• After a disastrous end to the Monday Night Football game, where the replacement referees seemed overwhelmed and incompetent, the NFL and the referees union were back at the bargaining table on Tuesday. At the end of the night, it seemed as if the union and NFL were on the precipice of an agreement.
• It seems the NFL and the union will both be making concessions, which include additional training and an easier work load for referees.
• The hope is that the two sides can get everything in order so that the “real” referees will be patrolling NFL games this weekend. The referees union claims that the men they represent are trained in all rule updates and will not show any rust even if they begin as early as this Thursday night’s game.
NFL Fines everywhere
• Patriots coach Bill Belicheck ($50k), Redskins defensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan ($25k) and Steelers defensive back Ryan Mundy ($21k) were all fined for actions in Sundays game. Belicheck and Shanahan's actions were directly related to the inexperienced refs and both have very valid reasoning for what they did.
• The final play of the Patriots game was a field goal by Ravens kicker Justin Tucker that barely snuck inside the right upright. After the kick, the officials starting leaving the field, but Belicheck wanted to know if the play could be reviewed, grabbing an official to make sure his question was answered. Contact with officials is never permitted in NFL games, and in some cases players have been ejected for seemingly inadvertent contact.
• Shanahan, whose father is the coach of the Redskins, was fined after berating officials on the field and in the tunnel after one of them incorrectly indicated that a late penalty had ended the game. When the offensive team gets a penalty late in the game, the other team has the options to deduct 10 seconds from the clock, as long as the clock isn't stopped. The clock was stopped when a false start was called against the Redskins with only 7 seconds left so no additional time should have been taken off. The correct call ended up being made and the Redskins, who had to move back 20 yards after the two penalties, were unable to tie the game and go into overtime (unlike the Lions who were in a similar situation).
• Mundy was fined after delivering a vicious helmet to helmet hit against Raiders receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey. Heyward-Bey was taken off the field on a stretcher and had to go to the hospital afterwards but was discharged a day later.
No comments:
Post a Comment