Theory on the referees penalty calling 1st and 2nd half

[ivotuk]

The 1st half was definitely in favor of SF, both calls and especially obvious non-calls. I watched the Cincinnati/Steelers game and the same thing was happening there in the first half. I got the distinct impression that the referees were trying to help the visiting teams (SF and Pitt) with calls/noncalls. Of course the referees may not being doing this intentionally, or they could be doing it subconsciously, but the calls definitely went against the home teams early. =-/

In neither case did the calls/noncalls help the losing team and in the 2nd half the referees appeared to make calls in favor of the home team. Some of those I thought were wrong and/or ticky tack. The 15 yarder against Aldon was great, seemed a little weak but I'll take it.

But this is a game of momentum, as we all saw in SBXL, and the calls/noncalls can have a negative effect on a team and their coaching staff.

So my theory is this, they call in favor of their "favored" team early on, then switch to "make up calls" in the 2nd half. If the 'favored' team is winning, they tone down the make up calls in the 2nd half, but if they are losing, they make egregious calls to match the ones they made in the first half, all to make it look legit. "Hey, the calls evened out!" "Sure, after the desired result was obtained."

I don't trust the referees, most of them have been around a long time and most likely have set ideas of how the NFL Royalty should be ordered. "Change is bad." After the replacement referees last year, the regular referees had a hammer that they took to the NFL and got a very favorable contract. Now they probably think that they are untouchable.

I usually don't let myself get distracted by such theories but after the Justin Smith off sides non-call, then the Steeler offsides that was called a false start on the Bengals, I have my suspicions.

 

[Zebulon Dak]

I totally agree with you. In our game on Sunday I can't say who was being favored necessarily, but there were calls that didn't need to be made that were and calls that should have been made that weren't. And it totally felt intentional. I hate thinking there may be a "fix" when it comes to the league, but I damn sure can't avoid suspecting it from time to time.

 

[Kixkahn]

That was one thing about the replacement refs, they didn't seem to have favorite teams and tried hard to not over do it on the calls. I haven't seen a evenly called game for a long time. Fact is they just need to let them play for the most part. I know any Green Bay fans who come here will disagree with me.

 

[Cartire]

Im not in conspiracy mode. But I do think that the Reds need some more practice or something. Its just getting pathetic out there.

 

[LawlessHawk]

It obviously only takes one or two well timed calls to alter the course and outcome of a game or even a season. I don't know about not trusting the officiating crews themselves... it's the NFL that I don't fully trust. There's far, far too much money involved to be completely clean.

 

[ivotuk]

More evidence: “I’m not concerned about the penalties,’’ he said. “We were penalized seven times in the game; in my opinion, we should have been penalized twice. I was upset after the ballgame but watching the tape, those are incorrect calls.’’

The one call Fisher focused on was the early one against Long. On the play, it appeared that Long jumped after a false start by Atlanta right tackle Lester Holmes.

“It was not a defensive offsides; it’s like ‘false start 101,’’ Fisher said. “You’ve got a third-and-12 and we’re called offsides, so we now we have a third-and-7 and they convert. If it’s called correctly, you have a third-and-17. Third-and-17’s are hard to convert. We would most likely have a three-and-out and get the ball back. Instead, they go down and score on their first drive.’’

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...f-9cbd-9852f2ae81db.html#.UjhzwiNprvw.twitter

So an early call in favor of Atlanta leads to an early score which was the difference in the game. Not only that, but from the same article, there were other [incorrect] calls effecting field position:

"Four other infractions, on punt and kickoff returns, left the Rams with terrible field position"

The call against Cincinnati, and the one against St Louis remind me of an old joke:

"Two good old boys were wandering down a country road late one night when the local mayor, who was inebriated, hit them with his car. One came through the windshield, landing in the back seat, and the other one flew out in the bushes. The Sheriff showed up to find the Mayor freaking out. Since they were good friends the Sheriff said "Don't worry Mayor, the one in the back seat we'll charge with breaking and entering, and the one in the bushes we'll charge with leaving the scene of the accident."

 

[Basis4day]

I'd like fans that think the refs are involved in some kind of conspiracy to memorize the rulebook first to make sure that they themselves even understand the rules.

