The NFL Has To Improve in 2015

[petegz28]

This season from an overall league perspective was filled with bullshit. They are literally ruining the game.

What is PI? What isn't PI?
What is illegal contact? What isn't illegal contact?
What is a catch? What isn't a catch?
What is a fumble? What isn't a fumble?
What is going at the knees on a QB? What isn't going at the knees on a QB?
What is a pick? What isn't a pick?
What is hitting a defenseless player? What isn't hitting a defenseless player?

I think we saw that the NFL was consistently inconsistent in applying their rules.

A clean hit on Emanuel Sanders is flagged because "it looked bad" and is not reviewable.

A blatant spear job on Alex Smith wasn't a fine but a legit tackle that goes uncalled 99% of the time is a fine on Hali.

2 teams run the same play, one gets called for a pick the other doesn't.
2 WR's shove off, one gets called on the WR, the other on the DB.

Whistle blows play dead, receiver tosses ball to the ground, defender picks it up AFTER the whistle and it's ruled a fumble like in the KC-AZ game. But St. Louis clearly fumbles and even with replay, Seattle gets hosed when it's more than obvious it was a fumble but still not ruled so.

I'm not even going to get into holding at the line levels.

But we saw more offensive bailouts on 3rd & more than 5 with arguable calls made that made 3rd & 17, 1st & 10 because a DB had a hand on a WR.

All in all it's a pretty poor product. Refs are throwing flags with really no real understanding on why they threw it. Then even on the most routine calls they huddle up for minutes at a time to explain each to each other what they think the rules say.

I think they have to get better and more consistent on their calls. I thought this year was pretty bad.

[Hootie]

I fucking hated the officiating this year. Hated it. Something needs to be done. I watched less football this year than any year in my life. Product is becoming watered down.

[Bowser]

The NFL panders to the thousands of people dropping billions of dollars on fantasy football. Sure the hell seems like it anyway.

The quality is down, but it's still the hottest sport going. I doubt we see any changes that would make it resemble what it was ten years ago.

[Brock]

I've never been less interested in the nfl. Let teams play defense, and I don't mean just in the playoffs.

[Deberg_1990]

It does? But it's more popular than ever

[Pablo]

Nothing will change unless viewership plummets, and that's not going to happen. The sport isn't for the well informed, hard-core fan any longer. Hasn't been in a while.

[SDChiefs]

Maybe they should bring in Vince McMahon to run the show. He couldnt be much worse than Goodell.

[Pablo]

In short, suck it up and keep tuning in. Because you know you will and so does the league.

[Hammock Parties]

Once the Chiefs get a real QB we'll probably love it again.

[Pablo]

I'd love to have one of those video game offenses and a big name QB that the league panders to. Not an option with this franchise though.

[TribalElder]

Moar London games

Maybe make the flags look like the British flags so we can act like we are honoring them during the games in London but really we are jus throwing their country flag on the ground in front of them all

[petegz28]

Moar London games

Maybe make the flags look like the British flags so we can act like we are honoring them during the games in London but really we are jus throwing their country flag on the ground in front of them all

ROFL

[TribalElder]

Also defensive holding or illegal contact can be 5 yards but never make it a first down

That Aids Buffet ran rampant this season

[petegz28]

Also defensive holding or illegal contact can be 5 yards but never make it a first down

That Aids Buffet ran rampant this season

We have to wait and see what rule or lack thereof prevents Pey-Pey from winning the SB this year.

Once that happens we will have a much clearer picture of what rules will be changed.

[petegz28]

If defensive holding keeps Denver out of or prevents them from winning the SB then you can bet your sweet ass that "emphasis" we saw this year will be backed off.

[TribalElder]

I doubt manning makes it our of the divisional round lol

[Crying Ramtard]

Nothing will change unless viewership plummets, and that's not going to happen. The sport isn't for the well informed, hard-core fan any longer. Hasn't been in a while.

it never was.

[petegz28]

I think they should go to full time Refs and the Refs need to be rotated throughout the OTA's and training camps to be at team practices and camps.

