NFL Week 3

[jimmy olsen]

Damn that's impressive.

If I'd have scored 84 points I would have won.

[Neil]

And now I've bumped up to 4th place.

[Grey Fox]

I think I might start Christian Ponder in week 4 instead of Rodgers but then again the Packers play the Saints.

[katmai]

Seedy finally wins a game and he's getting all uppity.

[katmai]

Damn that's impressive.

If I'd have scored 84 points I would have won.

but you didn't.  And now the last team without a win.

[Kleves]

They were amazing for 30 mins. Then meh for 2nd half.

They were in an impossible position though - the offense ran like 9 plays in the second half before the final two drives of the game.

Also, we really do need to get rid of these chucklehead refs. While the last call is understandably getting the attention, there were a number of shitty calls/no-calls in the game, and by no means did they all favor the Seahawks. See: PI call which allowed Green Bay to continue its touchdown-scoring drive.

[Valmy]

I am surprised Berkut has not chimed in he usually loves talking refereeing.

[Neil]

They were amazing for 30 mins. Then meh for 2nd half.

They were in an impossible position though - the offense ran like 9 plays in the second half before the final two drives of the game.

Also, we really do need to get rid of these chucklehead refs. While the last call is understandably getting the attention, there were a number of shitty calls/no-calls in the game, and by no means did they all favor the Seahawks. See: PI call which allowed Green Bay to continue its scoring drive.

Saw that and I was thinking 'That'll be the worst call of the game'.  I was wrong.

[Neil]

I am surprised Berkut has not chimed in he usually loves talking refereeing.

Maybe Berkut was busy last night, refereeing an NFL game?

[derspiess]

Why are people so worked up about Hochuli getting back?  He actually made a worse call than tonight and cost a team a win a few years ago. 

I don't want him back.

[Barrister]

And the Fightin Crowns remain undefeated at 3-0.

[CountDeMoney]

I found it interesting that this has been relatively under-reported, but it could very well be a development that could impact the season, should the NFLPA want to get its lawyers involved.

In short:  the use of replacement referees by the league is creating an unsafe work environment for the players;  therefore, the league could be in breach of the collective bargaining agreement.  And you know what that could mean.

And this was written before this past week's collective bullshit.

NFLPA letter calls out Roger Goodell and NFL owners for use of replacement referees

If there were ever a perfect time to use "shots fired" for something, this is it.

The NFLPA executive committee posted a letter on the NFLPA's website on Sunday that literally fired shots left and right at NFL owners and Roger Goodell. In the letter, you'll see that the executive committee pretty much feels the same way you do about the replacement referees. It speaks of the embarrassment, the poor calls, the missed calls, the bad game management, and even uses the word "scab".

Here's the full letter so you can see just how many shots were fired.

TO: Owners of NFL Teams

FROM: NFLPA Executive Committee

DATE: September 20, 2012

RE: Your Lockout of the NFL Referees and the Negative Impact on Football

The NFL Players Association Executive Committee is calling on you to end the lockout of our referees. We believe there is substantial evidence that you have failed in your obligation to provide as safe a working environment as possible.

Your decision to lock out officials with more than 1,500 years of collective NFL experience has led to a deterioration of order, safety and integrity. This affirmative decision has not only resulted in poor calls, missed calls and bad game management, but the combination of those deficiencies will only continue to jeopardize player health and safety and the integrity of the game that has taken decades to build.

As we predicted and explained to you weeks ago, the removal of the veteran officials from regular season games left a group of your replacements who have proved to be incapable of keeping pace with the speed of the game. Coaches and players have complained of numerous errors and failures including: erratic and missed calls on egregious holds and hits, increased skirmishes between players and confusion about game rules. Many replacements have lost control of games due to inexperience and unfamiliarity with players and rules.

The headlines are embarrassing: a scab working a game despite having been on the payroll of one of the teams, another who was assigned to referee a team he publicly supported on Facebook, and one who is a professional poker player when you propose even more stringent player rules on gambling.

It is lost on us as to how you allow a Commissioner to cavalierly issue suspensions and fines in the name of player health and safety yet permit the wholesale removal of the officials that you trained and entrusted to maintain that very health and safety. It has been reported that the two sides are apart by approximately $60,000 per team. We note that your Commissioner has fined an individual player as much in the name of "safety." Your actions are looking more and more like simple greed. As players, we see this game as more than the "product" you reference at times. You cannot simply switch to a group of cheaper officials and fulfill your legal, moral, and duty obligations to us and our fans. You need to end the lockout and bring back the officials immediately.

We are all men who love and respect this game and believe that it represents something beyond just money. For our teammates, our coaches and our fans who deserve better, vote to end this lockout now.

Sincerely,

Domonique Foxworth, NFLPA President
Charlie Batch, NFLPA Vice President, Pittsburgh Steelers
Cornelius Bennett, NFLPA Former Players Board of Directors Chairman
Drew Brees, NFLPA Vice President, New Orleans Saints
Brian Dawkins, NFLPA Vice President
Scott Fujita, NFLPA Vice President, Cleveland Browns
Matt Hasselbeck, NFLPA Vice President, Tennessee Titans
Brandon Moore, NFLPA Vice President, New York Jets
Jeff Saturday, NFLPA Vice President, Green Bay Packers
Mickey Washington, NFLPA Former Players Board of Directors Member
Brian Waters, NFLPA Vice President, New England Patriots
Benjamin Watson, NFLPA Vice President, Cleveland Browns

[derspiess]

In short:  the use of replacement referees by the league is creating an unsafe work environment for the players;  therefore, the league could be in breach of the collective bargaining agreement.  And you know what that could mean.

Eh, no.  Players who cheap-shot and lead with their helmet create the unsafe work environment.  And league fines for such things are often protested by the NFLPA.

[MadBurgerMaker]

That last drive was a complete abomination:  that wasn't roughing the passer, that wasn't pass interference on Rice, and that sure as shit wasn't a touchdown.

Hell the whole game was messed up by those guys, but at least on all of those other ones, the team getting hit with a bogus call (happened to both of them) had a chance to recover from it. 

[Barrister]

I found it interesting that this has been relatively under-reported, but it could very well be a development that could impact the season, should the NFLPA want to get its lawyers involved.

In short:  the use of replacement referees by the league is creating an unsafe work environment for the players;  therefore, the league could be in breach of the collective bargaining agreement.  And you know what that could mean.

Talk is cheap, and so are letters.

I'm not a labour lawyer - that area is its own special brand of fun, but I have a passing knowledge of the area.  And the term "unsafe work environment" is a specific term.  Ultimately, if the players truly felt the owners were not giving them a safe work environment, they have one recourse - not to play.

But of course they're not going to do that and put their own salaries in jeopardy.