Now onto Cinci

[Sports Guy]

Ravens did a great job today..Defense played great..Secondary looked good..pass rush looked good.

They scored on a good defense and ST played great.

They made the adjustments they needed to and the coaching staff deserves to be commended for that.

But they need to keep this up because the next 2 weeks are pretty much must wins as well.

2 road division games, including one against the first place team....We need to repay Cinci next week.

[Birds of B'more]

I sure hope Ngata isn't seriously hurt. Cincinnati ran the ball very well the first game. With Haloti out it could be a repeat of that.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I'll be at the Bengals game. Looking forward to it.

[ccbird]

Next week is the litmus test for this defense. It was great seeing them get after it today but everyone knows Orton can't stretch the field which makes it much easier on the secondary. One thing is for sure, we have to be much more aggressive offensively than we were the first game. Big game. A loss next week wouldn't end our playoff chances but it almost certainly would eliminate us from winning the division.

[DuffMan]

If we play like we did today against Cincy next week we win that one as well.

[ShaneDawg85]

I said if the Ravens were going to win they had to force Kyle Orton to beat them, and apply the pressure. They did both, and the Bronco's lost. The game really didn't start to get out of hand till late, as most of it was a good ole fashioned defensive slugfest. But it sure is amazing what happens when you apply pressure to the QB.

Same rules apply to the game against Cinncy. The difference of course is that Carson Palmer can, and on several occassions, has beaten the Ravens. In the last game we didn't apply pressure at all, and we were throughly torched. I have to imagine the defense is also looking for payback against Cedric Benson for halting their streak of holding running backs under 100 yards rushing.

Apply pressure, stuff the run, and don't make the boneheaded mistakes.

[Birds of B'more]

I said if the Ravens were going to win they had to force Kyle Orton to beat them, and apply the pressure. They did both, and the Bronco's lost. The game really didn't start to get out of hand till late, as most of it was a good ole fashioned defensive slugfest. But it sure is amazing what happens when you apply pressure to the QB.

Same rules apply to the game against Cinncy. The difference of course is that Carson Palmer can, and on several occassions, has beaten the Ravens. In the last game we didn't apply pressure at all, and we were throughly torched. I have to imagine the defense is also looking for payback against Cedric Benson for halting their streak of holding running backs under 100 yards rushing.

Apply pressure, stuff the run, and don't make the boneheaded mistakes.

That's the big one, there. If not for a couple stupid penalties late in that game, the Ravens probably win.

[Sports Guy]

BTW, I really liked the hurry up offense at times today.

I have been asking for this for a long time....When teams have done it to us over the years, it has really worked.

The Ravens started doing it some against the Vikes in the second half a few weeks ago.

It makes sense to do it against Cinci as well...Slow down Odom and the rest of their pass rushers some.

[HeatherC12]

It makes sense to do it against Cinci as well...Slow down Odom and the rest of their pass rushers some.

Odom is out for the season with an achilles injury. :(

[Sports Guy]

Odom is out for the season with an achilles injury. :(

Oh, I hadn't seen that.

[xKHx]

BTW, I really liked the hurry up offense at times today.

I have been asking for this for a long time....When teams have done it to us over the years, it has really worked.

The Ravens started doing it some against the Vikes in the second half a few weeks ago.

It makes sense to do it against Cinci as well...Slow down Odom and the rest of their pass rushers some.

Yes. Did you see Favre try to run the hurry up vs. Pittsburgh? It had them all out of wack they were standing up and getting into position and moving around and Favre would hike it and they would be out of position. If we can surprise them a few times we can calm them down in a hurry.

[Birds of B'more]

BTW, I really liked the hurry up offense at times today.

I have been asking for this for a long time....When teams have done it to us over the years, it has really worked.

The Ravens started doing it some against the Vikes in the second half a few weeks ago.

It makes sense to do it against Cinci as well...Slow down Odom and the rest of their pass rushers some.

Here's my question/issue about the no-huddle. I've observed this many times, but saw Flacco do it today and wonder if someone could answer this.

