NFL sent a memo to every team today. "We will have replacement crews for week 1"

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet

As @realfreemancbs said, NFL sent a memo to every team today. "We will have replacement crews on the field when the regular season begins"



Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter

For the first time in a month, the NFL and the locked-out officials are meeting today, trying to see if they can resol… http://say.ly/fsB44QZ

[Priest31kc]

Awesome.

[In58men]

What's chews

[Dartgod]

Skoal or Redman?

[L.A. Chieffan]

Chewy chips ahoy mmmm

[SPchief]

Wintergreen or mint?

[Chief Gump]

Will they be Hasidic or Orthodox Chews?

[Donger]

Will they be Hasidic or Orthodox Chews?

LMAO

"Throw the chews down the well! So my games will all be free!"

[mikey23545]

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/2654/dubblebubblegum1lb.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/23/dubblebubblegum1lb.jpg/)

[loochy]

welp lets just hope that the bad calls happen to fall our way. Tamba won't be playing so we don't have to worry about them missing holding calls.

[Fish]

More like Little League Chew....

[Tribal Warfare]

<script src="http://player.espn.com/player.js?&playerBrandingId=4ef8000cbaf34c1687a7d9a26fe0e89e&pcode=1kNG061cgaoolOncv54OAO1ceO-I&width=576&height=324&externalId=espn:8314562&thruParam_espn-ui[autoPlay]=false&thruParam_espn-ui[playRelatedExternally]=true"></script>

NFL to use replacement refs (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8314433/nfl-use-replacement-officials-start-regular-season)

NEW YORK -- The NFL will open the regular season with replacement officials.

Replacements will be on the field beginning next Wednesday night when the Dallas Cowboys visit the New York Giants to open the season, league executive Ray Anderson told the 32 teams. Negotiations are at a standstill between the NFL and the officials' union.

The NFL Referees Association was locked out in early June and talks on a new collective bargaining agreement went nowhere. Replacements have been used throughout the preseason, with mixed results.

In 2001, the NFL used replacements for the first week of the regular season before a contract was finalized.

Anderson, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, told the clubs in a memo that the replacements will work "as much of the regular season as necessary," adding that training with each crew will continue.

A request for comment from the NFLRA was not immediately answered.

Anderson said the sides remain apart on economic issues and other matters and called the gap considerable.

[OnTheWarpath15]

LMAO

"Throw the chews down the well! So my games will all be free!"

The Bear Chew was my favorite character in Inglourious Basterds.

[Ceej]

The Bear Chew was my favorite character in Inglourious Basterds.

LMAO LMAO LMAO

[Ceej]

The Bear Chew was my favorite character in Inglourious Basterds.

Chew don't say??

Mine chew!!!!

[Micjones]

Great!

New refs who might finally give Tamba that holding call and he's out.
FML.

[Frazod]

A nice compliment to our replacement level QB.

[TEX]

The Refs are going to lose this battle. The owners really don't care. The owners feel they made the refs a good offer which included a nice raise.

[Marcellus]

I think it is hilarious the NFLPA is trying to act like this will effect player safety. That is one of the dumbest fucking arguments I have ever heard and anybody who falls in line with it is just as stupid.

The refs now call shit completely inconsistent. The players don't play to how the refs are calling shit anyway. That's why there are so many roughing penalties on QB's that are horseshit.

Dirty players players dirty, regardless of the refs. Clean players the same.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

NFL officiating is borderline corrupt half the time anyway. I've seen some strange shit go down over the years.

[KCUnited]

So we have a chance?

[Chiefs Pantalones]

They're all shit so it doesn't really matter. They are bad, but as PGM mentioned, I've seen the regulars call some pretty blatant shit.

[Chiefnj2]

Things would probably go smoother if the NFL just followed college rules this season.

[MMXcalibur]

Meh, replacements, regulars......they all suck a high, hard one.

