If you are a fan of the NFL, you are undoubtedly upset with the labor dispute between the NFL and the game officials. Last night in Seattle, a badly blown call decided the outcome of a game, and it will have playoff implications in two divisions, the NFC North and the NFC West.
The replacement officials are not getting the job done. I’ve heard from players, from coaches, from play-by-play announcers, and from former NFL officials. Nobody thinks that play to end the game in Seattle was a Seahawks touchdown–nobody but the replacement officials.
This has made a mockery of the game. Long time NFL fans are deciding to stop watching. People stop watching and advertisers get upset. There are other options for football fans. Post-season baseball is coming up, and there is football played all day on Saturday–College football.
Right now, the Packer Nation is angry Green Bay has one of the three largest fan bases in the NFL. If this doesn’t end soon, the season will become a sham. Players are taking liberties with illegal play because they figure it won’t be called.
In one play during Sunday’s Cardinals victory, the ball carrier was stopped with a horse-collar tackle. That’s a 15-yard penalty if it’s called because it’s an injury-causing tackle. While it didn’t impact the outcome of that game, it could very easily put the player on injured reserve. Eventually, somebody is going to suffer a career-ending injury because these calls aren’t being made, and that will be a tragedy.