When the Ravens were going no-huddle, several times Denver was changing out their defensive personnel while the Ravens were lined up and appeared ready to snap the ball. But instead of snapping the ball and catching Denver with too many/not enough men on the field, or at least out of position, Flacco waited for the Broncos to set their defense and then snapped the ball. Why is this? And I am aware of and understand the rule that if the offensive team changes personnel before a play they also have to allow the defense to change their personnel before snapping the ball. But in the instances I observed today I'm quite certain the Ravens didn't change offensive personnel and thus could have snapped the ball as soon as it was spotted for play. And again, I see other teams do the same thing all the time in no-huddle.

I don't get it....a big advantage of the no-huddle offense is to dictate the tempo of the game to the defense. If you wait for them to change personnel and then get set, it seems to me you are losing that advantage.

[ccbird]

Here's my question/issue about the no-huddle. I've observed this many times, but saw Flacco do it today and wonder if someone could answer this.

When the Ravens were going no-huddle, several times Denver was changing out their defensive personnel while the Ravens were lined up and appeared ready to snap the ball. But instead of snapping the ball and catching Denver with too many/not enough men on the field, or at least out of position, Flacco waited for the Broncos to set their defense and then snapped the ball. Why is this? And I am aware of and understand the rule that if the offensive team changes personnel before a play they also have to allow the defense to change their personnel before snapping the ball. But in the instances I observed today I'm quite certain the Ravens didn't change offensive personnel and thus could have snapped the ball as soon as it was spotted for play. And again, I see other teams do the same thing all the time in no-huddle.

I don't get it....a big advantage of the no-huddle offense is to dictate the tempo of the game to the defense. If you wait for them to change personnel and then get set, it seems to me you are losing that advantage.

I was thinking the same thing. I also understand it that if we don't make substitutions that we can snap the ball whenever and don't have to allow them to get onto the field. I don't think there was anything prohibiting us from snapping the ball. Here is what I've come up with:

1. I think it's natural to want to see exactly where the opposing players are and what their alignment is before you hike the ball. There's potentially an advantage to catching them off guard but there also should be an advantage if you read the presnap defense correctly.


2.We don't know when exactly Joe is getting the plays called in his headset. We could be at the line but not necessarily have a play in yet, and then when he does get the play he has to make sure everyone is set correctly. I mean if it was backyard football and you just tell people to block, get open it would be easier. I guess what I'm saying is that running a play seems like such a fine tuned process that getting 11 guys on the same page so quickly seems tough to do. If those 11 guys aren't on the same page you risk penalties or poor execution.



Honestly, this would be a good question to ask Harbaugh or Cameron on one of their radio/tv shows.

[Birds of B'more]

I was thinking the same thing. I also understand it that if we don't make substitutions that we can snap the ball whenever and don't have to allow them to get onto the field. I don't think there was anything prohibiting us from snapping the ball. Here is what I've come up with:

1. I think it's natural to want to see exactly where the opposing players are and what their alignment is before you hike the ball. There's potentially an advantage to catching them off guard but there also should be an advantage if you read the presnap defense correctly.


2.We don't know when exactly Joe is getting the plays called in his headset. We could be at the line but not necessarily have a play in yet, and then when he does get the play he has to make sure everyone is set correctly. I mean if it was backyard football and you just tell people to block, get open it would be easier. I guess what I'm saying is that running a play seems like such a fine tuned process that getting 11 guys on the same page so quickly seems tough to do. If those 11 guys aren't on the same page you risk penalties or poor execution.



Honestly, this would be a good question to ask Harbaugh or Cameron on one of their radio/tv shows.

Good point. And like I said, just about every other team does the same thing. The one exception I've seen is Peyton Manning. While Indy always runs the no-huddle, they usually don't snap the ball until just a few seconds remain on the play clock. But every now and then Manning will hurry the offense to the line and snap the ball right away just hoping to catch the defense out of position, or even with too many men on the field and get a free 5 yards. Of course Manning is much more accustomed to running a no-huddle offense than Flacco is, so maybe it's an experience thing.