[Deberg_1990]

The reality is these guys wont be any worse than the real refs they are replacing....but the network tv coverage and writers like Peter King will try and convince us they are bad.

[michaelj_58]

I have watched the chiefs games this preseason and have no complaints!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[007]

The reality is these guys wont be any worse than the real refs they are replacing....but the network tv coverage and writers like Peter King will try and convince us they are bad.

Yep, now they will actually blame losses on the refs rather than defend the refs decision even if it was ultimately correct.

[mikey23545]

Now the cry will go out for Cassell to lift the level of officiating around him.

[whoman69]

Doesn't matter if they "know" the rules if they miss the call or apply the rules unevenly. Coaches might have to use more challenges. That will be the extent of it.

[O.city]

My biggest problem with the new guys is alot of the small stuff. They constantly have trouble spotting the ball and multiple penalties on a play.


Maybe they will get better.

[tk13]

Maybe I'm watching the wrong games. It does seem like the replacements are really struggling at times.

http://t.co/2BaZsuEp

[-King-]

Maybe I'm watching the wrong games. It does seem like the replacements are really struggling at times.

http://t.co/2BaZsuEp


ROFL

The regular refs may demand a $1,000,000 raise after week one if these replacement refs keep messing up.

[-King-]

In the Redskins/Bucs game, the refs reviewed a first down play, ruled it a first down, then right before the next play was set to begin, they stopped the game and said that they had to look at the play again :)
Posted via Mobile Device

[Titty Meat]

Some team is going to get fucked by the refs. Let's hope it's the Broncos.

[|Zach|]

I think the NFL is a pretty well refereed game. Of course it is all relative...I judge them based on other sports that are refereed and not the myth of some perfect or near perfectly judged game.

[BWillie]

I literally don't care if there are replacement refs or not for oone game or the entire year. Remember these replacement refs were just thrown in the fire...they will get better. There just isn't enough of a difference in quality of officiating from a high school ref to a NFL one.

[A Salt Weapon]

I just hope someone shows them a picture of Hali in a chokehold and tells them, "Now that's holding".
I'm sick and tired of the smaller market teams getting hosed by the officiating, now we'll see if it's the previous refs bias or the NFL's directive.
Posted via Mobile Device

[TimeForWasp]

I just hope one of them grows big muscles so we will not notice.

[BryanBusby]

The NFL is pretty terrible at these labor disputes.

[007]

Some team is going to get ****ed by the refs. Let's hope it's the Broncos.

it will be us that gets screwed.

[007]

I just hope someone shows them a picture of Hali in a chokehold and tells them, "Now that's holding".
I'm sick and tired of the smaller market teams getting hosed by the officiating, now we'll see if it's the previous refs bias or the NFL's directive.
Posted via Mobile Device

They have already been letting that go.

[BigMeatballDave]

The NFL is pretty terrible at these labor disputes.

Yes they are.

Its a fucking travesty that they would even entertain the idea of letting replacement officials begin the season.

[BigMeatballDave]

Its funny that the NFL boasts about it's product but are allowing this to happen.

[007]

Its funny that the NFL boasts about it's product but are allowing this to happen.

They are just too big for their britches.

[Bacillus Anthracis]

It was two years ago when the regular refs called almost 40 penalties combined in a Raiders-Chiefs game. Yeah, let's bring those assholes back ASAP.

[-King-]

I literally don't care if there are replacement refs or not for oone game or the entire year. Remember these replacement refs were just thrown in the fire...they will get better. There just isn't enough of a difference in quality of officiating from a high school ref to a NFL one.

:spock: Might be the stupidest thing I've heard in a while.

[BigMeatballDave]

:spock: Might be the stupidest thing I've heard in a while.

LMAO

I was just about to comment on that.

[Marcellus]

I heard on the radio this morning the refs are looking for something like a 30% raise on top of the pension plan improvements. The current avg salary is $149,000 a year to work part time.

Am I missing something here when I think these guys are getting a little carried away in their demands?

