Is the nfl becoming pro boxing?

  Who wants to be a NFL referee now? One week ago, I blogged about the the NFL being too full of itself.  I talked about the bounty scandal involving the Saints.  Look what has happened to the Saints.  They are 0-3 and the Packers coming this week who are angrier than hell because of what happened last night.  ked about the importance of making a deal with the referees.  The NFL is a multi billion dollar money making machine.  People will pay to watch games anywhere at any time if it was necessary.  Most football fans spend an entire week getting ready to watch their favorite team play, then flip around on the satellite feed and watch division rivals play, favorite players play, fantasy football team players play, or watch the marquee matchup of that week. Last nights game should have been the last straw as to why the real officials are needed to monitor these games.  One call in a game should not have the impact of winning and losing a game.  The Packers to their credit did not use the end of the game as an excuse. They physically got beat up last night in the first half and had a chance to get one first down to end the game. The Packers have not been the same team this year as last year so blaming the refs is probably why they have not said a word.  I am glame the refs and there is ample evidence to support my theories..
I had a discussion two weeks ago with a a couple of people and we were talking about what is the problem with the replacement refs. I listened as they spoke and other pundits did as well on espn about the levels of competeition some of these refs have been in.  The first thing that we agreed on was that the speed of thegame is way to fast for these guys. The speed of the game is too fast for the real guys too.  The difference is that the real refs have figured out ways to position themselves on the field so that they can make as close to the right call as they can. Last night the game winning touchdown call was made by a ref who was behind the play and he was in no position to make that call. The ref that came running in and was waving his arms should have been closer to the play since there was no action in his area and he could have made the correct call.  There was a call for pass interference on the defense when clearly the the offensive player created and caused all of the contact.  If the referee was in the right position maybe he gets that call right.  The NFL should have taken precautions and instructed these guys that being in the right place could help them get calls right. They are not fast enough to keep up with guys so positioning is key.
The second thing that is frustrating is that the refs seem to not know the rules of the game or make poor judgement calls.  The roughing the passer penalty when the Packers made an interception in the 4th quarter was horrible.  Marking an unsportsmanlike penalty for 27 yards instead of 15 is not acceptable.  The pass interference call against Seattle on a crucial third down that eventually lead to a score is hurting the integrity of the game. What has killed Boxing in this country is tthe officials.  People tune hoping for a trainwreck and they get chaos and an earthquake instead. Manny Pacquiauo is still wondering how Timothy Bradley has his titles. Ken Norton is wondering how Muhammad Ali has a winning record against him. The NFL does not want turn into a sham.  The NBA in recent years has had to deal with a scandal of a referee fixing games utting itself further under a micrscope. There are several examples from the weekend of missed calls, poor judgement, and game mismanagement by these guys.  Kyle Shanahan and Jack Del Rio were fined for abuse toward an official. Bill Bellechek tried to chase one down and get an explanation of whether or not the game winning field goal was actually good or not.  All you have to do is watch the sideline and read the lips of the coaches to know whether or not a call is correct or not.  The Harbaugh brothers are must see tv.
There are estimations that last nights call cost people worldwide over 250 million dollars.  The betting line was Packers -31/2 and if the call was reversed the people who took the Packers would have won because they were up by 5. The speculation is that over 70% of the betting population took the Pack last night.  We all know that the only reason for injury lists is for the betting population.   The NFL does not "care" about wagering on the games, but it most definitely cares about people watching the games.  I am 100% certain that they are loving that there millions of bloggers today writing about a football related incident than talking about the pennant races or that Brandt Snedeker won the PGA  Fedex Cup. I wonder what would happen  if a team told its players to walk off the field because they were a victim of too many bad calls? As long as we the fans watch, the NFL will not care what happens on the field.  They talk about safety and integrity. They talk about protecting the shield and the legacy of the game.  We are all addicted to the NFL drug and wont abandon the game.  They better start to listen reall soon or the rehab centers of sports will be full of football addicts..  This is why HOCKEY you should not lockout your players. The quote of the day goes to BUbba Watson.  He said that" football fans watch golf this weekend and support team usa in the ryder cup, we have no refs". Absolutely hilarious..

Is the NFL too full of itself?

I am as big a sports fan as they come in this great land that we live in and I have to tell you that I am concerned about the entity that we call the NFL.  Over the past four years we have had a commissioner who acts like he is God, we have owners who don't want share money with people who make them the money, players who spend about as much time in the police blotter as they do in the training room, former players suing the league for not being given enough information about concussions and head injuries, and now the integrity of the game is being questioned because of non professional referees.  What I just written down is about 30 talk shows worth of topics in five sentences.  We all concede that the most popular sport in America is Pro Football. Baseball is no longer America's past time, (over reaction Monday is) Football has replaced it.  The NHL and NBA are only relevant in the post season.  Golf is only great when Tiger is succeeding and playing.  Boxing is often angry water cooler conversation, tennis is non existent and no one will openly admit that they sat and watched 42 cars go around an oval 500 times for three hours. I blogged weeks ago that no one messes with the NFL because everyone has an opinion and knowledge of the sport.  People will argue with you till they are blue in the face about their teams and everything about their teams. We have made the NFL what it is and now it has gone way too far.
The NFL is full of itself because we have allowed this nonsense to go this far.  As a consumer, we have a choice.  We can watch what is on television, go to the game or not get involved at all.  Because we buy the Directv packages, the merchandise, the product advertised durning the game, the NFL will act like a dictator in our lives.  Everyone who follows football know that not paying the referees a raise is moronic and controlling.  32 teams are dividing a television contract that earned them 9 billion dollars.  The players are getting paid more, the price of tickets are not getting cheaper,  food at the concessions stands, jerseys, hats, mecrhandise in general are not getting cheaper. Rookies are being paid less money so that veteran players who have earned the money can actually get paid somewhere if not from that team that he is fighting for a contract from.s every where in the NFL!!!  So with the price everything rising, why shouldn't referees get a raise as well?  The NFL knows that you, me, the martian on venus will watch their product no matter who is calling the game, reffing the game or playing the game.  There have been tons of complaints lobbed at the league for missed calls, the length of games, and the misuse of rules in the games. What does integrity mean to the league?  Absolutely nothing.  The league knows that you are going to watch no matter what.  Buffalo plays Cleveland this weekend.  The game will sell out in Cleveland and the game will be on televisions everywhere.
Another example of the NFL is too full of itself is this bounty scandal involving the Saints.  The fact the league produced a face saving affadavit this weekend as to why Jonathan Vilma was suspended for a season is evidence that the commissioner probably glared at Greg Williams and said how badly do you want to coach again in this league. Now i am not acusing the commissioner of coercion but they said that they had evidence way back months ago to convict Vilma of putting up 10,000 to anyone who knocked out Brett Favre.  So why do they use a letter signed three days ago to further implicate Vilma?  Vilma says he has 9 letters that will prove that he didn't say that. Who are we to believe?  Drew Brees was outspoken months ago that they saw no proof of the involvement by the players.  Dont you think that if that information about Vilma's involvement was available last month or three months ago or five months ago that that would been the nail in the coffin for Vilma and everyone else involved?  The fans like that Goodell is trying to clean up the negative image of football players.  The fans don't like someone bieing accused or scandal to explain a scandal.  We want things to be crystal clear.  The Commissioner will probably re-suspend the players because the players foolishly did not in the latest collective bargining agreement address the power of the commissioners office. The biggest mistake they could have ever made.
We will still watch because we are fans of the games... Maybe we are all addicts and need our fix of the NFL drug. Shame on us for that, shame on them for playing to our weakness..