[ccbird]

Good point. And like I said, just about every other team does the same thing. The one exception I've seen is Peyton Manning. While Indy always runs the no-huddle, they usually don't snap the ball until just a few seconds remain on the play clock. But every now and then Manning will hurry the offense to the line and snap the ball right away just hoping to catch the defense out of position, or even with too many men on the field and get a free 5 yards. Of course Manning is much more accustomed to running a no-huddle offense than Flacco is, so maybe it's an experience thing.

Manning calling his own plays undoubtedly helps here. When you are the OC you don't have to wait for the call to come in and don't have to worry about explaining yourself to an OC if you try a quicksnap or call an audible unsuccessfully.

[Sports Guy]

The Ravens are not losing next week.

[Hank Scorpio]

Josh McDaniels is very obviously cut from the Belichick mold.

He was absolutely insane in the first half, it was entertaining. It was good to see Stokely again, I still can't hardly believe he's in the league given his propensity for injury. He's a really good dude.

[NewMarketSean]

Benson killed the Ravens last game. We need to stop him from maintaining Cincy's drives and get after Palmer.

I think it's gotten to the point where we know the offense will score about 24 pts on any given day...that said the Bengals did hold us to 10 offensive pts last game.

I say Ravens 20-13.

[Miller192]

Here's my question/issue about the no-huddle. I've observed this many times, but saw Flacco do it today and wonder if someone could answer this.

When the Ravens were going no-huddle, several times Denver was changing out their defensive personnel while the Ravens were lined up and appeared ready to snap the ball. But instead of snapping the ball and catching Denver with too many/not enough men on the field, or at least out of position, Flacco waited for the Broncos to set their defense and then snapped the ball. Why is this? And I am aware of and understand the rule that if the offensive team changes personnel before a play they also have to allow the defense to change their personnel before snapping the ball. But in the instances I observed today I'm quite certain the Ravens didn't change offensive personnel and thus could have snapped the ball as soon as it was spotted for play. And again, I see other teams do the same thing all the time in no-huddle.

I don't get it....a big advantage of the no-huddle offense is to dictate the tempo of the game to the defense. If you wait for them to change personnel and then get set, it seems to me you are losing that advantage.

You can't do that anymore. You can only quickly snap the ball in an attempt to catch too many men on the field in the last two minutes of each half. If you run everyone up to the line and quickly snap it as the defense is running guys out, the play will just continue.

It's also judgement call. If the refs don't believe you were running a play or you are called for an illegal procedure, the penalty on the offense will stand. The too many men on the field call will get nulled.

[Mashed Potatoes]

I didn't see Benson killing us in the first Cincy game despite his good statistics. He was not running over defenders or making too many people miss, he was running through holes and had good patience and vision.

We don't need to stop the running back, we need to stop their O-line from opening up big holes.

[NickM21]

I didn't see Benson killing us in the first Cincy game despite his good statistics. He was not running over defenders or making too many people miss, he was running through holes and had good patience and vision.

We don't need to stop the running back, we need to stop their O-line from opening up big holes.

I have to agree here. Not to take any credit away from Benson (who did a good job), but there were often huge holes left open, and we simply didn't close them quickly enough, or get a good enough push from our D-line. If we play the run more to what we are accustomed to seeing, plus don't make any stupid mistakes, we will win this game. Not only that, I think we win with a wider margin than most would think.

Not to mention, our offense was almost nowhere to be found at the beginning of the first Cinci game. Like someone mentioned in another topic, it looked like Billick was calling the plays again.

[Birds of B'more]

You can't do that anymore. You can only quickly snap the ball in an attempt to catch too many men on the field in the last two minutes of each half. If you run everyone up to the line and quickly snap it as the defense is running guys out, the play will just continue.

It's also judgement call. If the refs don't believe you were running a play or you are called for an illegal procedure, the penalty on the offense will stand. The too many men on the field call will get nulled.

Fine then. You have a defense in complete disarray....snap the ball, run your play and possibly beat them for a TD because they are disorganized. What's the problem with that? Why wait and let them get set like Flacco did several times?

[Sports Guy]

Do we know the status on Ngata?

I heard his Xrays are negative.

[Miller192]

Fine then. You have a defense in complete disarray....snap the ball, run your play and possibly beat them for a TD because they are disorganized. What's the problem with that? Why wait and let them get set like Flacco did several times?