[lcarus]

Maybe I'm watching the wrong games. It does seem like the replacements are really struggling at times.

http://t.co/2BaZsuEp

ROFL

[Mr. Arrowhead]

I heard on the radio this morning the refs are looking for something like a 30% raise on top of the pension plan improvements. The current avg salary is $149,000 a year to work part time.

Am I missing something here when I think these guys are getting a little carried away in their demands?

After the performance of these replacement refs in the preseason, they prolly deserve it.

[-King-]

I heard on the radio this morning the refs are looking for something like a 30% raise on top of the pension plan improvements. The current avg salary is $149,000 a year to work part time.

Am I missing something here when I think these guys are getting a little carried away in their demands?

The 149,000 salary is just for the UMPs. The average ref got 5500 a game which is $88,000 a year.
Posted via Mobile Device

[BWillie]

The 149,000 salary is just for the UMPs. The average ref got 5500 a game which is $88,000 a year.
Posted via Mobile Device

Sounds like they get paid way to much to me. They provide a service that many many ppl can easily do with minimal training.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Routt with 5 penalties for 500 yards

[WhiteWhale]

As long as we don't have that dipshit from the Seattle game.

That was 'fired from lingerie league' guy officiating our game.

[lcarus]

Sounds like they get paid way to much to me. They provide a service that many many ppl can easily do with minimal training.

I agree. They make a good chunk of change for what they do and how often they do it.

[|Zach|]

Looks like all the dramatic hyperbole people use to bitch about the NFL refs is really coming to bite them in the ass.

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter

For the first time in a month, the NFL and the locked-out officials are meeting today, trying to see if they can resol… http://say.ly/fsB44QZ

[-King-]

Sounds like they get paid way to much to me. They provide a service that many many ppl can easily do with minimal training.
And yet these replacement refs are failing miserably to do it.
Posted via Mobile Device

[penguinz]

Sounds like they get paid way to much to me. They provide a service that many many ppl can easily do with minimal training.Apparently this is not true with all the complaints about the replacement officials.

[Rausch]

Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet

As @realfreemancbs said, NFL sent a memo to every team today. "We will have replacement crews on the field when the regular season begins"
http://say.ly/fsB44QZ

:facepalm:

[Rausch]

Its funny that the NFL boasts about it's product but are allowing this to happen.

This...

[TEX]

Its funny that the NFL boasts about it's product but are allowing this to happen.

Here's the deal...These are BILLIONAIRE$. (nothing wrong with that). Everyone who thinks they'll cave or doesn't understand how its gotten to this point needs to understand how the owners think. They keep what they have, in part which is why they have it. They don't lose negotiations. They really don't care. They can replace thier employees with one's who will work for less $$$. They have a "Damn the consequenses" mentality because they can...

They already offered thier employees a raise - which was rejected. The only reason why it was rejected is because the refs feel they can get more $$$. I'm in the owner's court on this one.

[Chiefnj2]

I saw Ed Hochuli flipping burgers today.

[listopencil]

IAOFM reports that the NFL and NFLRA are in negotiations today.

[Chiefs Pantalones]

IAOFM reports that the NFL and NFLRA are in negotiations today.

Fo sho.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8321840/nfl-resuming-negotiations-officials-sources

[ShowtimeSBMVP]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter

Source tells ESPN’s @darrenrovell that difference between refs, NFL is $45 million over next seven years

[Frazod]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter

Source tells ESPN’s @darrenrovell that difference between refs, NFL is $45 million over next seven years

Does that count what they get in "special compensation" for making sure the right teams win?

Fuck these scumbags.

[BigMeatballDave]

Here's the deal...These are BILLIONAIRE$. (nothing wrong with that). Everyone who thinks they'll cave or doesn't understand how its gotten to this point needs to understand how the owners think. They keep what they have, in part which is why they have it. They don't lose negotiations. They really don't care. They can replace thier employees with one's who will work for less $$$. They have a "Damn the consequenses" mentality because they can...

