Mike Salk is such a hypocrite

[Hawknballs]

If the NFL has a human error problem, there is no perfect solution, and there will always be outrage. Would younger referees make a difference? Maybe. But perhaps experience is leading to fewer of these 50/50 calls in critical situations. For example, the referee who threw the flag, John Jenkins, is in his late 40s.

Similarly, removing rules doesn't remove subjectivity. Every call and noncall is a judgment, and all decisions are subjective. We've seen the NFL try to solve this with more generalized definitions, leading to many odd interpretations. So they backpedaled into stricter descriptions which, paradoxically, have a similar outcome. We saw the pros of the more strict variety when the Eagles had an apparent catch/fumble that was returned for a TD overturned because of the clearly defined "football move." However, the more complexity added to rules, the more likely referees will make mistakes on the field.

In other words, there is no solution to solving the human error problem without turning the game into a legal exercise. Finding the balance between entertainment and competitive balance is the real problem the NFL is dealing with, but few people are willing to grapple with the reality of that situation.

Full time refs trained year-round and tested to identify plays, see things quickly and make the right call based on a career of training would go a long way in removing a lot of the 'human error' though. You'll never remove it completely but if you think that having professional trained and instructed refs who's career it is to be good at their job wouldn't be more effective than a bunch of folks doing this on the weekend before returning to their regular jobs with no motivation to "be better" I dunno what to tell you.

For some reason we have entered this weird zone of human history where if a solution isn't 100% effective it's discarded. It's ok to strive to be better even if you're not perfect.

 

[jeremiah]

I would propose a new penalty. Failure to attempt to advance the ball. 5 yards, and lose a down. Or instead of losing a down, stop the clock until the snap. Running out the clock should mean exactly that, you run the ball towards the line of scrimmage like there is 10 minutes on the clock.

 

[CPHawk]

I disagree with most on here. I think Philly had what it took to win and failed.
Take away the strip sack touchdown and the Eagles win.
The defensive holding on the cb looked like a hold to me.
Salk has always gotten on my nerves. I started listening again when Huard came back.

And add the stollen away fumble scoop and score, and we aren’t talking about any of this.

 

[knownone]

Full time refs trained year-round and tested to identify plays, see things quickly and make the right call based on a career of training would go a long way in removing a lot of the 'human error' though. You'll never remove it completely but if you think that having professional trained and instructed refs who's career it is to be good at their job wouldn't be more effective than a bunch of folks doing this on the weekend before returning to their regular jobs with no motivation to "be better" I dunno what to tell you.

For some reason we have entered this weird zone of human history where if a solution isn't 100% effective it's discarded. It's ok to strive to be better even if you're not perfect.

Let's be clear. NFL referees are, for all practical purposes, full-time employees for eight months of the year. So the idea that these are weekend warriors during the season is nonsense. Would it improve calls? Maybe. 20% of NFL referees worked full-time/all year for four seasons; people still complained about officiating, and the NFL didn't find it improved the product enough to justify its existence. Also, what makes you think that a highly competitive, high-paying industry, with a limited number of available positions, gives its employees no incentive to "be better"?

Who said the solution(s) should be discarded? My argument is that the solutions presented don't solve the problem. And that no matter how accurate the officials are on a down-to-down basis, one mistake in an important situation will distort reality and confirm the biases of people who are unwilling to accept that human error plays a major part in all outcomes. That doesn't mean the NFL shouldn't try to improve. That does mean the problem isn't strictly related to the NFL.

 

[Vesuve]

This is the guy that said Seattle shouldn't complain about the officiating in Superbowl XL, yet he's going off as if that was the worst penalty call ever!

"It ruined the game!"

Brock Huard: "The DB admitted it was a hold."

Salk "I don't care! It ruined the game!"

I listen to them and like them for the most part, but they have to fill time each morning and I think they have to come up with these little discussions and "debates."

 

[morgulon1]

I listen to them and like them for the most part, but they have to fill time each morning and I think they have to come up with these little discussions and "debates."

Good post. There always has to be a counterpoint or they wouldn't have much to
Talk about.