I only caught them in disarray once, but I was being pulled in a couple of different directions yesterday so I might've missed it.

The one time I saw, the Broncos had three guys running off the field and Flacco audibled the line call. We weren't prepared to run a play at that point.

[Hank Scorpio]

Do we know the status on Ngata?

I heard his Xrays are negative.

He walked out with a boot on last night, but he said he's "good to go." That dude's tougher than a $.50 steak.

[primetime]

A couple things that jumped out at me yesterday.....

1) As well as Oher played on the left side, it was great having Gaither back. He made Elvis Dumervil dissapear.

2) For all the talk about upgrading the WR corps and the Brandon Marshall rumors, give me Derrick Mason over Marshall any day of the week and twice on Sunday. For all of Marshall's talent and physical gifts, he's short on heart. He aligatored armed a ball over the middle when he caught a climpse of #52, pouted throughout the game and basically quit on his team yesterday and it severally hindered the Bronco's chances of winning. (Obviously Mason is 35 and Marshall is 24ish so age is a factor but I'm referencing attitude and how they play the game)

3) We disguised pressure well, stayed at home and tackled well on D.

4) We controlled the clock, wore out their D and kept our D fresh.

If we apply 3 and 4 to the Cincy game next week, I see no reason why we can't take care of business. Not keeping to our assignments and poor tackling was why Benson had such a good game against us the first time around. If you control Benson, you have a MUCH better chance of winning. Also, if we run that no huddle/quick huddle offense and stick with the run, we'll wear Cincy's D down to where they start whiffing on tackles in the 2nd half and we can put the game away.

[Old#5fan]

Good point. And like I said, just about every other team does the same thing. The one exception I've seen is Peyton Manning. While Indy always runs the no-huddle, they usually don't snap the ball until just a few seconds remain on the play clock. But every now and then Manning will hurry the offense to the line and snap the ball right away just hoping to catch the defense out of position, or even with too many men on the field and get a free 5 yards. Of course Manning is much more accustomed to running a no-huddle offense than Flacco is, so maybe it's an experience thing.

I for one, think Flacco's ability to run a no-huddle and hurry up offense is simply awesome as a second year NFL QB. Hell, Boller was still running a dummied down offense into his third full season, and I never did see him become proficient at a hurry up or two minute drill his entire time with the Ravens. Flacco is an amazing young QB, far more mature than his years and experience. The Ravens are very fortunate to finally have that position solved for good.

[Dipper9]

Odom is out for the season with an achilles injury. :(

So then, as it relates to slowing him down, you're saying there's a chance? :laughlol:

[Birds of B'more]

I only caught them in disarray once, but I was being pulled in a couple of different directions yesterday so I might've missed it.

The one time I saw, the Broncos had three guys running off the field and Flacco audibled the line call. We weren't prepared to run a play at that point.

Interesting that they would audible before they see exactly what defense they're going against, but I admit that my knowledge of the minutiae that goes on at the line of scrimmage isn't that extensive. Maybe the offenses just can't reliably predict when they will have an opportunity to catch a defense substituting, and when it does happen they are just as surprised or simply aren't prepared enough to take advantage of the opportunity. The only QB I've really seen that not only executes that sort of thing, but almost seems to set the scenario up as a trap, is Peyton Manning.

[RShack]

Here's my question/issue about the no-huddle. I've observed this many times, but saw Flacco do it today and wonder if someone could answer this.

When the Ravens were going no-huddle, several times Denver was changing out their defensive personnel while the Ravens were lined up and appeared ready to snap the ball. But instead of snapping the ball and catching Denver with too many/not enough men on the field, or at least out of position, Flacco waited for the Broncos to set their defense and then snapped the ball. Why is this? And I am aware of and understand the rule that if the offensive team changes personnel before a play they also have to allow the defense to change their personnel before snapping the ball. But in the instances I observed today I'm quite certain the Ravens didn't change offensive personnel and thus could have snapped the ball as soon as it was spotted for play. And again, I see other teams do the same thing all the time in no-huddle.

