Am I alone?

[aj_law]

in not caring if the regular officials come back or not?

All of these talking heads are crying about how it'll be a travesty having replacement refs officiate these games.

Really?

We're talkin' about the same officials that people complain about...constantly...that they're making terrible calls or missing stuff.  Now, people are whining that they want them back?

Fuck them.  They're not irreplaceable.

Just like the players, replacement refs will get better with reps.  Yeah, they might miss a little more than the regs do, but they're not terrible...generally speaking.  It's not like they pulled some guy who was bagging groceries at Stop & Shop and asked him to do the job.  These guys have done it before, just at different levels.  They need to get used to the speed of the game and once that happens, the mistakes will be minimized.

[pensodyssey]

When did replacement players ever provide an adequate substitute to the real thing?

Weak argument.

[aj_law]

Sorry.  Didn't mean to make it sound like I was comparing the replacement refs to replacement players.

I meant like players generally, the replacement refs will get better with seeing more and more reps at NFL speeds.

In fact, unlike replacement players, the referees need the league a lot more than the league needs them.  A league with replacement players is junk.  A league with replacement referees is annoying, but serviceable.  And IMO, will only improve as the season wears on.

[aj_law]

It's a small group, but membership is growing.

[jonzr]

Can't say I gave officiating a single thought at any point.

[pensodyssey]

Man, I watched 3 complete games sunday and I thought the officials were absolutely laughable.  Not just missed calls, but strange things like a block in the back called on the kicking team (sf v. gb; wtf?) and endless replay reviews in that NYJ-Buf game causing it to end at about 4.30.  Then there were things like not explaining review decisions, consistently erring on numbers on penalties, and at least three times I can remember, not giving a number at all.  Spots were all over the place, too.

They simply got lucky that no one call decided the outcome of a game.

[aj_law]

If replacement refs were still officiating the games, it would be the #1 news story in the NFL today.

Blown call after major gaffe after blown call.

Absolutely pathetic.

Good thing they brought these guys back.

*eye roll*

[Big Virgil]

Ya - it's the substitute teacher mentality.  Do and say whatever you want and it's "acceptable" because it's the sub.  The regular comes back and everyone minds their p's and Q's.

Same with the NFL.  It was a pile-on situation with replacements.  Now nobody will/can criticize reg refs, or ole Roger will start threatening them.  The networks don't want to jeapordize their next contract, so the announcers don't really talk about it. 

It's a bunch of baloney.