Flea Flicker Midseason All-Pro Team

The Midseason Awards were handed out Wednesday. Here's the Midseason All-Pro Team.

Quarterback
Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Running Back
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Fullback
Patrick DiMarco. Atlanta Falcons

Receivers
Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans

Tight End
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots

Tackles
Tyron Smith, Dallas Cowboys
Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns

Guards
Zach Martin, Dallas Cowboys
Marshall Yanda, Baltimore Ravens

Center
Nick Mangold, New York Jets

Defensive Ends
J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
Chandler Jones, New England Patriots

Defensive Tackles
Aaron Donald, St. Louis Rams
Kawann Short, Carolina Panthers

Linebackers
Anthony Barr, Minnesota Vikings
Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers
Jamie Collins, New England Patriots

Cornerbacks
Josh Norman, Carolina Panthers
Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks

Safeties
Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings
Charles Woodson, Oakland Raiders

Anywhere that they play him
Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona Cardinals
-he has to be on the team but he plays everywhere: safety, slot, outside

Kicker
Justin Tucker, Baltimore Ravens

Punter
Jeff Locke, Minnesota Vikings

Returners
Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks

Throwback Thursday: All-Time Franchise Coaches

Here's a Flea Flicker look at the best coaches in the history of each franchise.

Minnesota Vikings
Bud Grant
There really is no other choice. Grant is a Minnesota state icon. If Mike Zimmer wins a Super Bowl, or more, there will be another choice.

Green Bay Packers
Vince Lombardi
There's actually a debate here. Lambeau vs. Lombardi. Lambeau won six NFL titles. Lomabardi won five. It took Lambeau about a quarter of a century to get his six. It took Lombardi nine years to win five. Lambeau did win his first five in a span of 11 years. Then you have Mike Holmgren and Mike McCarthy. They are damn fine coaches too.

Chicago Bears
George Halas
Enough said.

Detroit Lions
Buddy Parker
Parker should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Lions of the 1950s were a dynamite team. Parker coached them to three straight Championship games, 1952-54. Winning in 1952 and 1953.

New York Giants
Steve Owen
Or Bill Parcells. Or Tom Coughlin. Each coached the Giants to two NFL titles. Owen wins the tiebreaker on the basis of being a Hall of Fame player. He was a lineman on the Giants team that won the 1927 title.

Dallas Cowboys
Tom Landry
I'll go with coach that led the team for 29 years. The Cowboys first 29 years. Landry coached them to two Super Bowl wins.

Washington Redskins
Joe Gibbs
Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks.

Philadelphia Eagles
Greasy Neale
Neale was a terrific football player before the days of the NFL. He coached the Eagles to the 1948 and 1949 titles. The talk at the time was that those teams might have been the best teams that the NFL had ever seen.

New Orleans Saints
Sean Payton
Not much competition for this one.

Atlanta Falcons
Mike Smith
Smith's first five seasons coaching the team were great. The last two weren't. They got him fired. Dan Reeves took the Falcons to the Super Bowl in 1998. That season was an outlier. In his seven seasons in Atlanta Reeves had led the Falcons to two winning seasons.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jon Gruden
He won a Super Bowl.

Carolina Panthers
John Fox
He got the Panthers to a Super Bowl.

San Francisco 49ers
Bill Walsh
Big surprise here.

Seattle Seahawks
Pete Carroll
Two Super Bowl appearances. One win.

St.Louis Rams
Dick Vermeil
Vermeil won a Super Bowl. This might have gone to George Allen if the ownership at the time hadn't gotten in the way.

Arizona Cardinals
Don Coryell
Coryell should be in the Hall of Fame. He's better known for his time with the San Diego Chargers but had a feisty football outfit in St. Louis. Bruce Arians will be the choice if he keeps up his current pace.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Chuck Noll
Noll built a dynasty in the 1970s. Four Super Bowl wins.

Cleveland Browns
Paul Brown
Easy one.

