Texans Value of Things: Fixing officiating in the NFL

What are some things the NFL needs to do in advance of 2024?

This is always a touchy subject and it is one that has been on my mind for awhile. Still, I wanted to wait until the end of the season because any mention of officials is always associated with sour grapes. Ask any San Francisco 49ers fan and they will point to a call or two that they feel cost them the game. I don’t root for the Kansas City Chiefs or the 49ers, so I feel this is a perfect time to address the issue.

As my name suggests, I used to be a high school volleyball coach. I also grew up with a father that refereed college basketball and some high school football games. While I am not a referee myself, I have served as one in my role as a volleyball coach and know the feeling of having coaches and fans yell at me over calls they feel I missed.

There was probably a time when my father could have moved on to be an NBA official, but it would have meant quitting his job as a central office administrator in the school district he worked. That’s a difference between the NBA and NFL we will get to in a minute. So, he was stuck in college and big time high school games for awhile where he would have to travel throughout Texas and sometimes Oklahoma and Arkansas to referee in the Southwest Conference.

Make Officials Full-Time Employees

Everyone remembers the second Jacksonville Jaguars game and some of the questionable calls in that game. It seems insane, but the head referee in that game is a varsity basketball coach in Oklahoma. How in the heck can someone do a great job at either with all of the travel? Naturally, making officials full-time also means giving them a full salary. It is unbelievable that a multi-billion dollar industry is relying on part-time employees to officiate their sport.

Compelling officials to work full time means they could spend the week going to meetings, watching video replay of their recent games, and probably doing more conditioning to make sure they can keep up. I know from experience that officials do the best they can to get it right and no one can be expected to be 100 percent accurate, but if they were spending 40 hours a week in training, watching old game tape, and reviewing tendencies of the teams in the upcoming game then they could be more accurate and consistent.

Revise the Rule Book

Quite simply, there are rules that have a direct impact on the game and some that are seemingly there because some anal-retentive jackass just felt they should be there. Does anyone really think illegal formations really impact the game? If the team wanted to line up nine guys behind the quarterback it would be incredibly stupid, but it would sure be entertaining to watch someone try.

If a lineman is lined up one foot behind the line of scrimmage who really cares? The same is true for illegal motion. False starts certainly matter, but I don’t care if eight guys are running around the field in a Chinese fire drill as long as they are all set before the snap. Obviously, I am exaggerating to make a point, but there are way too many pre-snap penalties. By sheer definition, those penalties have little real impact on the game, but the five yards certainly can sway momentum or strategy.

Player Safety

I think we all get this and we all get the idea behind targeting. However, the idea behind the call is that you are assuming the defender intends to hurt the player. There are numerous times when an offensive player makes a sudden move and forces the defender to make a sudden change in trajectory. A linebacker running at full speed from ten yards away isn’t likely to be able to do that.

It is far more important to regulate what happens to these players once they are hurt than to punish someone for an intent we often can’t know. Obviously, there are exceptions to this and there are players that are routinely performing dangerous maneuvers. As a general rule, I think most players are simply trying to tackle the ball carrier. You can’t hit a quarterback too high, too low, or after a certain period. Eventually we are just going to give them a red jersey and say hands off.

It’s Supposed to be Entertainment

The NFL reached an all-time low when they made Icky Woods do his shuffle on the sideline. It has been over two decades since that low, but there are still penalties for taunting. I’m not much into trash talking or gyrations. There is something inherently silly about a defender pounding his chest after a tackle when his team is down 35-10. Yet, that pounding is not hurting anyone. Pointing your finger at the defender you juked out of his shoes isn’t hurting anyone either.

Watching the defensive unit run to the end zone for pictures following their fumble recovery or interception seems stupid on some level, but it is also entertaining at the same time. Let the boys play and have fun. Most of them will be out of the league within five years. This is the best time of their lives and some will literally not get back to the end zone ever again.

Transparency

The last point is a simple one. MLB and the NBA release reports about how their officials/umpires are performing. We know how many calls they missed. We may not know precisely what their fines or punishment may be but at least we know Angel Hernandez is awful and we know the league knows too. Now, whether he should be canned or not is a different conversation.

The league admitting it blew calls doesn’t make you feel any better. I know because the NFL has apologized to the Houston Texans before. Unless you reverse the result I won’t feel better in the moment. I will feel better about the overall product if I know you are trying to do better. That’s what all of this talk is about anyway. Most of us are smart enough to know you have a difficult job to do. We just want to know you are trying to be better at it.