The Replacement Refs have received a lot of air time, and its not for a good thing. While the mix of officials have been thrown into the fire, they’re trying to do the best they can – but not being qualified – that isn’t good enough. I can admit that they have done a little better job in the regular season, but it is nowhere near the product the real officials would have given us.
Mario Williams of the Buffalo Bills is a little upset as well. He was hit in the face several times on Sunday as the Jets put a slaying on the Bills. Williams told the officials about the illegal hits that Austin Howard was putting on him, and the refs didn’t seem to care.
After the game, Williams was critical of them, via the Buffalo News:
“You tell somebody from the very beginning of the game,” he said, referring to the replacement officials.“And it happens. One time, that’s on me. But when it’s multiple times and I tell you and you honestly act like you don’t even hear me throughout the whole game, I think that’s a real big problem.
“It’s not something that’s really going to dictate something, but what are you going to do about it? You’re getting off the ball and getting punched in the face, literally, not an accident, just about every other time. That’s a penalty. Unless they changed it with the new CBA or something, but last time I checked it was a penalty.”
I can agree, it is a penalty and it should have been called. Things like this are why players are getting fed up with these replacements. They are missing calls like this on a consistent basis – while it’s nothing that can change the outcome of a game, or a catastrophic call, it’s still a missed call and needs to be called.
I hope the NFL and the NFLRA can reach a deal soon, for the sake of the league.
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OCNN Sports Columnist – Justin Arbogast @NFLGuy_SK
