The NFL needs to take out the clowns wearing the stripes.

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Frying Pan Sports

The NFL needs to take out the clowns wearing the stripes.

By Bill Smith

Technorati Tags: nfl,football,officials,Ravens,Titans,fans,strike,coach,Big 10,college football

How can you tell the difference between an NFL official and a postal worker? The postal worker is the one that is armed. If the NFL officials continue to rob teams and fans of wins they have earned on the field, the zebras may need to be armed as well.

Officiating in the NFL has been getting steadily worse. The playoff game between Tennessee and Baltimore is just the latest example of ineptness.

The play clock runs out on the Ravens, and no official stops play. The Ravens complete a 32 yard pass and move on to win the game.

A Raven is twisting Tennessee running back Charles Johnson backwards after he is down trying to break his back. One of his linemen come up and pull the offender off. The officials call the lineman for a personal foul.

This was a playoff game. This collection of clowns are supposed to be the best in the league. If these guys are the best, that explains a lot about how sloppy and unprofessional the officiating has been in the regular season.

Any coach or player that even suggests that an official missed a call is fined and or suspended. GET A GRIP. If these guys can’t do a better job than that fire them all and the pinheads that manage them and start over. Even if you get Big 10 officials, it can’t get any better. And the Big 10 officials are nothing to write home about.

These guys are either totally incompetent or are fixing the games. It is impossible to come to any other conclusion. I don’t for a minute believe that the NFL is fixed. I believe the officials are just totally inept.

Anyone that operates without accountability operates inefficiently. That is the problem with football officials in general and NFL officials in particular. When an official screws up, with only one exception, it is the coach that complains about the error that gets fined and sometimes suspended not the official.

Part of the problem is that in general the officials are too old, too fat and way too slow to keep up with the game that gets faster and more complex every year. As a former coach in semi-pro football, I have the scars of someone that took on the officials. I won the battle but the war goes on.

I have also officiated games. It is not easy but how do you fail to notice the play clock expiring or a guy going out of the back of the endzone?

I don’t imply here that the officials intentionally make bad calls or fail to make calls based on a desire for one team to win. They are not athletes and can not keep up with today’s game. Over the years the NFL has adjusted the mechanics of officials to offset the speed issue. But no adjustment can be enough to make up for a bunch of overweight old men trying to keep up with the speed of the NFL game.

It is WAY past time that the NFL make public when an official is suspended or fired. Covering up the errors and omissions of these men is unacceptable. It is also time that the coaches and the players who question decisions of the incompetent officials be labeled as whistle blowers and protected from the Nazi style retribution of the league.

The fans have had more than enough of this crap. The players risk their limbs and futures to win a championship deserve better than these clowns. If that is the best you can do, dump the league because it is getting to the point that it is not worth watching. If it does not improve very soon, it is time for a fan strike. I will be happy to lead it.

That’s what I think. Tell me what you think.

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams, has officiated both football and basketball, done color on radio for college football and basketball and has scouted talent. He is a senior writer for NFLDraftDog.com and edits fryingpansports.com. He has also published several novels on and edits .

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  1. Duck.

    Steve’s last blog post..Eric Howard, Hoover North Canton Running Back

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