Those Painful Calls
by CJ Sanchez
17/9/2008
 
Hey, did you see that Dolphins, Cardinals game? No? Me either. I bet it wasn’t as good as the game we were watching though ehy?
 
I get the feeling that Mike Shanahan watched every bit of the Chargers, Panthers game last week and was thinking ‘Hehe, if that happened again this week Norv Turner would really lose his mind!’ Some people might claim that it was a gutsy, tactical minded call to go for two at the end of that game, but I like to think Mike just wanted to watch Norv’s head explode.
 
But either way, it’s that kind of play that promotes the NFL at its best. It doesn’t matter whether you’re home or away, you always go for the win. You take that all or nothing shot that says ‘You know what? I’m better then you and I’m going to prove it’. It may be risky, but successful coaching dictates that the more unexpected a play is, the more likely it is to wind up in the endzone.
 
Of course, the only reason the Broncos had the chance to make that play was a rather dubious ‘fumble to the ground’ call. I’m not entirely sure how the ground can recover the ball, whistle or no whistle, but I don’t think we should be too hard on Ed Hochuli. Or on any other umpire for that matter. I know there’s an army of Chargers fans out there, led by a frothy mouthed Norv Turner, who may disagree with me but the fact of the matter is that the Refs are probably more upset by their bad calls then the fans are. Let’s not forget that these zebra coloured enforcers are not your ordinary sports arbitrators.
 
NFL umpire crews are graded on their performance not just over the whole game, but decision by decision, play by play. These crews are pitted against each other, with the best ones earning the opportunity to enter the playoffs and of course, referee the Superbowl.
 
Now let’s think about that for a second. Isn’t that absolutely insane? What other sport do you know where the ref’s are actually in a competition of their own? What other sport do you know where the calls on the field form part of the tactical play for the teams? What other sport do you know where the ref’s are actually in teams of their own, teams who watch game film and prepare like coaches before a match?
 
It may be a bit nuts, but it’s also sheer genius.
 
When you consider how fast the game moves, how complex the rules are and then look at how few really bad calls are actually made throughout a season, you can see that the system is thriving. The standard of reffing in the NFL is extremely high. And yet, during a game, coaches still have the right to challenge a call they disagree with! That’s how important it is to this league that the calls are made correctly.
 
Compare that to any other sport in the world and you can see how truly superb a system it is.
 
But aside from all that, it’s the theatre of NFL umpiring that I really like. The way the ref addresses the crowd and explains every call with detail and quite often flair, is a part of the game that adds a whole new dimension to the sport. It’s extremely dramatic and we frequently find ourselves on the edge of our seats in that short period of time between the flag being thrown and the delivery of the explanation.
 
A simple gesture from the umpire, in either direction, can make or break your season and the more important the call, the more emphatic that signal will be. And that’s what the fans expect.
 
With all the preparation that they put into every game, from studying player habits to rehearsing calls and all whilst carrying a variable encyclopaedia of rules around in their heads, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that the umpires are probably more upset then fans are at the odd mistake they make.
 
So maybe we should cut them a bit of slack when the calls don’t go our way. Then again, why should we be any less hard on them then they are on themselves? We are football fans after all...
 
Get it right next time Hochuli!