Will playoff officiating be called tighter now?

[kearly]

Of all the outrage to come out of the Dallas/Detroit playoff game, the common theme seems to be about calls that WEREN'T made. The non-call on the PI, the non-call on the facemask before the PI, the non-call on the defensive hold that same play, the non-call on Dez Bryant for not wearing his helmet, the non-calls on Dallas for offensive holding throughout the game...

The crew in that game was hands off to a fault.

The incredibly irony is that 2014 was the year of the LOB rule. Even the most ticky tack DB penalties were called this year at the highest frequency seen in a decade. Yet the playoffs come around, and just like that we have a controversy for calls that WEREN'T made.

Might we see the NFL react to this outrage by instructing officials to call games tighter the rest of the postseason? If so, that would be a tough break for the Hawks. The playoffs are usually more hands off for officials, and that plays to Seattle's advantage. But now we might see a playoff officiating environment that could go in a very different direction.

 

[RunTheBall]

It wasn't just that all this stuff wasn't called, it was that it wasn't called evenly both ways. Two HUGE defensive holding calls on the Lions extended the Cowboys winning TD Drive, yet a blatant offensive holding was not called on the Cowboys on the same drive on the Romo TD pass. People wouldn't care as much if the refs were being even in not calling anything.

 

[pehawk]

No it wont be called tighter. The NFL's (rightful) arrogance leads them to believe we will always watch. And we always will.

Thing is, what happened yesterday happens weekly to the lesser market/non glamour teams. It's not new. Buffalo got hosed in Denver. Stl Louis got hosed vs Dallas and SD. KC in AZ. It happens every week and the NFL knows we don't care enough to stop watching. Hell, the Seahawks used to get screwed like that all the time.

Google the breakdown of the NFL's scheduling. See who plays which teams off of a bye. Smaller market teams are always playing teams off a bye. The glamour franchises hardly ever. The NFL TOLD us they we're rigging the game by not wanting prime time games in Seattle. That was them effecting outcomes, period.

Yet, we watch don't we?

If it was Dallas or Manning that got the shaft, you bet they'd fix that. But not for Detroit.

I wonder why they decided to use "all star" crews this year, suddenly?

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Might we see the NFL react to this outrage by instructing officials to call games tighter the rest of the postseason? If so, that would be a tough break for the Hawks. The playoffs are usually more hands off for officials, and that plays to Seattle's advantage. But now we might see a playoff officiating environment that could go in a very different direction.

I don't know that I think this will happen. I mean I distinctly feared that would happen during the Carolina/Arizona game which was incredibly flag ridden and called like a week 2 contest.

But all of the other games were really hands off (including the Dallas/Detroit game). Outside of the controversy, that game might have been the best of the bunch. But for certain they let guys hit each other and let incidental contact go pretty much.

In fact, that Hitchens non PI call really seemed like it was the right call considering how the standard for what the refs are going to allow was established. If the refs conferred, and then simply picked up the flag I don't think it would hardly merit a mention. But the sensational nature of announcing it, marking the yardage off, and then allow for the possibility that Dallas lobbied hard enough to get the refs to reverse themselves at that point really seemed the most obnoxious.

Overall, I felt like the calls were consistent in that they were allowing hand fighting and other non egregious contact to slide. Outside of the first playoff game the standard was clearly blatant and impactful = flag. Not the letter of the rule kind that we all fear.

 

[kearly]

I wonder why they decided to use "all star" crews this year, suddenly?

Bill Polian explained earlier today that there is a misconception about the "all star" crews. Every year the playoffs have had mixed crews, because 1st and 2nd year officials are not allowed to participate. Therefore, most crews had fill in officials, so there has almost always been a degree of working with new people in the postseason. The logic behind the move back to the "all star" version is that the competition committee felt that if you are going to have mixed crews anyway, you might as well have the best officials possible on the field. Granted, I think this is a foolish move by the committee and ignorant of NFL history. The "all star" officiating system is proven to be worse.

I am not in the conspiracy theorist crowd. I think this game was simply a case of incompetence. As one former official said, the moment might have been too big for them. It is possible they felt intimidated in a way that favored Dallas. Home teams usually get better calls.

