A Brief Statement on the NFL's Referee Situation

As the title says, this'll be brief.  I won't pretend to know all of the details.

If you saw the highlight from the final play of the Seahawks-Packers game last night, you'd think that the situation has hit rock bottom.  Seattle WR Golden Tate may have committed an offensive pass interference penalty even before the moment in question, but the way the rules are stated, it is clear that because Golden Tate gained possible possession of the football after the Packers defender, it should have been ruled an interception, rather than a touchdown.

We need Ed Hochuli and his guns back ASAP.

I, like you, would like to hope that the positive in this situation is that the NFL will work harder with the referees to get them back into the game.  Beyond ruining the integrity of the game, the lack of experience (some would say ability, as well) for the replacement refs is going to make the game more and more dangerous as the weeks carry on.  Sadly, it was believed that the NFL was assigning the best replacement refs to the bigger games, including Sunday and Monday night football games.

Remember that when the players were on lockout last year, the consensus is that the finalized deal favored the owners more so than the players.  I expect that the owners will use that as motivation to continue to avoid bending when dealing with the normal referees union, and that the finalized deal, whether it occurs soon or not, will end up favoring the owners once again.

Unfortunately, this play doesn't strike me as hitting rock bottom, because it won't affect a team's bottom line.  They're still gonna sell tickets, people are still gonna tune in to watch, and advertisers are still gonna pay to show their commercials during the game.  The NFL is a powerful product that is nearly unbreakable here in America.

Perhaps I'm wrong, and perhaps we'll hear about some positive progress in the coming days, in hopes that the refs return soon.  However, I remain skeptical because when it comes down to it, the NFL is a business to these owners, and business is running as usual for the time being.