It’s open season on NFL referees and it’s only going to get worse

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The uproar over NFL officiating has grown even louder this season.

Lately even stars such as Patrick Mahomes, the face of the league, and Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett and even Troy Aikman in the ESPN booth have joined the army of apoplectic fans drowning in the pool of seductive sports betting following a call that takes money from their pockets or ruins their fantasy teams.

It has forever been a rite of autumn and winter, imperfect men unrealistically asked to officiate a perfect game in a dizzying sport where to err is human is simply not acceptable to the masses. Especially now, with the league cozying up to DraftKings and Caesars Sportsbook and the like, and the integrity of the game always at the forefront.

As the stakes for impatient owners and front offices and coaches and players and bettors rise, as the spotlight becomes even more blinding, especially from here to the Super Bowl, open season on the zebras is not about to go away.

Its the one profession that you can be really good at what you do, and you can make decisions, Fox Sports rules analyst Dean Blandino told Serby Says, and half the people are gonna think youre an idiot.

These NFL officials are by no means idiots, lets get that straight. But they hold a thankless job in the eye of a storm during which they cannot throw a flag on roughing the referee, or the side judge, or the back judge.

It_s_open_season_on_NFL_referees_and_it_s_only_going_to_get_worse 4NFL referees have been under increased scrutiny. Getty ImagesTechnological advances have helped, but they have not only failed to temper the fury of the fan and the call from everyone and everywhere for the NFL to fix the officiating problem that rears its ugly head on virtually every given Sunday, they have added to the suffocating pressure on NFL officials.

The scrutiny is greater than its ever been, Blandino said, and its gonna continue to ramp up, with everything thats going on, with everything thats riding on these games, as sports betting continues to become a bigger part. It was a big part, but now with it being legalized in so many different states and the NFL really leaning in, the scrutiny is as intense as its every been, and I think the officiating is under a microscope right now.

There always was pressure, but now with social media, and the access that we have and the technology, I think theres a disconnect between an on-field official that has to make a call and then we get to evaluate and critique them based on five or six different angles and slow motion and all these bells and whistles that we have, and thats always been a challenge, but as technology continues to get better and the ability for people to get on social media and complain and show different things, its as intense as its ever been.

For NFL officials, the technology has proved to be both a blessing and a curse.

It_s_open_season_on_NFL_referees_and_it_s_only_going_to_get_worse 4Patrick Mahomes yells at referees during Chiefs’ loss to the Bills. CBSIve kind of felt the last couple of years with how much were relying on technology, and while the technologys good, and replay is overall good, I think the on-field officials are relying too much on the help theyre getting from upstairs, and theyre deferring to that and theyre being less decisive, Blandino said.

Mahomes went ballistic last week after Kadarius Toney was penalized for lining up offside, which nullified a potential game-winning touchdown, but the officials were correct. Mahomes apologized the next day.

When you have Patrick Mahomes, one of the faces of the league thats criticizing the officials, that hurts the credibility of the officiating staff, and thats never good, Blandino said. I get it, I understand the emotions, I understand what happened, and these players are under so much pressure.

Aikman criticized officials for taking their sweet time making a decision on a Packers kickoff with 13 seconds left in the half against the Giants.

It_s_open_season_on_NFL_referees_and_it_s_only_going_to_get_worse 4Troy Aikman has been critical of refs on “Monday Night Football.” Getty ImagesWe talk to our announcers at Fox Sports and stuff, when youre critical of officiating, theres a way to do it without being disrespectful, because what happens is people watch that and their kids are playing youth football or whatever it is and then they treat the officials the same way, Blandino said. Thats the challenge were having at the lower level. I was just as frustrated Monday night watching the game. Troy Aikman was saying what I was thinking, like Lets go, make a decision, lets keep the game moving. Its not great for the league, and I think the league has to just continue to work toward correcting some of these things.

You read that the NFL doesnt feel enough urgency because controversy sells, and the public is obsessed by the game and will watch no matter what. The integrity of the game, however, is no less important to the league than it has been. See players suspended for betting on NFL games.

Grin and bear it, football fans: There is no cure-all.

But what about full-time officials? Better-paid officials? Aaron Rodgers thinks its a good idea.

We throw the word full-time around, Blandino said. And Im not gonna sit here and say, Hey, if you spend more hours at your craft, youre not gonna be better at it. I think thats true. I do think officials during the season are as full-time as they can be. Its not like other sports, like baseball and basketball where they have multiple games each week.

