Saints vs Rams NFCCG thread

To be clear...no, I don't think the no-call was a conspiracy, I think it was incompetence. But to indulge the conspiracy theorists for a moment, do you really think you'll get Goodell to admit to a conspiracy? The league covered up the concussion scandal for decades. They'd bury this one like Hoffa without breaking a sweat. So, you go after the refs. If there were a conspiracy, they would have had to be in on it. Put it all on their shoulders, hang them out to dry, and at least one of them will crack

 

I don't like the idea of lawsuits, period. I only suggest it as the most efficient means of uprooting the conspiracy that, as I've already said, I don't believe exists. They were incompetent, not corrupt. The ideal reaction to what has happened, imo, is severe, public disciplinary actions against the officials involved. That includes Vinovich, or whatever his name is, because I've seen a video breakdown that suggests he lied when he said he didn't see the play. Discipline could be anything from a substantial fine, to suspension, to firing; dealer's choice. I'd also tweak the rules to allow a video replay official more control over helmet-to-helmet plays, both to overrule the onfield refs if they make a bad call, or to call the penalty outright if the refs miss it. That rule would have given us the same result as if the refs had called the PI. Don't like the idea, as some are suggesting, of allowing replay to call PI penalties from the booth. PI is like holding, very subjective in its interpretation, although usually more visible to the fans. Allowing the booth to step in opens a can of worms I would not like to see opened. But booth review of helmet-to-helmet is practical, and speaks to the league's supposed intent to make the game safer.

Edit: one more change that should happen. Referee scheduling should be adjusted to ensure that no referee officiates a game for his home town team. This may have to have a "unless unavoidable" clause for the regular season; I don't know how many refs the league employs or where they all live. But given 16 games a weekend during non-bye weeks and 8 refs a game, that's 128 refs on staff, at least. They should certainly be able to come up with 32 on playoff weekends who don't have a residence conflict. Corruption or not, the optics of a ref blowing a call that badly in favor of his hometown team are just awful.

 

Mike Florio writes this morning that it now appears there will likely be no rule changes stemming from the no-call. His reasoning....the league just doesn't have to change. There is simply nothing out there that can compete either for their advertising revenues or their seat sales. And they don't believe the public will protest with their wallets. Sad to say, he's probably right, at least on the reasoning. Just hope he's drawing the wrong conclusion. The powers-that-be should feel obligated to put the best product possible on the field. That didn't happen Sunday.