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It wasn’t difficult to have the necessary Short Memory after last week’s game between the Washington Redskins and St. Louis Rams. Between the officiating debacles and the lack of pass defense for the Redskins, the game was difficult to watch. Let’s hope that as the Redskins hosts the Cincinnati Bengals today, the talk is more about the gridiron itself than bad calls made by replacement referees or double moves by the opposing offense.
Knowing that the Redskins’ rookie quarterback Robert Griffin, III can run both excites and terrifies Redskins’ fans. This, combined with the realization that – at the time – the St. Louis Rams’ defense had decided to play their own ‘Bouty-Gate’ type of football, RedskinsNation was left exhausted and afraid for their quarterback by the time the third quarter arrived last Sunday. Fortunately, the Cincinnati Bengals’ don’t have Courtland Finnegan on their team. They rank 27th in the league in pass defense and 19th in rushing defense. By the same token, this is the NFL.
Let’s hope the referees have had some crash courses in mob control this week because according to recent reports, the NFL and the NFLRA (NFL Referees Association) are no closer to an agreement than they were when the replacement officials came to town. A source at the Associated Press termed the situation as having “significant and serious economic gaps” and said that – even after last week’s serious problems during games – the NFL is putting the focus on owners and coaches to keep their players in line while the replacement referees are working.
This past Thursday, “senior NFL officials” made phone calls telling owners and coaches that more respect for the game and better conduct was required from the players. They announced that they were “not going to tolerate it” and that flags, fines and suspensions are possible for players who cross the line.
It’s not only the players who have crossed that line evidently. Coaches across the league are finding themselves going at it more than usual with these replacements as well. After the Detroit Lions’ safety John Wendling drew blood from San Francisco 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith this past Sunday night (Wendling hit Smith as he was sliding at the end of a scramble) and no flag was thrown, head coach Jim Harbaugh had a “fiery” exchange with an official. As a result of many of these types of occurrences this past week, the NFL also sent a memo week to the coaches, warning them against bullying the referees. To say that the frustration level is rising is an understatement.
According to many Washington Redskins players, more than just one or two St. Louis Rams “crossed the line” last week and the results were reactions like receiver Josh Morgan’s throwing the ball at the Rams’ cornerback Courtland Finnegan.
“Somewhere along the line, the game was lost,” Redskins fullback Darrel Young said this week. “It was out of their hands. But some of the penalties that were called could have gone both ways. That was one of the dirtiest games I have ever been a part of. I mean, after the plays were over there were guys twisting guys’ legs under the pile. You could see when Josh Morgan threw the ball; Courtland Finnegan pushed him back down. Stuff like that you don’t coach. I know Jeff Fisher’s not coaching that stuff… nobody wants that.”
By the same token, one can’t blame the Redskins’ loss of that game on the replacement officials and to my knowledge, no Washington player has. Had Washington’s defense been able to find an answer to the combination of Rams’ quarterback Sam Bradford and receive Danny Amendola, the Redskins would not have had to worry about bad calls from the refs.
“We just have to put ourselves in a better position by the end of the game than to have to rely on good or bad calls by the [replacement] refs,” Young stated.
A “better position” would result from reducing the problems on special teams, a defensive scheme that matches the opponents’ game-plan and talent, running the ball so that Griffin is not putting himself in danger so much and good execution by all of the players. The Washington secondary must find a way to contain Bengals’ combination of quarterback Andy Dalton, receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham.
Unfortunately, it’s apparent that the NFLRA and the NFL are engaged in a standoff and the players are the ones that are going to suffer the most from it. While the minutiae of the failure to come to agreement are known only to those deeply involved, the bigger picture is that the NFL itself has nothing to lose while it continues. Professional football in America is not going anywhere. Despite the annoyance of games lasting longer than they should (replacement officials take about eight seconds longer to complete a penalty call than the regular NFL officials), despite the fact that the safety of the players is at risk when the games are in the hands of these replacements, despite the fact that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is once more flexing his muscles rather than forking over the money that would end this replacement debacle… despite all of that, fans will be plunking themselves down every Thursday, Sunday and Monday to cheer on their teams.
I love the way Hall of Fame quarterback Steve Young described the situation on ESPN this past week:
“There is nothing they can do to hurt demand for the game,” he said after the Monday night game in Atlanta. “So the bottom line is they don’t care. Go ahead, gripe all you want. Let them eat cake.”
Hail.
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