I don't get it....a big advantage of the no-huddle offense is to dictate the tempo of the game to the defense. If you wait for them to change personnel and then get set, it seems to me you are losing that advantage.
Don't they have to wait for the ref's whistle? Or am I confused about this?

[Miller192]

Interesting that they would audible before they see exactly what defense they're going against, but I admit that my knowledge of the minutiae that goes on at the line of scrimmage isn't that extensive. Maybe the offenses just can't reliably predict when they will have an opportunity to catch a defense substituting, and when it does happen they are just as surprised or simply aren't prepared enough to take advantage of the opportunity. The only QB I've really seen that not only executes that sort of thing, but almost seems to set the scenario up as a trap, is Peyton Manning.

Yeah, the Ravens are pretty scripted with their offense. The no huddle isn't giving the defense much time to set their play so I imagine they already had an idea at what they were working with.

Flacco could've just been relaying the line calls from Birk instead of actually calling the audible but he did step out from under center.

[Miller192]

Don't they have to wait for the ref's whistle? Or am I confused about this?

Unless the clock has stopped, no.

[Lefty0315]

Interesting that they would audible before they see exactly what defense they're going against, but I admit that my knowledge of the minutiae that goes on at the line of scrimmage isn't that extensive. Maybe the offenses just can't reliably predict when they will have an opportunity to catch a defense substituting, and when it does happen they are just as surprised or simply aren't prepared enough to take advantage of the opportunity. The only QB I've really seen that not only executes that sort of thing, but almost seems to set the scenario up as a trap, is Peyton Manning.

I think the on the play you are referring to the umpire stayed over the ball so we could not run a play. It seemed odd at the time as he waited for the Broncos to get set before moving to his postition.

[Stevo5278]

I think the on the play you are referring to the umpire stayed over the ball so we could not run a play. It seemed odd at the time as he waited for the Broncos to get set before moving to his postition.

That happened several times when the Ravens were trying to run quick plays. Then later in the game the Broncos tried it and the refs got out of their way.

I'm really not trying to act like a paranoid fan who subscribes to conspiracy theories but there are any number of odd things that have CONTINUALLY gone on with the officiating at Ravens games:

1. Ticky-tack pass interference or roughing penalties, many of which come at the request of the offensive player.

2. Delayed penalties thrown from across the field when the official staring right at the play in front of him doesn't throw a flag.

3. Extended officials' conferences after flags get thrown.

4. Officials holding up play to let the defense substitute when the Ravens try to run a hurry up offense.

5. Missing blatant holding penalties against the other team (offensive and defensive).

That being said the officiating has been pretty crappy in all games that I've watched this year across the league. There is such an obvious advantage given to offenses now by the officials.

At least this week the officiating wasn't a factor in the outcome of the game.

[Mackus]

I think the on the play you are referring to the umpire stayed over the ball so we could not run a play. It seemed odd at the time as he waited for the Broncos to get set before moving to his postition.If the offense makes substitutions, they have to give the defense time to also make substitutions. This is true even in hurry-up or no-huddle situations. That's what that situation is.

[Mackus]

That happened several times when the Ravens were trying to run quick plays. Then later in the game the Broncos tried it and the refs got out of their way.

I'm really not trying to act like a paranoid fan who subscribes to conspiracy theories but there are any number of odd things that have CONTINUALLY gone on with the officiating at Ravens games:

1. Ticky-tack pass interference or roughing penalties, many of which come at the request of the offensive player.

2. Delayed penalties thrown from across the field when the official staring right at the play in front of him doesn't throw a flag.

3. Extended officials' conferences after flags get thrown.

4. Officials holding up play to let the defense substitute when the Ravens try to run a hurry up offense.

5. Missing blatant holding penalties against the other team (offensive and defensive).

That being said the officiating has been pretty crappy in all games that I've watched this year across the league. There is such an obvious advantage given to offenses now by the officials.

At least this week the officiating wasn't a factor in the outcome of the game.How about the blatant pass interference on Ed Reed that went uncalled. Dierdorf made himself look like a complete fool announcing on that one. At full speed he thought Reed got there right after the ball and was praising him, but then clearly saw that Ed was early, and wouldn't change his opinion just making up some nonsense about how if you're only there a little bit early that's ok.

