NFL Officials Continue Lockout
NFL referees are continuing the lockout, assuring the replacement officials to remain locked in.
NFL referees are continuing the lockout, assuring the replacement officials to remain locked in.
The National Football League Referee Association (NFLRA) is hoping to focus on four major topics before coming to an agreement; retirement benefits, increase in salary, additional officials, and working full time vs. part time.
After the lockout started in June, the NFL and the NFLRA met for three days in the beginning of September hoping to resolve the issues at hand, but they were unable to come to an agreement. The NFL plans for the replacement referees to officiate through the first five weeks of the season, but it seems as though it could be longer.
The replacement officials have already shown that they are incapable of keeping the game moving at an acceptable pace. During last week’s Monday night game, the Denver Broncos vs. the Atlanta Falcons, the officials managed to delay the already slow moving 1st quarter by an extra six minutes when an aggressive pile-up broke out after a Knowshon Mareno fumble. It was clear that the officials were unsure on how to take back control after an on field altercation. Similar situations occurred during the Sunday night game, the New England Patriots vs. the Baltimore Ravens. For the sake of the game and players safety, I hope the lockout comes to an end sooner rather then later.
There continues to be an uproar among coaches and fans and the NFL is feeling more pressure to put an end to the lockout.
Not having legitimate NFL referee’s on the field is turning into a huge safety risk for the players. The replacement referees and officials are missing calls that can result in serious injuries. Not only that, but after watching the games become more aggressive, it seems like the players are taking their anger out on each other considering they can’t take it out on the referee’s without definitely receiving a fine.
In comparison to the replacement officials, the normal officials are not perfect. In fact they’re far from perfect. They make bad calls and sometimes don’t make any calls at all, but at least when they make a call they do it with conviction. When a replacement referee takes the field to announce the call, the look on their face is beyond unsure. And when you come off as unsure, people will take notice and take advantage. In this case, players and coaches will grab their arm or screaming in their face in an attempt to intimidate them.
Lets hope that the NFLRA and the NFL come to an agreement quickly, because before you know it we will be in playoffs where every call is crucial and mistakes are intolerable. 
