We football fans like to complain, and we have every right to do so. Most of the time our complaints are directed at the poor showing of our favorite team, or the officiating, I for one fall into the latter. Yes, I am a New York Jets fan so you’d think that I would solely complain about them, but you can only complain so much over the years without sounding like a broken record. Therefore, I complain about the next best thing to complain about, the refs. It feels like more and more with every year, every game, every flag, at some point enough has to be enough.
With all that being said, the NFL introduced a new rule for the year, one that allows teams to challenge a pass interference call or challenge that pass interference should have been called. Now there is a distinct difference in how those are judged in a challenge. From all the games I have watched this year, few times have I seen a team challenge that pass interference should have been called, and win the challenge. However, I have yet to see a pass interference call reversed.
Most of the time when the refs announce that the call stands, we tend to complain about the officiating, calling them blind, dumb, and incapable of making a decent call. For once in my life, I actually want to defend the refs. As bad as some of the calls have been and will be, they’re simply not going to reverse a pass interference call. Some might, but most won’t and that’s because they shouldn’t be in the spot to do so. This is by far one of the most ridiculous rules the NFL has put in place. Calm down all you people that are thinking well what about the rules that limit the defense as to what they can do, and the NFL is so soft. Yeah, it is, but I get why. The pass interference challenge is just unnecessary. So what, the Saints got screwed over by an atrocious call, but that happens. Human error has always been a part of the game and it should be. I rue the day when the NFL starts getting crazy ideas like the MLB and gets “robo-refs”. If you want to ruin the integrity of a sport, that’s how you do so.
The truth of the matter is, regardless of what is happening, no matter what the call, no matter who makes the call, one side will always be angry. The refs should not be put in the spot to review a judgement call they made, because frankly given the power they have to make the ruling during the review, they will never throw their colleagues under the bus. I can’t blame them for doing that either. The only party I can blame for this ludicrous new rule is the NFL. Secondly, when they are watching the review, they get to see the play in slow motion, something you would think
Take the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts game for a perfect example. TY Hilton was flagged for offensive pass interference. It was challenged by the Colts, and after seeing the replay it was clear there was no pass interference by Hilton. The head official came back from the review to inform the world that the call stood, pass interference on Hilton. I think this is the perfect example of what the officials think of this new rule, and I have to agree with them.
At first I was so angry that they weren’t overturning obvious calls, but now I’m on their side. Don’t change the call; keep your integrity and pride. The more this happens the more the NFL will realize what a mistake this rule was. Yeah, the New Orleans Saints may not be too happy that they rule they essentially begged for, will be gone, but it should have never been in place to begin with. I get it Saints fans, it was a horrible non-call, but don’t say that it cost you the game, you don’t know what would have happened with the finish of that game, and let’s say you would have won, I still don’t think they would have beaten the Patriots in the Super Bowl, but hey that’s me speculating much like Saints fans. Regardless, bad calls happen, it has always been a part of the game, and it always will be.
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