 

[seatownlowdown]

many things can be true at once. in this case, there was a bad/exaggerated call by the ref and the eagles gave the game away

there's holding literally every play. yet in a crucial moment, a ref throws the flag that had no effect on the pass being completed or not. it was also ticky tack and within 5 yards. i'm neutral, couldn't care less who won the game. i don't think the game was steered one way or the other. but that WAS a sketchy, unnecessary game-altering flag. atleast makes the league look incompetent. took the wind out of the sails of what had been a great game to that point.

but you know what? the fact is the eagles collapsed. were up 10 points at half, mahomes' ankle was injured, and they gave it all away. hurts hurt his team, gave up 7 points by himself on the strip/fr/td. one of the biggest blunders i've ever seen in the playoffs. that can't be discounted. also, eagles wasted play after play trying to utilize the flats which were well covered by KC. eagles sacked mahomes 0 times in the game, gave him time to throw, registered only 1 TFL, and allowed the other 17 second half points. inexplicably left kelce wide open multiple times. let KC's pacheco break contain and get to the edge, keeping KC's chains moving. let a hobbled mahomes run for multiple first downs, including a huge one on the final drive. and let's not forget that last drive before the bad call where eagles defense melted. eagles barked but just didn't have a dog in them. the chiefs never stopped attacking. and to that you give them, the winners, credit.

 

[Mike D in 332]

And I think Salk is playing a character just like Skip Bayless you can’t really listen to too much of what he says, but he covers my favorite team and he’s got Brock and a lot of great guests so I listen anyway

 

[CPHawk]

There is a reason Salk was ran out of Boston. Guy is always whiny and had bad takes. Brock is decent, and deserves to have a good co host. But for some reason he always ends up with someone clueless who just wants to play the contrarian do all their takes.

 

[Jerhawk]

Salk is hit, but mostly miss for me. I think he's a good host but bad at managing that station and poor with keeping arguments sustained.

I felt like that holding call was a huge let down in an otherwise great Superbowl. The refs chose a poor time to inject themselves into the game. They should've just let them play in that situation.

 

[Smellyman]

Salk is hit, but mostly miss for me. I think he's a good host but bad at managing that station and poor with keeping arguments sustained.

I felt like that holding call was a huge let down in an otherwise great Superbowl. The refs chose a poor time to inject themselves into the game. They should've just let them play in that situation.

he doesn't manage the station

 

[Sgt. Largent]

If the NFL has a human error problem, there is no perfect solution, and there will always be outrage. Would younger referees make a difference? Maybe. But perhaps experience is leading to fewer of these 50/50 calls in critical situations. For example, the referee who threw the flag, John Jenkins, is in his late 40s.

Similarly, removing rules doesn't remove subjectivity. Every call and noncall is a judgment, and all decisions are subjective. We've seen the NFL try to solve this with more generalized definitions, leading to many odd interpretations. So they backpedaled into stricter descriptions which, paradoxically, have a similar outcome. We saw the pros of the more strict variety when the Eagles had an apparent catch/fumble that was returned for a TD overturned because of the clearly defined "football move." However, the more complexity added to rules, the more likely referees will make mistakes on the field.

In other words, there is no solution to solving the human error problem without turning the game into a legal exercise. Finding the balance between entertainment and competitive balance is the real problem the NFL is dealing with, but few people are willing to grapple with the reality of that situation.

There have been over 50 new NFL rules since 2000, so the REASON the NFL has a human error problem is because they've over officiated their sport in order to satiate butthurt owners, appease the NFLPA and give the illusion that they care about player safety.

That leaves the officials in an unwinnable situation of having to interpret these dizzying number of new rules, of which most are now changing their definitions just about every year in a game that's getting faster and faster and more physical with every draft class of bigger, faster and stronger players.

This is not even my point in this discussion. My point is the NFL is the only pro league on the planet who's officials don't know their place in the sport. Other leagues have figured out that no one, and I mean NO ONE including the officials want to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the game.

Not the NFL, their officials have absolutely no problem interjecting themselves into the enjoyment narratives of important games, and then throw up their hands when a questionable borderline call is made, and just say "sorry, those are the rules!"

Nah. The officials have to be smarter than that. But they aren't.

 

[Torc]

And yet the NFL makes nearly what MLB and the NBA do combined. Maybe they're doing something right.

NOT making a call that should be made is also injecting themselves into the game. Personally, I do not want the refs deciding when to enforce or not enforce the rules.

"But we deserved to see Jalen Hurts have a minute and a half to tie or win the game." Then maybe his teammate shouldn't have held. Blame the player that broke the rule, not the ref.