NFL Officials deciding games - THIS IS THE NFL!

THIS IS SPARTA!!! Everyone knows where that line is from and how it sounds, whether you saw the movie 300 or not. In case you don’t know you can watch the link below.

Why is this relevant to sports? I will get to that, but first lets talk about the NFL and the officiating of games. The refs this year has been atrocious. No matter what game you are watching, there have been terrible calls all around. This happens every year in the NFL. This year though, the calls for Personal Fouls, or Roughing the Passer have gotten out of hand.

When the NFL refs see any violent hit it seems that yellow confetti fly’s (Yellow flag).  They are horrible at calling it, just because there is a violent hit doesn’t mean they should throw the flag.

Why am I talking about this? In the last few weeks there have been some questionable calls and non-calls that have decided games. See that is the issue here, the refs deciding games.

Three weeks ago, the Bengals played the Ravens, and Bengals defender Carlos Dunlap was called for a Horse Collar tackle on Quarter back Joe Flacco. The former head of the NFL officiating committee Mike Pereira even tweeted it was a bad call. It ended up costing Cincinnati and they lost the game.

Last Sunday the late in the Saints and 49ers game, a 49ers player hit Quarterback Drew Brees of the Saints viciously. When I first saw the hit live I was screaming for the flag. Bree’s neck looked like it did the Egyptian slide. It appeared as if the 49ers defenders arm close lined Bree’s neck. When they slowed down the replay, you could clearly see the defenders arm hit his chest and slid up. That is not a penalty.  Bree’s fumbled the ball and the 49ers recovered. It was negated! The 49ers were charged with a 15-yard personal foul penalty. It ended up costing them the game.

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/11/ahmad-brooks-drew-brees-gif/

Then on Monday night football, there was a controversial flag thrown on the last play that was picked up. You can read more about the controversial non-call in the Patriots Carolina game by clicking the hyperlink.

I want to focus on last night’s game. This game also involves the Saints, this time against the Falcons. Early in the game “Hicks hit Falconsquarterback Matt Ryan in the face with a hand while Ryan was in the pocket.  No flag was thrown by referee Ron Winter” (per Profootballtalk.com). That non called backed the Falcons up 8 yards, they could not convert a 1^st down, so they settled for a field goal instead of a touchdown. They lost by 4 points. If they get that touch down instead, they are tied and the game goes into over time later. Once again, the Refs are deciding a game.

The lack of consistency between different groups of officials is horrible. They are getting way too involved lately in deciding games.

Here is a solution, if they are going to throw the flag they need to have some way besides 4-5 refs conferencing in the middle of the field discussing whether it was a personal foul or not. Perhaps they should allow a coach to challenge a personal foul hit with a coach’s challenge. The refs should not be deciding games.

Finally, I will answer the first question, what does THIS IS SPARTA!!! Have to do with this post? Well the NFL built its image on violence and excitement. This is the Gridiron, a new version of the Coliseum from Roman days. Bottom line just because a hit looks vicious doesn’t mean a flag should be thrown automatically. If it does mean that a flag should be thrown to error on the side of caution, let the play be reviewable or challenge eligible. THIS IS THE NFL!!!

I warn you the video gets a bit graphic. Viewer discretion is advise.

Dolphins Incognito

            Even if you don’t follow the NFL or sports in general, you heard about the events of last week between Johnathan Martin and Richie Incognito. Both these men and I stress men, are Professional Football players on the Miami Dolphins. They play next to each other on the offensive line. When you play next to each other in the same unit usually a bond is made. This was not the case.

            Let me quickly recap the situation before I give my opinion. Martin left the Dolphins facility two weeks ago after a practical joke. His teammates refused to sit next to him in the cafeteria because he was ‘sick.’ Martin snapped and threw his tray and stormed out of the facility. Reports came down that he had an emotional break down due to constant bullying in the locker room. Further reports came out that a particular player Richie Incognito bullied him. There were voicemails and texts messages with extremely offensive language and derogatory statements that have lead some to deem this a racial hate crime since Incognito is white and Martin is black. Other reports have come out since then that Incognito was told by the coaching staff or someone in the organization to toughen Martin up. Now there is a full-blown investigation into this matter, from top to bottom the entire Miami Dolphins organization is under investigation.

            There are numerous issues with this situation that should be addressed. I plan to give my opinion on only two because I believed they are linked.

            The first issue is bullying in the locker room. Yes there is bullying in the NFL, there is hazing, but there are limits. It takes a moral man to know his limits. Throughout life we are tried and tested constantly by bullies. They come in all shapes and forms. In the NFL it is expected. You bully the other team on the field imposing your will on them. Sometimes coaches have to be bullies to get the maximum potential out of their players. Its how you go about the bullying that can make it acceptable or not.

            I have no doubt in my mind that someone in the organization ordered Incognito to toughen Martin up mentally. Martin was a high profile draft pick and the Dolphins needed to get a mean streak in this kid so he could dominate at the line of scrimmage. Whoever ordered the “code red” should have monitored the situation.

            There is no way anyone can say this is not Incognitos fault though he is trying to deflect blame. I don’t care if he that he was ordered to administer the treatment. He crossed a line with how you do it. You do not go as far as he did. This is not a race hate crime rather a abuse crime in this case mental. It's interesting to note that Dolphin players have come out defending Martin. Some players have come out defending Incognito. How can there be such a schism in the locker room? It starts with the organizations lead and the coaching staff. They set the tone. So clearly there is something wrong in Miami.

            The second issue is that it was ordered and not monitored. I have no problem that it was issued. Some kids in the NFL and in life need some toughening up. I can speak from experience. I was bullied non-stop as a kid. I was even beat up a few times. Looking back now I don’t think of those situations as such a bad thing. They helped shape me and mold me into the man I am. I needed toughening up, perhaps it could have been done in a different way, but that was how it was done. Going back to the Dolphins organization, if you ordered it, follow up and make sure its being done right. It could be that the man ordering the “code red” didn’t think that Incognito take it as far as he did, but that is still no excuse. 

            The bottom line here is that Dolphins organization and Incognito are both at fault. I have no doubt that after the investigation is done and the reports are released both will be held at fault. The reports will be made public according to the NFL.

            Which once again brings me back to the word “code red” why do I keep using it? Because this situation reminds of the movie a Few Good Men. I warn you the clip below has some vulgar words in it.