[TribalElder]

Refs should be graded and fined for bedshit

[Crying Ramtard]

In short, suck it up and keep tuning in. Because you know you will and so does the league.

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae164/Alextopia/Psychedelic/Kaleidoscope.gif


https://38.media.tumblr.com/267bb28a74dd0873fea6ed60569e0c95/tumblr_mn8wb2EE411spl1x1o1_500.gif

d43gKl9xIME

[petegz28]

They also need to make "helmet-helmet" calls an automatic review. No need to challenge. Just make sure hits like the one on Sanders in St. Louis which are clean and legal, don't get punished for no reason.

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

If pete could answer his own questions:

What is illegal contact?
When the DB is touches a Chief

What isn't illegal contact?
When the DB is a Chief

What is a catch?
When the receiver is a Chief

What isn't a catch?
When the player is a Bronco or someone who is not a Chief

What is a fumble?
When a Chief has the ball

What isn't a fumble?
Chiefs


Because refs lose games for Chiefs.

[morphius]

I'm sick of the WR's getting away with illegal contact to get separation and stop interceptions. I'd also like to see a rule that if the QB gets set he is not allowed to come out of it before the snap, including in the shot gun, mostly as revenge for neutering the D's. Facemask and PI should be reviewable, facemask because it is an easy to see if it is mistake, and PI because it is such a huge penalty. OPI should be a loss of down penalty, if defensive is a spot foul and auto first down.

Like a few others, I keep watching less and less NFL each year.

[Hootie]

they need to get to a point where every fucking replay is interpreted the same way, by everyone

if a former official is on the broadcast and says, "hey, this call is going to be ruled this way" and it's not ruled that way one more fucking time I'm going to shit a monkey

nothing pisses me off more than that

the NFL would be better off if they told the networks to knock that shit off because it makes them all look even more incompetent

[Hootie]

pass interference needs to be reviewable

we lost the first Raiders game on a 3rd and 10 when the Raiders receiver raped our DB, and then they had the audacity to call us for DPI

that shit is just inexcusable

all reviews need to be handled like baseball ... no more booth reviews ... send it to New York and wait for them to rule

[petegz28]

I'm sick of the WR's getting away with illegal contact to get separation and stop interceptions. I'd also like to see a rule that if the QB gets set he is not allowed to come out of it before the snap, including in the shot gun, mostly as revenge for neutering the D's. Facemask and PI should be reviewable, facemask because it is an easy to see if it is mistake, and PI because it is such a huge penalty. OPI should be a loss of down penalty, if defensive is a spot foul and auto first down.

Like a few others, I keep watching less and less NFL each year.

I agree that OPI has to be loss of down. You can't say the offense is penalized 10 yards and no more but the defense can be penalized up to the length of the pass. That's not even close to fair. Especially considering the way they call the game now.

I'm not so sure about reviewing PI though. Facemask should be auto reviewed along with helmet-helmet hits.

[notorious]

When the darling teams start getting fucked the NFL might change.


Not going to happen.

[chiefzilla1501]

This season from an overall league perspective was filled with bullshit. They are literally ruining the game.

What is PI? What isn't PI?
What is illegal contact? What isn't illegal contact?
What is a catch? What isn't a catch?
What is a fumble? What isn't a fumble?
What is going at the knees on a QB? What isn't going at the knees on a QB?
What is a pick? What isn't a pick?
What is hitting a defenseless player? What isn't hitting a defenseless player?

I think we saw that the NFL was consistently inconsistent in applying their rules.

A clean hit on Emanuel Sanders is flagged because "it looked bad" and is not reviewable.

A blatant spear job on Alex Smith wasn't a fine but a legit tackle that goes uncalled 99% of the time is a fine on Hali.

2 teams run the same play, one gets called for a pick the other doesn't.
2 WR's shove off, one gets called on the WR, the other on the DB.

Whistle blows play dead, receiver tosses ball to the ground, defender picks it up AFTER the whistle and it's ruled a fumble like in the KC-AZ game. But St. Louis clearly fumbles and even with replay, Seattle gets hosed when it's more than obvious it was a fumble but still not ruled so.