The poor officiating goes both ways. There is no conspiracy. The only really bad call I thought that went against us was the non-call of DPI against Mason when he flipped out and then got the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing his helmet.

[RShack]

I think the on the play you are referring to the umpire stayed over the ball so we could not run a play. It seemed odd at the time as he waited for the Broncos to get set before moving to his postition.
Speaking of umpires, is that the worst possible ref-job or what? I expect they have a much higher casualty rate. I'm amazed those guys don't get killed. I sure wouldn't wanna be where they are...

[Stevo5278]

How about the blatant pass interference on Ed Reed that went uncalled. Dierdorf made himself look like a complete fool announcing on that one. At full speed he thought Reed got there right after the ball and was praising him, but then clearly saw that Ed was early, and wouldn't change his opinion just making up some nonsense about how if you're only there a little bit early that's ok.

The poor officiating goes both ways. There is no conspiracy. The only really bad call I thought that went against us was the non-call of DPI against Mason when he flipped out and then got the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing his helmet.

You're right. It does go both ways and it's been especially bad this year across the league. IMO however it comes our way at more crucial times in the game.

[primetime]

How about the blatant pass interference on Ed Reed that went uncalled. Dierdorf made himself look like a complete fool announcing on that one. At full speed he thought Reed got there right after the ball and was praising him, but then clearly saw that Ed was early, and wouldn't change his opinion just making up some nonsense about how if you're only there a little bit early that's ok.

The poor officiating goes both ways. There is no conspiracy. The only really bad call I thought that went against us was the non-call of DPI against Mason when he flipped out and then got the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing his helmet.

I'm not sure if the officials signaled it, but on the replay of the pass the Reed broke up, the underneath LB (might've been Ray) got a piece of that ball, so the WR was free game. Maybe Reed saw the deflection and knew he could pop the WR.

As much as I hated the call against Mason (he was definitely right in flipping out) he took his helmet off while he was still in the field of play, that's an automatic 15 yd, unsportsman like conduct. Remember Deion in '04, making his first big play for us and taking his helmet off. One of those rule changes for player safety.

[Miller192]

How about the blatant pass interference on Ed Reed that went uncalled. Dierdorf made himself look like a complete fool announcing on that one. At full speed he thought Reed got there right after the ball and was praising him, but then clearly saw that Ed was early, and wouldn't change his opinion just making up some nonsense about how if you're only there a little bit early that's ok.

The poor officiating goes both ways. There is no conspiracy. The only really bad call I thought that went against us was the non-call of DPI against Mason when he flipped out and then got the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing his helmet.

I agree with you. These things will even themselves out even if it feels like we were on the wrong side of the call too often. You can look around the league on any Sunday and see plenty of calls to grump about.

What does get under my skin however, is the lateness of some of these calls. To have the side judge waive the incomplete followed by a flag from the field judge only after the player lobbied for it, gets under my skin.

It just gives the impression that the judge is indecisive.

[Hank Scorpio]

I kind of agree with Preston in that the officiating is consistently awful, but honestly, it does go both ways. And a lot more often than many think.

There were at least 2 obvious missed calls on Foxworth Sunday. One wasn't directly involved with the play, so it got glossed over. But I promise that Josh McDaniels didn't miss it. I thought he was actually going to leap down Julian's throat, physically. He was jumping up and down like a madman and if ever a head coach was going to get an unsportsmanlike call, it was right then.

Yikes!!!

[MikeAD]

I kind of agree with Preston in that the officiating is consistently awful, but honestly, it does go both ways. And a lot more often than many think.

There were at least 2 obvious missed calls on Foxworth Sunday. One wasn't directly involved with the play, so it got glossed over. But I promise that Josh McDaniels didn't miss it. I thought he was actually going to leap down Julian's throat, physically. He was jumping up and down like a madman and if ever a head coach was going to get an unsportsmanlike call, it was right then.

Yikes!!!

