If you think the inconsistent penalties is what's making the league look weak and stupid right now, I'm not sure you've been following along very well.

I think if you combine modern player speed/size with 70s era rules, concussions aren't going to be the primary issue in the player safety discussion anymore.  That being said, all the rules related to illegal hits and so forth have made the game infinitely more complicated to officiate, and I think that, more so than any major decline in the quality of officials, is the problem with officiating.

It's completely counter-intuitive and will never happen, but I personally think they'd make the game "safer" if they used less safety equipment.  Defensive players risk almost nothing in blowing up "defenseless" players, the physics is entirely with them.  They might make different decisions if they had to worry about smashing up their face or something of the like.

Posted by MikeT23 on 9/23/2014 11:45:00 AM (view original):
If you think the inconsistent penalties is what's making the league look weak and stupid right now, I'm not sure you've been following along very well.

Meh, you know I mean ON THE FIELD.  All the off the field **** just makes the players, coaches, and owners look weak and stupid, but the game would still be watchable.  The refereeing (and the dancing and posing after every play) are what make the NFL difficult to watch.  Frankly, I don't care what they do with their families on Tues-Sat.

After reviewing that replay by Mikey...I'm even more convinced that there wasn't a PI.  What a joke.

I could see not throwing a flag but, when both players are stumbling and falling down, it's hard to make a no call at that juncture in a game.    After all, something happened, right?

To Al's point, that is a brutal call to have to make.  At the beginning of the GIF, the defender's head is turned toward the line of scrimmage, but down (not looking at the ball) as he is driving back into the receiver.  The receiver then hooked his shoulder pads with both hands and pushed off with almost full arm extension, so there's no way to miss that portion of the contact.  I get it if they are saying the defender pushing back into the receiver was PI and everything that happened afterward is moot, but the full arm extension thing almost always draws a flag the other way.

Posted by toddcommish on 9/23/2014 11:25:00 AM (view original):
I'm not saying the Welker hit was dirty or bad or illegal.  I'm just saying that it was much worse than other hits that were deemed "flaggable", and the inconsistency is making the league look weak and stupid.  

I say we go back to the 70's and 80's when Jack Tatum and George Atkinson and Ronnie Lott and Kenny Easley were dismantling receivers, and if players don't want concussions, they can play tiddly-winks or Jenga.  In other words, let the NFL be more like Rollerball (the first one, not the horrible version with LL Cool J) and less like ballroom dancing.

Let the players police it.  Like Harden destroying Largent on a route over the middle, then Largent lighting him up like a Christmas tree on his pick later in the game.  The solution was always simple - if you're not willing to get annihilated, don't go over the middle of the field.

It looked to me that 26 was losing his balance and leaned into Holmes to A) regain his balance B) drive him toward the sideline.   Truthfully, I think it's PI but 26 is also making a good play.    But both of them end up on the ground.   Something is going to get called. 

~

350 and 4 tds. Hahaha!!!

Suckalo.   Congrats on your awesome victory.

Hahahah!!

so 4-2.....the quick glance W/L the rest of the way says to me

NYJ----W
CHI----W
DEN----L
IND-----L
DET----W
GB------L
SD------L
MIA-----W
NYJ----W
BUF----W

so 10-6 and likely the division winner going into the playoffs on a 3 game winning streak......of course there are several games on that schedule that could go either way