drjohnnyfever
Pro Bowler
Re refs -
It's never going to be perfect, but there was an instance I think in the Houston game where we were marked as having gained a first down with Justice Hill catching a pass and getting forced out of bounds a couple yards beyond the sticks. The out of bounds stopped the clock and I think there might have been a short commercial or a short delay, but at some point before the next play went off they moved the the ball back and it was 3rd down. The explanation was that his foot was out before the first down marker and that they had seen it in the replay so they corrected the spot.
I had never seen that before, or don't recall seeing that in the past. Do they question the markings or evaluate them with each play? These are the calls that JH routinely challenges and loses. But this was different because the refs did it on their own. No challenge was made on either side. I could be wrong, but I just don't recall seeing booth evaluations of spots being made independently of the on field officials.
I wish they would do that routinely in games. I also wish that the challenges would go away and that the officials watching would just correct the guys on the field when appropriate. As for catches and PI's, those have become completely subjective and are maddening because each official has a different opinion of what constitutes a catch or a PI. Same with holding, really.
I almost long for the days where the players just played and only egregious fouls were called. All of this desire for 100% accuracy, complete safety, and detailed analysis of minutia makes it impossible to enjoy when they make errors. Even their retired chief ref disagrees with 50% of what they call.
It's never going to be perfect, but there was an instance I think in the Houston game where we were marked as having gained a first down with Justice Hill catching a pass and getting forced out of bounds a couple yards beyond the sticks. The out of bounds stopped the clock and I think there might have been a short commercial or a short delay, but at some point before the next play went off they moved the the ball back and it was 3rd down. The explanation was that his foot was out before the first down marker and that they had seen it in the replay so they corrected the spot.
I had never seen that before, or don't recall seeing that in the past. Do they question the markings or evaluate them with each play? These are the calls that JH routinely challenges and loses. But this was different because the refs did it on their own. No challenge was made on either side. I could be wrong, but I just don't recall seeing booth evaluations of spots being made independently of the on field officials.
I wish they would do that routinely in games. I also wish that the challenges would go away and that the officials watching would just correct the guys on the field when appropriate. As for catches and PI's, those have become completely subjective and are maddening because each official has a different opinion of what constitutes a catch or a PI. Same with holding, really.
I almost long for the days where the players just played and only egregious fouls were called. All of this desire for 100% accuracy, complete safety, and detailed analysis of minutia makes it impossible to enjoy when they make errors. Even their retired chief ref disagrees with 50% of what they call.