I'm not even going to get into holding at the line levels.

But we saw more offensive bailouts on 3rd & more than 5 with arguable calls made that made 3rd & 17, 1st & 10 because a DB had a hand on a WR.

All in all it's a pretty poor product. Refs are throwing flags with really no real understanding on why they threw it. Then even on the most routine calls they huddle up for minutes at a time to explain each to each other what they think the rules say.

I think they have to get better and more consistent on their calls. I thought this year was pretty bad.

#1 - Get ****ing rid of Thursday night football
#2 - Stop with the London shit until you can figure out how to make this fair so that teams aren't ending the season with unequal home/away games
#3 - Get ****ing rid of Thursday night football
Lather rinse repeat

-Figure out how to kick bad division winners out of the playoffs
-Enforce the pick play
-Get rid of bullshit celebration rules -- no props, no choreographed group celebrations. Done.
-NFLPA bite the bullet and realized their bullshit shortening of Offseason training is hurting players and destroying the quality of the game. Give players a full offseason to prep/train
-Take Goodell out of the equation for enforcing player punishment. Outside NFL arbitrator with zero connection to the NFL. Set punishment with no flexibility to bargain your penalty down.

[notorious]

Thank fucking God we don't play the NFC West next year.


Worst officiating I have ever seen. It was an AIDSfest.

[Hootie]

TNF and London needs to go, I agree ... but it won't happen

[petegz28]

The other thing that has to go is the Denver-style pick play. Where the WR runs out, quickly turns like he is expecting the pass, and proceeds to fall back into the defender thus creating the pick. It's not called because of the feigning of expecting the pass.

Other than that, when it comes to PI, let fuckers play. If it's blatant then call it. If it's on the other side of the field and has nothing to do with the play then leave it alone.

[petegz28]

Thank ****ing God we don't play the NFC West next year.


Worst officiating I have ever seen. It was an AIDSfest.

That ain't no shit.

SF= Tattoo 1 yard short of the marker given 2 yards extra even after replay showed otherwise

SEA=terrible non-calls on both teams for PI

AZ=worst officiated game in the league this season if not this century

[morphius]

I agree that OPI has to be loss of down. You can't say the offense is penalized 10 yards and no more but the defense can be penalized up to the length of the pass. That's not even close to fair. Especially considering the way they call the game now.

I'm not so sure about reviewing PI though. Facemask should be auto reviewed along with helmet-helmet hits.

I've seen too man PI calls over the years where the offensive guy initiates contact, and the flag goes against the defender. Too big of a play to not get it right. Much less the calls where the WR pushes the CB, the CB gets called for holding or PI for trying to regain ground from the illegal contact previous. Just personal pet peeves.

[petegz28]

I've seen too man PI calls over the years where the offensive guy initiates contact, and the flag goes against the defender. Too big of a play to not get it right. Much less the calls where the WR pushes the CB, the CB gets called for holding or PI for trying to regain ground from the illegal contact previous. Just personal pet peeves.

I seem to remember Andre Johnson shoving Flowers in the back, Flowers getting called and it cost us a game in Houston. Then you have the Raiders game at Oak this year where we got raped by the WR and then by the Refs

[TribalElder]

I've seen too man PI calls over the years where the offensive guy initiates contact, and the flag goes against the defender. Too big of a play to not get it right. Much less the calls where the WR pushes the CB, the CB gets called for holding or PI for trying to regain ground from the illegal contact previous. Just personal pet peeves.

I just watched Antonio Brown grab the defender and pull him towards him while slipping past him to catch a long touchdown

It's cool

[petegz28]

I just watched Antonio Brown grab the defender and pull him towards him while slipping past him to catch a long touchdown

It's cool

If his last name ain't Fasano then it's all good.

[morphius]

I just watched Antonio Brown grab the defender and pull him towards him while slipping past him to catch a long touchdown

It's cool
Denver is especially good at it, 10 yards down the field, push, 5 yards later the ball is in the air... bang long completion. Because the ball isn't in the air the refs seem to swallow their whistle. I can't even count how many times I have seen them do it.

