NFL Week 3 Round-Up

I am a little late in getting my weekly NFL round-up blog up. Perhaps that was due to the fact that I'm still a bit stunned about how Monday night's game ended, as are many.

Last week there was a LOT of complaints about horrible officiating from the replacement refs and this week? It just got worse and worse. I really do feel bad for these replacements because it isn't their fault that they did not have time to have proper training - the NFL essentially threw them to the wolves and said "good luck!" They just simply are unable to execute the authority needed to run these games smoothly, and this week it showed and got downright ugly and nasty.

The week can best be described by this video below:

Now, there were a lot of bad calls over the weekend but the fact that a call that the replacement refs made got the entire Baltimore Ravens stadium to chant "BS" loud enough that it was heard on SNF on NBC just indicates how entirely frustrated all of the fans are. In this same game Bill Belicheck shoved one of the replacement refs after a call he didn't agree with. Can we say out of a hand?

Well, we thought the Baltimore-New England game was ridiculously out of hand and had bad officiating, but then Monday night came and this happened:

Words can not express just how baffled I was after the refs reviewed this and ruled it as a Seattle touchdown. First, off, Golden Tate pushed off, which is an automatic penalty and the game would have been over there. Second, after watching the play numerous times, it is utterly clear of the following:

1. Green Bay caught the ball

2. Golden Tate never had possession

3. It was in no way a simultaneous catch

4. The ruling should have been interception/touchback

5. Green Bay should have won this game

Of course, there was the pass interference call that lead to Green Bay's touchdown to pull ahead so it's not to say that Green Bay didn't get breaks during the game. But when a call is SO blatantly wrong it just makes your head spin. The refs should have talked with each other before making a final call. It's what the regular refs would do. But this just represented a breaking point where the NFL was going to have to do something to remedy this situation fast because it was spiraling out of control.

So, guess what? The NFL and the NFL Referees Association met today and what do you think happened? They reached an eight year agreement and the NFL refs will be back on the field tomorrow for the Thursday night game. Hallelujah!

Now, I'm sure there will be a lot of rejoicing at the news that the regular NFL refs will be on the field and they may even get a standing ovation from the fans. Will be interesting to see this weekend. However, we must remember that while the NFL refs are clearly much better qualified than the replacements, that doesn't mean they always get the calls right. So if something doesn't go your way this weekend, don't start asking for the replacements back. Even the best of the best sometimes get it wrong. But they are the best we have and they do get the calls right for the most part and of bigger importance? They will control the game. They have authority. The players, owners, and coaches will have to respect them.

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

I'm going to keep this list pretty brief this week since I think a majority of the afterthoughts are related to the whole replacement ref debacle. But there are some key highlights to point out that don't involve officiating (believe it or not).

10. Rams looked awful against the Bears. The Rams have performed well against Detroit and Washington, who at the moment appear to have rather mediocre defenses. Cue in that tough Bears D and Danny Ammendola's 15 catch game from the week before seemed like a complete enigma. The Rams really need to do something about their offensive line. Either that, or I'm in denial about Sam Bradford being able to handle the NFL.Too many sacks in this game. There were moments where I flashed back to those abysmal Marc Bulger years towards the end of his career where he just fell over and took the sack himself. Not good. And the Rams face a tough matchup this week against the Seattle D. The Bears on the other hand, got a nice little lift from the botched call during the Green Bay-Seattle game since Green Bay is in their division. 

9. Houston dominates Denver, but Peyton pulls the Broncos from behind within a shot of potentially winning the game. Unfortunately for Peyton, it was too little too late in this game. However, it was great to see Peyton lead his team from behind to within a chance. Make no mistake, Houston is GOOD. To come back and make it a close game is impressive. Houston should win the AFC South easily. Denver is going to struggle here, but they have a shot in their division. I expect to see Peyton and this team continue to grow and get better as the season progresses.

8. The Atlanta Falcons continue to dominate. I said at the beginning of the season that I expected Atlanta to win the NFC South and they are looking good so far sitting at 3-0. The San Diego Chargers didn't really give Atlanta much of a struggle - the Chargers looked awful in this game. Which again, is why I think the AFC West, much like last year, is really up for grabs and full of a bunch of .500ish teams - Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs and Raiders. Whoever ends up winning this division probably won't have a better record than 9-7. 

7. Andrew Luck had over 300 yards passing and 2 TD's in the loss to Jacksonsville but Luck kept the Colts in it until the end of the game. The Colts may not win a lot of games this season but I continue to be impressed with Luck's performance on the field and also his professional attitude. He is fun to watch!

6. The NY Giants CRUSHED Carolina in Thursday night's game. If anyone was concerned after their loss to the Cowboys in week 1? No need to worry. The Giants are still a playoff caliber team and will be in the mix at the end of the season. Carolina, on the other hand...they have some work to do.

5. 49'ers lose to...Minnesota? The Vikings are one of those teams that going into the season everyone was writing off - even their own fans! No one had super high expectations for Minny. Perhaps we sold them a bit short. Minnesota dominated the Niners in this game, though neither Smith nor Ponder has stellar numbers. Do I still think the Niners are good and will likely win the NFC West? Yes. But I was very impressed by the Vikings performance. Will be interesting to see how this team develops throughout the rest of the season.

4. 3 OT games this week that all ended...not how you would expect. Tennessee beat the Lions in an absolutely crazy game where QB Stafford had to leave the game to injury and back-up Hill threw for 2 TD passes (my fantasy football team was NOT impressed, Stafford). The Jets beat Miami after the Dolphins missed a field goal in OT and Miami's attempt to ice the kicker with a TO lead to a blocked kick followed by the game winning field goal.  Jamaal Charles and  Kansas City ran ALL over the Saints which finally led to an OT win for KC. The Saints are now 0-3. You think they miss Sean Payton? 

3. The Arizona Cardinals are 3-0, and Michael Vick is awful. It was a ROUGH day for Eagles fans. Anyone who doesn't think the NFC West consists of tough teams? Better think again. San Francisco, Seattle, Arizona, and yes, even the Rams, have tough defenses. Michael Vick learned this the hard way on Sunday as every time I looked at the game with Vick had possession of the ball he seemed to be hitting the ground. But to give credit, that Arizona defense? Fierce. Maybe the Niners aren't a shoo-in for the NFC West title after all.

2. Baltimore beats New England with a field goal at the end of the game but this game was tarnished with completely horrid officiating, which led to Patriots coach Bill Belicheck pushing a ref and the Baltimore fans chanting "BS" loudly enough after a "bad call" it was heard loud and clear on national TV. 'Nuff said.

1. Interceptouchdown. Come on, man. I still don't know how those refs could have even thought Golden Tate caught that ball and given Seattle the touchdown to win that game. This game was full of circumspect calls and who knows how it would have turned out if the regular NFL refs were running the game. But this debacle led to the NFL and the NFL Referee Association to sign a deal and guess what? No more replacement refs. Green Bay may be upset, and yes, they are now 1-2. But I expect them to bounce back and they will still be a playoff contender. Seattle...well, they'll have a tough fight against Arizona and San Francisco. We'll see.

That's all I have for this week. Now that the regular officials are back let's hope that next week's post will focus on actual football play, and not be tainted with annoyance of bad calls and overall terrible officiating.