They look at a ton of film, they have conference calls, Zoom calls. They get feedback from the league office, theyre evaluated, theyre looking at their previous game, and then theyre looking at their upcoming game. They spend a lot of hours. Yeah, a lot of em do have other jobs, and that is gonna mean youre gonna work a job and then have to do these other things at night and they do make sacrifices.

But I do think they are putting in a lot of work during the season, and I think theres an opportunity in the offseason to get together more, to work on getting them on the same page. They do go to OTAs, they do go to training camp with the clubs. I dont know if just putting a full-time moniker on them and paying them a little more solves ***** all ***** the issues, I dont think theyre ever gonna be perfect, and I think thats what people expect, and I think thats never gonna happen.

The speed of the game mandates younger, fitter officials, for sure. Twelve officials, the highest number in a decade, left or retired following last season.

Theres no replacement for experience as you get more reps, you get more snaps, youre gonna get better as an official, but as you get older, you get a little slower and things like that, Blandino said. When I first started in the mid-90s, officials were coming into the league, they were 45-to-50 years old when they first got in. Theyre coming in younger, theyre coming in in their 30s, early 40s. I think thats a good thing because with where these athletes are and the speed of the game, the officials have to be able to keep up, and so I dont necessarily think its an age thing, I just think its having that right combination of experience, youth and putting an emphasis on physical fitness.

What about a sky judge?

I think the league is moving in that direction, Blandino said. I did the XFL last year in the spring, and we let the coaches challenge anything one time and you could challenge whatever you wanted, and it worked. It helped eliminate some mistakes that were gonna have a big impact on the outcome of the game. I always hear former Giants GM George Young in my head when I worked at the league office and we were talking about bringing replay, George was tremendous, just kind of making sure, Lets not let replay take over the game, and I would never want to see a game where were just waiting like a green light after every play: OK, I checked everything, were good.

I just think we need to find a balance. Limit it, correct whether its the last few minutes or the last five minutes where those plays, a team has less time to overcome an officiating mistake with a minute to go. We gotta live with some mistakes, its a human game played by human beings, but I just think that a sky judge concept could work.

AI, anyone?

I do think there may be an opportunity for that, Blandino said, but the bottom line, especially in a game like football, I dont know if we could ever replace the on-field officials, because the best officials, especially the best referees, theyre great game managers they keep the game moving.

NFL deputy CIO Aaron Amendolia told SiliconAngle: Our officials, our skilled people in the field, thats where the decisions going to happen. But how can we take some factors of information, supply it to them faster, supply it to them more accurately. Do we have wearables or other types of devices that we can pipe information to officials, you know, potentially to other people who have aspects operating the game? Thats what were looking at.

It_s_open_season_on_NFL_referees_and_it_s_only_going_to_get_worse 4Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell screams at a referee. Getty ImagesRules changes have left officials and players alike confused. Roughing the passer is not always roughing the passer.

I do feel like on some of these body-weight calls, I think weve gone a little too far, Blandino said. Look, player safetys always gonna be the most important when you talk about rules and rule changes and officiating, but you feel like on some of these plays, its just a normal tackle. Its the momentum, its a big guy, a defensive lineman trying to tackle the quarterback. They just go to the ground and were getting 15-yard penalties. So Id love to see them just kind of review that in the offseason.

Total penalties per team each game, which includes declined penalties, is 7.2 this season, up from 6.6 last year.

Defensive pass interference numbers are up this year, Blandino said. Theyre calling more, and I dont know if thats because were just seeing more contact. I think some teams do play very aggressive in the secondary because they have the approach of, Hey, theyre not gonna call it every time. But I dont see a major issue with pass interference right now other than the numbers being a little bit up.

Is there enough accountability?

They are held accountable, but we know its just not publicized, Blandino said. The officials that grade out well will get postseason assignments, theres bonuses tied to that, compensation. If you dont grade out well, youre sitting at home, and if you dont grade well and youre in the lower tier, and its over a course of time, you could lose your job.

Commissioner Roger Goodell reiterated this week that officials get 99 percent of calls right.

I love Roger, but 99s a stretch, Blandino said.Its probably closer to 95, 94. … He added a couple.

But 99, 95, 94 not good enough for fans.

Its not, Blandino said. They want 100.

And its not possible, its just not possible.

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