[Hootie]

cost me $$$, too

but still a big winner today so s'all good!

[TribalElder]

Denver is especially good at it, 10 yards down the field, push, 5 yards later the ball is in the air... bang long completion. Because the ball isn't in the air the refs seem to swallow their whistle. I can't even count how many times I have seen them do it.

They got flagged for it today. They love to grab the db face mask and yank to get separation

[Discuss Thrower]

Rule changes I'd make effective August 2015:

1)Unsportsmanlike conducts and palpably unfair acts are the only penalties that warrant automatic first downs on the defense.

2) Offensive penalties do not move the line of scrimmage back, but instead make the yard to gain further way. The exception being when the yard to gain reaches the defenders' goal line as a result of the penalty, then the current administration of offensive penalties will apply.

3) Rules regarding offenses are changed: ineligible receivers are allowed to push or grab an opponents jersey, pads, other equipment and body as long as the hands or rest of the body makes contact with the front of the defending player's body, defined as below the neck and above the belt but only on the front of the defensive opponent's body. This foul is called as an "Illegal Block". If player safety is still a pressing concern, an illegal block can be administered for certain cut blocks if necessary. Offensive holding remains as per current roles in downfield blocking situations. The penalty for an illegal block is ten yards and a loss of down, while downfield holds are called as-is.

4) A quarterback is considered "in the grasp" the moment the defense clearly has at least two arms engaged in a clutch or grab on the quarterback's body below the neck but above the knees -be they two arms from one player or from two or more players.

5) Illegal contact applies to offenses and defenses equally and is defined as an act that directly impedes the forward motion of an eligible receiver by a defender as well as an act that impedes a defender from moving toward the current position of the ball -be it in an offensive player's hands or in flight- OR if it interferes from his ability to maintain his current position on the playing field. Illegal contact fouls result in five yard penalties for both the offense and defense.

6) Pass interference applies only if neither offensive or defensive player has not already committed an illegal contact foul in the process of playing the ball. Once a pass ball is within actionable distance of both defender and receiver, neither can make DIRECT contact with the other players' body until either player has touched the ball with at least one hand. Pass interference is a 15 yard penalty for both the offense and defense.

7) Neither ball carriers nor defenders are allowed to make deliberate contact to another player's helmet with their own. If called on the field, the penalty must be quickly reviewed by the booth to ensure that the helmet-to-helmet contact was in fact deliberate and was actually a collision to both helmets. If not called on the field, the booth official will signal down to the referee to review the play for a penalty. Further, if one player is removed from the game for health reasons as a result of the collision, the offending player is removed from the game until the other affected player is safe to return to the field of play. The penalty for helmet-to-helmet contact is ten yards from the spot of the foul if committed by the defense, but five yards from the previous LOS and a loss of down if committed by the offense unless it is determined that there was a deliberate attempt to inflict harm with the helmet. In this case the penalty becomes a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul and the offending player is given one warning with a second unsportsmanlike foul resulting in an ejection.

8) The "Calvin Johnson" rule does NOT apply within the end zone. If a pass is caught in the end zone by an eligible receiver with CLEAR possession of the ball, the moment the receiver has two feet, one knee, elbow, shoulder or posterior in-bounds the play is considered a dead ball and a touchdown (to be confirmed by possible replay) to make passing touchdowns consistent with rushing touchdowns where the ball carrier needs to simply "break the plane" of the end zone to score. Current rules apply to defensive players intercepting the ball.

[notorious]

I just watched Antonio Brown grab the defender and pull him towards him while slipping past him to catch a long touchdown

It's cool

Pittsburgh.

You will never see a call like that against a darling with the division on the line.

[GloucesterChief]

Rule changes I'd make effective August 2015:

1)Unsportsmanlike conducts and palpably unfair acts are the only penalties that warrant automatic first downs on the defense.