Unfortunately, this situation needn't be a conspiracy for it to be bad news for the Hawks. At least Seattle is playing at home the next couple games. That should help.

I don't know that I think this will happen. I mean I distinctly feared that would happen during the Carolina/Arizona game which was incredibly flag ridden and called like a week 2 contest.

But all of the other games were really hands off (including the Dallas/Detroit game). Outside of the controversy, that game might have been the best of the bunch. But for certain they let guys hit each other and let incidental contact go pretty much.

I think you are missing my point. I agree with you that the officiating last weekend was mostly good, but that's not the media narrative right now. The controversies of the Dallas game have gone full shit-storm. You might recall the NFL had to deal with a shitstorm earlier this year of a very different kind, and Goodell went overboard to compensate.

Whenever something bad happens, Goodell (aka THE SHIELD) oversteps to correct it. That's his track record. It will be interesting to see how the league reacts to this behind closed doors. I would guess that the very last thing Goodell wants is for the leading story next week to be about pivotal non-calls.

 

[pehawk]

I wonder why they decided to use "all star" crews this year, suddenly?

Bill Polian explained earlier today that there is a misconception about the "all star" crews. Every year the playoffs have had mixed crews, because 1st and 2nd year officials are not allowed to participate. Therefore, most crews had fill in officials, so there has almost always been a degree of working with new people in the postseason. The logic behind the move back to the "all star" version is that the competition committee felt that if you are going to have mixed crews anyway, you might as well have the best officials possible on the field. Granted, I think this is a foolish move by the committee and ignorant of NFL history. The "all star" officiating system is proven to be worse.

I am not in the conspiracy theorist crowd. I think this game was simply a case of incompetence. As one former official said, the moment might have been too big for them. It is possible they felt intimidated in a way that favored Dallas. Home teams usually get better calls.

Unfortunately, this situation needn't be a conspiracy for it to be bad news for the Hawks.

I don't buy the conspiracy theories too much either. However, there's significant circumstantial evidence to support a few of the conspiracy theory's. The scheduling examples are the most glaring and interesting.

Also, there's no way in hell a ref would've picked up that flag if the roles we're reversed. It wouldn't have happened, period. Not a doubt in my mind. That's not to say the refs set out every game to create a certain outcome, but there seems to be more benefit of the doubt given to certain franchises. Maybe its subconscious?

 

[Jville]

I do not like seeing officiating crews broken up and reassembled for the playoffs. It defeats much of the work teams do on scouting and grading officials and crews of officials. It introduces utter chaos into the sudden death tournament and makes officials an even bigger influence on the outcomes than during the regular season. Officials should not be the deciding factor. League integrity continues to be a constant question. IMO

I think this chaos is too big of a factor in the post season. In the mist of that chaos, officials are free to slant the playing field IMO. The one thing that can negate officials is ..... a blow out.

 

[kearly]

I don't buy the conspiracy theories too much either. However, there's significant circumstantial evidence to support a few of the conspiracy theory's. The scheduling examples are the most glaring and interesting.

I saw your 'game fixing' post in another thread and agreed with most of it - Seattle not getting primetime games at home, the LOB rule, etc. I do think there is some truth to the idea that the NFL wants closer games, even if it means being unfair to the better team.

 

[Cartire]

I hope not.

The controversial call not with-standing, I want the flags kept in the pockets as much as possible. Im definitely on the side that agrees a flag should have been thrown there (or at least not picked up), but I prefer to keep the hankies in the pockets.

Oh, and if you are gonna throw a flag on a defensive hold, please dont show it from a camera angle where we see an even more egregious offensive hold right in front of the ref.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Getting back to Kearly's original point. I think it matters on who is playing who.
Hawks vs a legacy team = the legacy team's advantage when it comes to the zebras.

If the Hawks start running away with a game vs a legacy team expect flags that will wipe out plays and flags not to be thrown against said legacy team (see blatant holding calls by the Cowsquirts and Diva Bryant coming on the field without his helmet to air out and official).

Anybody that thinks today's NFL is played on an "even field" is naive, it hasn't been since XL* and probably before that.
The NFL used to be better at hiding it, but every once in awhile the let their guard down, see XL* and yesterday, when it becomes obvious to most everyone that shenanigans were at foot.