They already offered thier employees a raise - which was rejected. The only reason why it was rejected is because the refs feel they can get more $$$. I'm in the owner's court on this one.

I'm not.

Fuck these owners.

I'm hoping there are some GLARING mistakes by the replacement refs week 1 that literally and directly result in a loss/win.

[TEX]

I'm not.

**** these owners.

I'm hoping there are some GLARING mistakes by the replacement refs week 1 that literally and directly result in a loss/win.

To each his own. I'm sure you have your reasons for siding with the refs.

You're probably right about week 1 and it will probably happen again in week 2. BUT, the longer it goes on, the replacement refs will likely get better. So the real refs better lower their demands because nobody will stop watching no matter how bad the replacement refs blow. The owners know this and know they'll still make money on thier product regardless.

[Mr. Laz]

ProFootballTalk ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); ">@</s>ProFootballTalk (https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk)
NFLRA release hints at progress in talks with leaguehttp://wp.me/p14QSB-4YMf (http://t.co/FjrVoJ8i)
View summary (https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk/status/241666712993406978)

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[ShowtimeSBMVP]

ProFootballTalk ‏@ProFootballTalk

NFL, referees try and fail to reach an agreement http://wp.me/p14QSB-505m via @LATimesfarmer

[Marcellus]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter

Source tells ESPN’s @darrenrovell that difference between refs, NFL is $45 million over next seven years

Max of 17 games a week so with say 5 official per game how many refs are there? 85-100 max? That's $60,000 per official per season difference.

Exactly how much $ do these guys need to make?

[BigMeatballDave]

Max of 17 games a week so with say 5 official per game how many refs are there? 85-100 max? That's $60,000 per official per season difference.

Exactly how much $ do these guys need to make?

$45m in this league is a drop in the bucket.

It's a large pie and they want their piece.

[DTLB58]

darren rovell ‏@darrenrovell
NFL confirms league will proceed with replacement refs. Have to believe any huge mistake made will get them back to the table.

[Mr. Laz]

Andrew Brandt ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); ">@</s>adbrandt (https://twitter.com/adbrandt)
NFL source says Refs walked away from deal they had agreed to, with improved terms. Guessing NFLRA has different view of what happened.
Expand (https://twitter.com/adbrandt/status/241960333445570560)

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[Mr. Laz]

Max of 17 games a week so with say 5 official per game how many refs are there? 85-100 max? That's $60,000 per official per season difference.

Exactly how much $ do these guys need to make?
i think i read somewhere that the refs make around 200k a year.


dunno for sure though

[Mr. Laz]

Bob Glauber ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); ">@</s>BobGlauber (https://twitter.com/BobGlauber)
Per NFL source, league willing to increase $$ for officials to get immediate resolution. NFLRA went back to original demands & talks now off
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[Chiefs Pantalones]

Bob Glauber ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); ">@</s>BobGlauber (https://twitter.com/BobGlauber)
Per NFL source, league willing to increase $$ for officials to get immediate resolution. NFLRA went back to original demands & talks now off
Expand (https://twitter.com/BobGlauber/status/241959565892153344)

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Get it done, dang.

[Mr. Laz]

Bob Glauber ‏<s style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(187, 187, 187); ">@</s>BobGlauber (https://twitter.com/BobGlauber)
NFLRA source: "The claim that we agreed to any numbers before meeting is false & claim we walked away from agreed upon numbers is false."
Expand (https://twitter.com/BobGlauber/status/241977173844557825)

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[Marcellus]

$45m in this league is a drop in the bucket.

It's a large pie and they want their piece.

Logic like this is what makes lottery winners broke in 10 years. You shouldn't spend more than you have to just because you have the $. That's how you stay rich. Would you pay a house keeper $100,000 a year because you have it? No.

