The NFL really needs to hire their officials on a full-time basis. Despite an annual/weekly call for this the league has never done so because, unlike other professional sports leagues, NFL games are a once-a-week affair. Why hire a whole bunch of officials on a full-time basis when they only work one day per week? Because they aren't getting the job done effectively and proficiently on a part-time basis.
Through seven weeks of the 2015 NFL season two officiating calls bother me more than the rest. Both occurred during a Monday Night Football game so everyone saw the blunders.
1. The ridiculous "batted-ball out of the end zone" at the end of the Detroit Lions-Seattle Seahawks game. This call was especially egregious as it essentially yanked a win from the Lions and handed it to the Seahawks. It was a horrible call. Seeing it live, seeing it on replays there was never a doubt that K.J. Wright intentionally, and illegally, batted the ball out of the end zone. It was such a bad call that the first thought that occurred to me was that the official didn't even know the rule that applied to the situation. The only other explanation is that he never saw the play despite it occurring right in front of him. Neither possibility can ever happen in a game and the fact that it did is perhaps the greatest evidence ever that the officials should be employed full time.
2. The missed "reporting as an eligible receiver" event that took place in last Monday's Baltimore Ravens-Arizona Cardinals game. In the first quarter, Ravens guard John Urschel reported as an eligible receiver and caught a pass for about a five-yard gain. The Ravens were penalized for an illegal formation due to the supposed fact that Urschel never reported to the officials as an eligible receiver. Replays clearly showed Urschel running onto the field and signalling to the official that he's reporting as an eligible receiver. It looked to me like the official acknowledged all of this. That official later claimed that he never saw these actions even though he was looking right at Urschel. A 6'3" 300 lb man running toward you is difficult to miss. Keen observation to details should be a requirement for employment as an NFL official. NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino made light of this "possible" officiating error because it had really no slight impact on the game as a whole. This is a ridiculous view. It might have been a five-yard penalty negating a five-yard gain in the first quarter but it did impact the game. It was the Ravens first drive of the game. They had just reached the Cardinals redzone. With momentum. Urschel's catch would have given the Ravens a 2nd and less than five inside the 15-yard line. The chains were in their favor and the offense was moving forward. A less-than-observant official put a halt to all of that. Instead of moving forward the Ravens were moving back. They now had first and 15 outside of the redzone. The chains were no longer in their favor and any momentum that they did have was stuttered. They had to settle for a field goal. In a game that was settled by a single score these events did impact the game. An officiating error did change this game. Full-time officials!
These two officiating errors should never happen. They aren't judgement calls. They are instances in which an official simply failed to do his job properly. That can't happen in these games. Who knows if employing the officials full-time will improve anything but it sure couldn't hurt. Too often we are belly-aching about officiating blunders rather than the play of the field. That's just wrong. The average salary for an NFL official is $173,000. For a part-time gig! A part-time gig that lasts about 6 months for the best of the bunch. The current part-time employment does require much more of the officials than a three-hour football game but I don't think that it's enough preparation, analysis, and study. Maybe they aren't getting enough sleep. Who knows? There are far too many occurrences in which they don't look properly prepared. A full-time official wouldn't have to rush home for their day job as soon as that game ends. A full-time official might not make the dumbass mistakes on the field that are becoming frighteningly frequent. These mistakes have become so frequent that something, anything, has to be done. The NFL has to do something about it other than making excuses. Employing the officials full-time would be a great place to start.
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