2) Offensive penalties do not move the line of scrimmage back, but instead make the yard to gain further way. The exception being when the yard to gain reaches the defenders' goal line as a result of the penalty, then the current administration of offensive penalties will apply.

3) Rules regarding offenses are changed: ineligible receivers are allowed to push or grab an opponents jersey, pads, other equipment and body as long as the hands or rest of the body makes contact with the front of the defending player's body, defined as below the neck and above the belt but only on the front of the defensive opponent's body. This foul is called as an "Illegal Block". If player safety is still a pressing concern, an illegal block can be administered for certain cut blocks if necessary. Offensive holding remains as per current roles in downfield blocking situations. The penalty for an illegal block is ten yards and a loss of down, while downfield holds are called as-is.

4) A quarterback is considered "in the grasp" the moment the defense clearly has at least two arms engaged in a clutch or grab on the quarterback's body below the neck but above the knees -be they two arms from one player or from two or more players.

5) Illegal contact applies to offenses and defenses equally and is defined as an act that directly impedes the forward motion of an eligible receiver by a defender as well as an act that impedes a defender from moving toward the current position of the ball -be it in an offensive player's hands or in flight- OR if it interferes from his ability to maintain his current position on the playing field. Illegal contact fouls result in five yard penalties for both the offense and defense.

6) Pass interference applies only if neither offensive or defensive player has not already committed an illegal contact foul in the process of playing the ball. Once a pass ball is within actionable distance of both defender and receiver, neither can make DIRECT contact with the other players' body until either player has touched the ball with at least one hand. Pass interference is a 15 yard penalty for both the offense and defense.

7) Neither ball carriers nor defenders are allowed to make deliberate contact to another player's helmet with their own. If called on the field, the penalty must be quickly reviewed by the booth to ensure that the helmet-to-helmet contact was in fact deliberate and was actually a collision to both helmets. If not called on the field, the booth official will signal down to the referee to review the play for a penalty. Further, if one player is removed from the game for health reasons as a result of the collision, the offending player is removed from the game until the other affected player is safe to return to the field of play. The penalty for helmet-to-helmet contact is ten yards from the spot of the foul if committed by the defense, but five yards from the previous LOS and a loss of down if committed by the offense unless it is determined that there was a deliberate attempt to inflict harm with the helmet. In this case the penalty becomes a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul and the offending player is given one warning with a second unsportsmanlike foul resulting in an ejection.

8) The "Calvin Johnson" rule does NOT apply within the end zone. The moment a pass is caught in the end zone by an eligible receiver with CLEAR possession of the ball the moment the receiver has two feet, one knee, elbow, shoulder or posterior in-bounds the play is considered a dead ball and a touchdown (to be confirmed by possible replay) to make passing touchdowns consistent with rushing touchdowns where the ball carrier needs to simply "break the plane" of the end zone to score. Current rules apply to defensive players intercepting the ball.

2) Is not good. Say an offense is on the 30 and gets a holding penalty. That penalty doesn't make a field goal harder just makes the offense get to the 10 instead of the 20 for a first down. Pretty much gives the offense free reign when in field goal range. If the penalty isn't called they get an advantage if the penalty is called then it isn't like they get pushed back out of field goal range.

[Discuss Thrower]

2) Is not good. Say an offense is on the 30 and gets a holding penalty. That penalty doesn't make a field goal harder just makes the offense get to the 10 instead of the 20 for a first down. Pretty much gives the offense free reign when in field goal range. If the penalty isn't called they get an advantage if the penalty is called then it isn't like they get pushed back out of field goal range.

Valid. Then it makes more sense for the offensive yard to gain to move further from the current LOS if a penalty is committed within 10 to 15 yards of the offense's end zone.

Half the distance to the goal when you're already at the 1 yard line is a joke.

[Why Not?]

Not only does the officiating suck, but the lack of time the coaches have to work with players in the off season has been really noticeable this year. I mean there were some just God awful games and a real lack of coached up talent. But, like so many, I'm part of the problem because I watch every week, have Sunday ticket, play fantasy, bet on games, blah blah blah. The NFL loves jabronies like me.