 

[Sarlacc83]

I think it's more a matter of the fact that NFL referees have to know too many rules, so they're too busy trying to decipher the play on the field in terms of those contexts rather than watching for actual fouls.

 

[Scottemojo]

I kind of got the idea that the refs felt they needed to let players know they were present, thus the calls. This game was circled by NFL fans for months as quite possibly the most physical game of the year, and Refs had the job of controlling a bare knuckle fight where some football might break out. I totally understand why they were so present. And when the game was getting away, certain Niner players couldn't handle it, thus the personal fouls.

I still can't understand how Justin Smith was not offsides, though.

 

[Cartire]

I kind of got the idea that the refs felt they needed to let players know they were present, thus the calls. This game was circled by NFL fans for months as quite possibly the most physical game of the year, and Refs had the job of controlling a bare knuckle fight where some football might break out. I totally understand why they were so present. And when the game was getting away, certain Niner players couldn't handle it, thus the personal fouls.

I still can't understand how Justin Smith was not offsides, though.

I dont like that at all though. You dont need to let your presences be known. Call the plays objectively. Its legal or not. Plain and simple. You dont need to showcase yourself. People didnt pay money to see the black and whites. They need to call the fouls that occur correctly, and stop trying to make a statement.

 

[Scottemojo]

I kind of got the idea that the refs felt they needed to let players know they were present, thus the calls. This game was circled by NFL fans for months as quite possibly the most physical game of the year, and Refs had the job of controlling a bare knuckle fight where some football might break out. I totally understand why they were so present. And when the game was getting away, certain Niner players couldn't handle it, thus the personal fouls.

I still can't understand how Justin Smith was not offsides, though.

I dont like that at all though. You dont need to let your presences be known. Call the plays objectively. Its legal or not. Plain and simple. You dont need to showcase yourself. People didnt pay money to see the black and whites. They need to call the fouls that occur correctly, and stop trying to make a statement.

I understand, not like. I thought the Super Bowl was a masterful job of officiating because they were hands off. That I like. The reason I understand is last week the Niners had a big altercation on the sidelines after the Mathews PF. On Thursday there was a melee after Mangold took a cheap shot. I think preventing such a thing was primary for the crew.

And seeing as the NFL assigns crews for specific reasons, just like they assigned Boger to do the SB because he would take instruction to be hands off, it seems the NFL did not want another ugly incident on a nationally televised game so they assigned a hands on crew to this game. WHich I understand.

 

[Hawknballs]

Another factor to consider is that the refs can hear what players are saying.

Many of the calls late against the 49ers were personal fouls and things. If they are hearing a lot of talk coming from one team and seeing them playing aggressively they are going to ask them to cool their jets a lot of the time. There is talk between the refs and players that we will never ever hear about.

My theory is that the 49ers were frustrated and it was showing and it was audible down on the field (when anyone on the field could hear anything, anyways) and that had at least a small contribution to flags flying in their direction. They were obviously frustrated and seething. The hawks were in a perfect position to bait them into it. The refs ended up paying a lot more attention to what the 49ers were doing that what we were doing because of it. This is why i hate seeing even one personal foul penalty come our direction, deserved or not. That sort of thing can completely divert every refs attention to your team. And if you keep it up, their attention sticks with your team exponentially. It's impossible to rule out human nature from the equation. The refs aren't robots. If the perception is that you are playing frustrated and aggressively you're going to get more eyes on you and more flags on you.

 

[drcool]

I think with the early blatantly missed calls (the false start on the punt, a couple offsides, etc.) the refs lost their concentration due to the crowd noise. Have you ever tried to concentrate on something when there is noise all around you? I know that is what they get paid to do and they are the best of the best at it but with that much noise I think their concentration was a bit broken. Once they settled down a bit and got used to the noise I think the did a better job.

 

[tdlabrie]

I think with the early blatantly missed calls (the false start on the punt, .....

About that, I know the whistle mystery cannot be solved, but did Pete call the NFL about the missed false start? Do the refs review all their calls? Shoot, 3 or 4 of our guys were STANDING UP for crying out loud.