 

[hawknation2015]

No, I don't think it makes any difference to us. It affects the undisciplined secondaries (see Carolina, Dallas, Green Bay, and Denver) more than our own.

“I don’t think it’ll affect our game at all,” Sherman said. “We’ve been playing at the line of scrimmage. And those rules have always been in place. I think they’ll affect other teams a little bit more.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... -seahawks/

 

[kearly]

No, I don't think it makes any difference to us. It affects the undisciplined secondaries (see Carolina, Dallas, Green Bay, and Denver) more than our own.

Forget about the Hawks, I'm just talking about the league calling games tighter in reaction to this. For everyone.

I'm not only concerned about DB penalties, there has been some blowback with the non-calls on offensive holding from fans and media. The officials might adjust to that. It's hard for Seattle's offense to function when they get an officiating crew that loves calling holding on the OL, so that's a worry for me.

 

[chris98251]

I'm more worried about them stopping play to review and have 5 minute conferences about anything thrown to "make sure they get it right".

That will kill focus and momentum for us and any other team.

 

[Yxes1122]

I was hoping that the refs would go the route of being invisible rather than being MORE strict. The Dallas game aside, I just felt like there was too much black and white in every game. For the most part, Wild Card weekend was pretty meh across the board and I hope that the NFL recognizes that and exhibits whatever control it has to keep the refs out of the way.

For all the complaints about refs, we complain initially when they miss a call but the PI miss wouldn't be such a story if the crew hadn't totally botched the discussion and announcement of the penalty. The problem is ref involvement, not lack of calls. Casual viewers are more forgiving to missed calls because there is a smooth flow to the game and if it's a good game, they really don't care at the end of the day. They do care when the game is stop and go because the refs keep getting involved, and say, "If they called all the crap earlier, how did they miss that?". There were bad calls in the NFCCG last year, but no one remembers because it was a damn good game and for the most part the refs didn't DO anything. Don't make a ton of calls either way, save the flag for just flat out blatant stuff, and overall, the public will forgive. Crap yellow all over the experience and people will bitch.

Just my opinion.

 

[Sterlinghawk]

I'm not only concerned about DB penalties, there has been some blowback with the non-calls on offensive holding from fans and media. The officials might adjust to that. It's hard for Seattle's offense to function when they get an officiating crew that loves calling holding on the OL, so that's a worry for me.

I share your concerns regarding overblown ref reaction but am hopeful that it would go both ways to avoid the perceptions of bias and the Hawks might see an offensive holding penalty called when the d is on the field for a change :stirthepot:



Pehawk raises some good points concerning bias. (I'd quote but not quite sure how a 2nd time )
can it continue with recent events making it difficult to sweep under the rug and ignore. I also believe Seattle and Carolina would be the teams likely to get the shaft against the glory franchises and am not sure how it will play out against each other

 

[hawknation2015]

I also believe Seattle and Carolina would be the teams likely to get the shaft against the glory franchises and am not sure how it will play out against each other

The home team typically has the edge when it comes to 50/50 calls.

 

[chris98251]

I also believe Seattle and Carolina would be the teams likely to get the shaft against the glory franchises and am not sure how it will play out against each other

The home team typically has the edge when it comes to 50/50 calls.

Unless the league has a issue with Primetime games and blowouts and want to keep it close.

 

[pehawk]

If the refs decide to call more offensive line holds, Dallas is toast. They get away with murder.

 

[Ozzy]

I'm usually the last person to complain about stuff like that but you're right, The Dallas O-line gets away with so much. Multiple times Romo was close to being sacked and the lineman would be hanging on to the pass rusher in order to protect him. Multiple times he was beat and I'm convinced he was holding on purpose in order to protect Romo from getting hurt only to see it not called. Twiiter was blowing up with pics proving it happens. I know holding happens on every play in the trenches but if an edge rusher beats his guy and the lineman grabs him and is facing his QB then we obviously have a blatant hold.

 

[Largent80]

If the refs decide to call more offensive line holds, Dallas is toast. They get away with murder.

Yeah that "great" o-line of theirs is "great" for a reason.