Largent80":2efmyzxs said:
This is the problem with NFL games these days. Scouting officials?...REALLY?
I get that Pete wants his players to be on the edge of penalties, but these refs nowadays can't call a game evenly. It seems like they are on the take sometimes. It is making the game not fun to watch or support.
Actually, given that Pete always wants to play on the edge, I'm stunned that he doesn't do this.
Look, these rules are open to interpretation. And different people are going to interpret based on their own personal bias. To think that different crews don't see things differently is to simply be willfully ignorant of the nature of subjective interpretation.
Baseball has been doing this for decades. It's just a natural part of human nature. Not all crews will call the games identically -- in fact it's almost a certainty that they will not. If Pete wasn't scouting and coaching and instructing his players based on who was making the calls then that was him being naive. Period.
Not understanding the tendencies of an officiating crew, when you intentionally skirt the edge of legality is just plain dumb. The only problem I see here, is in the expectation.
I can just see Belichick chuckling to himself right now. Is there anyone who doubts that Evil Bill has a book on every ref and their tendencies?
For the record, I don't think it's about being on the take or anything like that at all. I think it's a collection of people that see subjective interpretation differently. No different than every one of us chiming in with our opinions here. All officials at every level of every sport will see things differently. Knowledge of those variables is absolutely vital. And Pete's admitted misunderstanding of that human element is strangely bizarre and also explains to a great degree why we have continued to struggle with penalty disparity for years.
Frankly, I am just stunned at Pete's reaction. I'm half wondering if he's just misleading us. He's so talented at understanding human nature with respect to players and coaches and staff. I can't believe he actually doesn't understand this regarding officiating crews.
I would hope beyond hope that Pete hires a staffer whose sole responsibility is to analyze officiating crews' natural subjective tendencies. Maybe make that hire today. That would go a long way to cutting down the penalty gap for us.