This is true. I also have to look at things like Offensive Holding. John Madden used to claim that 9.9 out of every 10 plays in the NFL could be called back for holding, and I don't think thats too big of an exaggeration. And the calls/non calls for holding are always going to cause griping. TDs get called back for a lineman holding and then a play later an obvious hold is not called during a screen pass for a big gain.

Not saying this is done on purpose, but the officiating has always been pretty consistent in its "awfulness." I'd imagine with the way the rules are slanted against the defenders now, calling penalties/letting the players play is just more difficult.

[Hank Scorpio]

The competition committee has changed up so much crap over the past 10 years, one can understand how it's difficult for these guys to keep up.

It has unquestionably become an offensive league. Chicks dig the long ball, right?

[MikeAD]

The competition committee has changed up so much crap over the past 10 years, one can understand how it's difficult for these guys to keep up.

It has unquestionably become an offensive league. Chicks dig the long ball, right?

Correct. The rules have continued to change in that direction and being an official in general is difficult. Theres a lot of crap to watch on that field, its too easy to criticize them.

Don't take this post as me taking their side though, :D

[Hank Scorpio]

It's tough to be a cornerback and it's tough to be a ref.

Two jobs I'd take, but not enjoy.

[Birds of B'more]

The competition committee has changed up so much crap over the past 10 years, one can understand how it's difficult for these guys to keep up.

It has unquestionably become an offensive league. Chicks dig the long ball, right?

I was theorizing to myself as to why the officiating seems to get worse and worse every year, and that was one of two reasons I came up with. The other being that the speed at which the game is played keeps getting faster and that makes it more difficult to officiate as well. The thing is, I doubt the NFL will do anything about it. The players certainly aren't going to play slower. And the league isn't going to rescind all the rule changes.....especially the ones made in the name of safety, what with them having just been called to Congress and all. The reality is, I think players, coaches and fans are just going to have to live with the fact that more and more bad calls are going to happen and do their best to overcome it. Bad officiating will become as much a part of football as blocking and tackling.

It also wouldn't surprise me if within our lifetimes we are able to see at least some bad calls eliminated by the implementation of more advanced technology....and I'm talking about live in-game technology, not having to resort to more instant replay. But there will always be those judgment calls that a computer chip or GPS can't make and will have to be left in the hands of a human.

[primetime]

The league could improve the officiating by doing 2 things, hiring younger, more athletic guys to officiate and making their officials full time.

The NFL refs currently employed are in their 50s and 60s, trying to keep up with the top 1% of athletes in the world and most them are lawyers, accountants and other white collar type professionals Monday-Friday. Those 2 things set the officials up for failure and scrutiny. Not to mention Hank's point about the amount of rule changes, clarification and "points of emphasis" the competition comittee has implemented over the last few years makes officiating an NFL game a very tough job.

[Birds of B'more]

The league could improve the officiating by doing 2 things, hiring younger, more athletic guys to officiate and making their officials full time.

The NFL refs currently employed are in their 50s and 60s, trying to keep up with the top 1% of athletes in the world and most them are lawyers, accountants and other white collar type professionals Monday-Friday. Those 2 things set the officials up for failure and scrutiny. Not to mention Hank's point about the amount of rule changes, clarification and "points of emphasis" the competition comittee has implemented over the last few years makes officiating an NFL game a very tough job.

First off, the NFL would probably face age-discrimination suits out the wazoo if they implemented a cutoff for referees of, say 50. Second, the league values experience in its officials, so naturally the most experienced ones in football are going to be older. Honestly, I don't think the problem with officials is that they can't physically run to the position they need to be in to make a call. Now maybe vision is an issue here, with regards to age. Maybe the league needs to spring for LASIK surgery for all officials who need it? But I think more of it is that they just seem confused at times and hesitate to make decisions, and that leaves themselves open to lobbying by players and coaches and too many of the refs listen to them rather than just calling what they saw and move on.

Maybe being full-time NFL employees will help, but I'm not sure about that either. I'm not sure what the officials would or could do on Mon-Sat that would make them any better on Sunday. I don't think it would be good to have them go watch practices of the teams they will be officiating....that kind of familiarity with certain teams/players could only make matters worse, IMO.