I swear people do not understand this concept. If I had a $ for every time someone here said just spend the $ its not like they don't have a ton of $$, I would be a fucking millionaire.

You pay market value and the market is being set right now, you don't just say OK we have a bunch of $ so here is an extra $45MM the next 7 years.

[Mr. Laz]

NFLRA release hints at $30 million in dispute

Posted by Mike Florio on September 2, 2012, 7:29 PM EDT
http://nbcprofootballtalk.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/150562437-e1346628397123.jpg?w=250Getty Images
After a failed effort at the eleventh hour to resolve a work stoppage that threatens to undermine the game of pro football by using a collection of replacement officials with too many members who aren’t ready for a stage of this magnitude, the NFL Referees Association has issued a new press release attacking the league for a “misinformation campaign.”

But an attempt at the conclusion of the release to characterize the financial portion of the dispute as trivial could backfire. The NFLRA says that the compensation increase its members seek along with the continuation of the defined benefit pension plan (i.e., the employer invests the money and the employees always get the same amount even if the market goes to hell in a handbag) would cost “about 1/3 of 1% of its $9 billion in revenues.”

Seems small, right? But that translates to $30 million. And the NFLRA doesn’t explain whether that’s over the course of a year or over the length of the deal.
It’s a clumsy effort, in our view, to make the league look greedy. Especially since a fairly limited exercise in number crunching reveals that the stuff the NFLRA wants over and above that which the NFL has offered results in a gap of $252,100 per official.

The release from the NFLRA also makes no mention of the non-economic portion of the dispute. One source with knowledge of the situation claims that the union is resisting aggressively the effort to create a bench of backups who would replace during the season any officials who are underperforming.

“It continues to mystify any objective observer of the situation why the NFL would jeopardize the safety of its players, the integrity of the game and the quality of its product in order to continue its attack on its professional referees,” the NFLRA contends.

What’s not mystifying is that the locked-out officials apparently have decided to take full advantage of the perception/reality of replacement incompetence in order to get every penny of that 1/3 of 1% of $9 billion. And the more they try to point the finger at the NFL for the absence of a deal, the more they risk that others will start to point the finger at them.

[-King-]

Replacement ref making the jump from six-man football to the NFL

Posted by Michael David Smith on September 3, 2012, 2:04 PM EDT


One of the NFL’s replacement officials isn’t just adjusting to calling games involving bigger, stronger and faster players. He’s also adjusting to a game with 22 players on the field, instead of 12.

Wayne Bernier has spent the last four weeks alternating between refereeing six-man football games at small Texas high schools and then working preseason games in the NFL. Bernier told the Amarillo Globe-News that it’s not as big a difference as you might think.

“You have seen it on TV and see this big field,” Bernier said. “But you walk in and it’s still a 100-yard field just like out at Dick Bivins Stadium [where Amarillo high school teams play]. There are more people. That’s all.”

Bernier has been training with the NFL since June and said that while he was taken aback by the athletes at first, he’s ready for it now.

“Humbling is what I’d first say I experienced because you are in awe, but you are there to do a job,” Bernier said. “You don’t get star struck. I had a lot to learn. I had to get acclimated to the speed. That’s the difference between any level and the NFL, the speed and size. But one thing is easier. They are so skilled and know how to catch a football. Now, the harder part is they have the chance to learn more technique, and they know how to hold better.”

Despite the widespread criticism that the NFL’s replacement officials have received, Bernier says the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“You learn they all are human beings,” Bernier said. “They are in this spotlight all the time, but they are just human. And they are class acts, like Andy Reid. We all know he just lost his son, and there is emotion there. And then most of the players have been cordial. You hear every once in a while a ‘Oh, that’s why you are here’ comment. But most of them slap you on the butt and say, ‘Good job.’”

Most fans have wanted to kick the replacement officials in the butt and say, “Bad job” so far this preseason, but whether the fans like it or not, the NFL is about to start its season with refs whose experience comes from levels much, much lower than professional football.