Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell won three challenges during Sunday’s game against the Packers. There could’ve been a 4th challenge. Also, there was an interception by Green Bay that was clearly not an interception. The play ended up not mattering, but that could’ve easily cost the team the game. The Vikings I believe have been on a the beneficiary side of some calls in the first few games. I don’t want the team to win or lose because of officiating.
I used to get so annoyed at fans that constantly complained about officiating. I refereed soccer growing up and have always understood how tough that job can be. You make a decision in 1⁄2 a second and you can’t really stop the game and say, my bad, that was wrong and change the call. They don’t have 7 camera angles with zoom lenses. They can’t slow the action down and see that his toe hit a blade of grass. I get that.
However, there is so much technology available. We have seen 65 year old’s get run over by NFL players because they’re holding a stupid chain to measure first downs. They can tell you from Mars if the ball went into the end zone, but we can’t use that to determine spotting the ball? No one wants a person with a camera on every play looking for a penalty. However, there are some basic things that can help. They have ear pieces in. Buzz in and tell them the correct call. The Giants vs the Vikings playoff game two years ago was a brilliant example of how replay could be used. They corrected 4-5 calls without even stopping the game.
There is also the bias. Watching a Chiefs game these days is nearly impossible. I don’t know a single sport where the stars don’t get favorable calls. However, the Chiefs level of getting calls at every spot is getting ridiculous. Ravens, Bengals and Falcons were all screwed this year in one score games. They’re on prime time a lot because they’ve won. I get there will be some bias and they will protect Mahomes. It’s been another level to start this year.
Like I said, normally I am on the side of the refs. I think I am now too. I am not on the side of the NFL and the way they are handling it. They haven’t modernized the game and it is showing. Digitally measured first downs/touchdowns, additional resources for the refs and some slight corrections could make the game a lot better. If the fans lose trust, the game will dwindle. The NBA fixed their issues and excelled after. The NFL can’t let itself become MLB hanging on to calling balls and strikes by human eye.