[thehef]

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

When video shows flags were thrown before the "offender" made contact with anyone (as in Minnesota), or before the snap (as in Washington), incompetence can't be considered the cause.

In the Minnesota example, I think incompetence can be the cause, because it's certainly possible the ref thought he saw something.

In the Washington example, we just don't know because we don't have the referee's side of the story and can only assume that McL's version is the truth.

In both cases, it would be nice for the NFL to be transparent. Not holding my breath... (And in particular, it would be nice to hear the ref and/or replay booth folks' reasoning for allowing the Raiders' TD to stand.) Actually, in this new era where gambling is essentially part of sports establishment, I would think it would behoove the NFL to be as transparent as possible regarding these types of calls... rather than leaving them open to the type of interpretation that calls into question the very integrity of the sport.

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

But even if I was to believe that was the cause, then that incompetence would warrant termination, don't you think?

Progressive punishment & other remedies, up to termination for a minimal record of repeated incompetence? Absolutely. It could be that on the Minnesota play the ref just blew it but otherwise has a very good record. I could let that slide...

Again, I don't know what really happened with the McL play, so it's hard to say...

On the subsequent non-call of PI in the end zone, there would have to be some consequences for that unless the NFL is basically telling refs to swallow their whistle at the end of games, ala NBA. In that case, it's not necessarily on the ref... (and what complicates this is that non-call despite obvious PI are frequent in the NFL, so that particular non-call was not out of character for the NFL refs; rather, it was only noteworthy for it's impact on the outcome of a game)...

In the case of the Raiders' non-reversal, whoever made that call (to uphold the call on the field) needs punishment. If it was someone in the replay center, then they need to be fired because that's their only job - to get replay reviews right, and this was an obvious one. If, OTOH, it was ultimately the on-field ref and he has a good overall record, then I would not necessarily fire him... Because, as you say...

Originally Posted by Cobra Mgr

Imperfection is to be expected...

But there is a limit, both in terms of quantity and degree of bad calls.