this one, all pass interference calls go out the window because you want the players to decide the fate of the game and not the officials. That is, until the officials make a decision on the game anyways and it is in fact the wrong one. Aside from that, the call the officials made on the play was the WRONG call. It was CLEARLY evident that Packer safety M.D. Jennings had possession of the ball and came down with two feet in the endzone making it an interception. I am not disregarding the fact that Tate had an arm on the ball when they came to the ground, but a common man can see that Jennings obviously has the football. Just look at this photo.
When one ref calls the play a touchdown and the other calls it an interception, you know something is up. I mean just look at the background of the blog right now. It is comical yes, but I think it is the poster for whole debacle of replacement referees in the National Football League.
Personally, I think Roger Goodell needs to get his head out of his rear end and set up a new labor agreement with the regular officials. Aka PAY THEM. You operate a multi-billion dollar business of professional athletes, front offices, coaches, and fans. I think you can afford a couple more pennies to get back the professional officials. I mean is it really that difficult?
I know I am preaching to the choir of football fans in America and should possibly consider the fact that the replacement jokers are "doing their best" and we should "give them a break". No. Not any longer. Give me back what I love to watch on Sundays in the fall. Give America back the product that they invest into their teams. We as fans deserve it.
Proud Buckeye and Sports Enthusiast,
Eric Seger
Daily Segs
Some links for your pleasure: Who needs Obama or Romney? Let's vote for this guy and his enthusiasm. Your Heisman frontrunners, including Ohio State's offense. Need some more laughs? I got you. Love this. Sure hope this doesn't happen to my beloved Buckeyes this weekend.
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