Good call: NFL brings the refs back

Controversy— Calls by replacement referees left fans confused and irate. YouTube

They are back.

After a financial standoff that had football fans slightly perturbed in the preseason and full-on outraged by week three of the regular season, the NFL and its Referee Association agreed on a new deal that ended their tumultuous lockout.

It took the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell 48 mistake-filled, confusion-ridden games to finally back down, and thank goodness they did. Diehard fans let out a collective sigh of relief, and a downpour of appreciation was given to the returning crew of officials. Hundreds of fans and players swarmed social media sites to offer their gratitude to the men who serve in an often-abused position.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Joshua Cribbs tweeted that he “never thought he would be excited for the refs to come back, but it’s about time!”

“Welcome back refs, glad you all were able to get a deal done,” Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller also tweeted.

Even Goodell took the time to apologize to fans for the performance of the replacement officials — a group that included referees from high school and Division III schools — and acknowledge the fumbling procedure.

“We’re sorry to have to put fans through that,” Goodell said. “This has gotten a lot of attention, and it has not been positive.”

The debacle, which was a result of a NFL lockout of officials due to disagreements over suggested salary increases and the handling of employee pensions, left a bad taste in the mouth of fans. The taste only got nastier after the insanity reached its zenith on Sept. 24 during a Monday Night Football matchup with Green Bay and Seattle.

Seattle was awarded a win on the game’s controversial final play, and many believe that the ruling was the tipping point for Goodell.

“The negative backlash from the Green Bay Packers loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football pressured the NFL into getting this deal done,” John Clayton, ESPN’s senior football analyst, said.

“It may have pushed the parties along,” a reluctant-to-admit-guilt Goodell hinted.
Throughout this fiasco, one lesson can be learned: “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”

Before this year, Monday meetings around the metaphorical water cooler to discuss the “blown” calls of the week were the norm. The regular officials, the group we are now so appreciative to see return, did as equally a good job at ignoring the criticism we heaped at them on a weekly basis as they did arbitrating the games.

Recently, one of the most recognizable referees in the game, Ed Hochuli, sat down with Sports Illustrated to break down his career. Including film study and physical preparations taken for the game, Hochuli dedicates 50 hours a week to his job with the NFL. On every play of the game — an average of 160 plays — Hochuli focuses on the most minute of details as he regulates some of the best athletes in the world moving at incredible speed.

Before the play, Hochuli makes sure he is in the right position for any outcome that could develop. He counts the amount of players in the huddle in case they have an illegal amount. He checks the spot of the ball and where it is placed on the field should an incompletion happen. He mentally marks where the tackles are to get a feel for where the pocket is in case of an intentional grounding penalty. He studies film after games to learn the formations that teams run so he knows what to prepare for next time.

Every play is like clockwork to the monitors of the field. Hochuli and his fellow referees are for the most part flawless, seeing holding penalties, calling pass interference and judging if a player is in bounds.

It is not an easy job, and the replacement referees have unwillingly showed us that.
Thankfully, with a newly-signed eight-year deal in place, we will not have to go through this again anytime soon.

Maybe Roger Goodell could learn a thing or two from these new officials.

Hopefully, he makes a better call next time.

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