Cincinnati Bengals
Marvin Lewis
Lewis has managed an extremely successful coaching career with a team that was a disaster for a decade before he arrived. Forrest Gregg and Sam Wyche got the Bengals to the Super Bowl. That challenges Lewis for the title.

Baltimore Ravens
John Harbaugh
Harbaugh or Brian Billick. Harbaugh gets the nod.

New England Patriots
Bill Belichick
Little mystery here.

New York Jets
Weeb Ewbank
He won a Super Bowl.

Buffalo Bills
Marv Levy
Levy wins over Lou Saban. Levy coached the Bills to four straight Super Bowls. Those teams are among the best to have never won it all. Saban led the Bills to two straight AFL titles.

Miami Dolphins
Don Shula
Another easy one.

Indianapolis Colts
Weeb Ewbank
Ewbank is the best for two teams! He turned the Colts from a joke into a champion in the 1950s. Having Johnny Unitas helped.

Jacksonville Jaguars
Jack Del Rio
He had the Jaguars competitive for a few years. Tom Coughlin is in the running. Dan Quinn is building an intriguing team now.

Tennessee Titans
Bum Phillips
Phillips and his Houston Oilers of the late 1970s were a serious threat to the Steelers dynasty. Those teams might have won titles in any other era.

Houston Texans
Gary Kubiak
Dom Capers, Gary Kubiak, Wade Phillips, Bill O'Brien. It's a short list. None has a winning record with the team but the choice is an easy one. Kubiak led the Texans to a couple of playoff appearances and a couple of playoff wins.

Oakland Raiders
John Madden
The younger folk know Madden better for the video game that carries his name and/or his broadcasting career. He was an excellent football coach.

Denver Broncos
Mike Shanahan
It's tough to go against the coach that led the team to two Super Bowl titles but I have fond memories of the Red Miller years.

Kansas City Chiefs
Hank Stram
Stram built and coached the Chiefs into an AFL power. The 1969 team that won Super Bowl IV is often overlooked historically. Fantastic defense.

San Diego Chargers
Sid Gillman
Gillman had to be some team's best coach. He was as innovative as any coach the game has ever known. He built the original "west coast offense."

Flea Flicker Mid Season Awards

This is about as fun and as meaningful as predicting the awards before the season starts. So, here's a look at which players have done well through the approximate midpoint of the 2015 NFL Season.

MVP
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Brady has been awesome and he has the Patriots sitting pretty at 7-0. In a surprise to just about everyone Andy Dalton has been in the running, and remains in the running, for this award.

Offensive Player of the Year
Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
There's no player that is more difficult to defend in the league than Gronkowski. He tilts the field every time that he's on it. If not for a couple of down games due to injuries this award would go to Julio Jones.

Defensive Player of the Year
J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans
This is probably Watt's award until the day that he retires. He's the best player on the field nearly every week. Von Miller, Fletcher Cox, Luke Kuechly, and Josh Norman have had "defensive player of the year" moments.

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams
Gurley has been a beast from the moment that he started playing regularly. Amari Cooper is keeping the chase for this award a close one. So is Stefon Diggs of late.

Defensive Rookie of the Year
Eric Kendricks, LB, Minnesota Vikings
Kendricks has been terrific all season. There are a lot of players deserving of this award. Marcus Peters, Leonard Williams, Kwon Alexander to name three.

Coach of the Year
Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings
I'm so glad that Zimmer's long-deserved head coaching shot came from the Vikings.

Comeback Player of the Year
Eric Berry, S, Kansas City Chiefs
Berry beat cancer and returned to the game in less than a year. He should have had his name engraved as soon as he stepped on the field.

Flea Flicker Power Rankings

Just an opinion.

1.   New England Patriots
2.   Denver Broncos
3.   Cincinnati Bengals
4.   Green Bay Packers
5.   Arizona Cardinals
6.   Carolina Panthers
7.   Minnesota Vikings
8.   St. Louis Rams
9.   Atlanta Falcons
10. Oakland Raiders
11. New York Jets
12. Seattle Seahawks
13. New Orleans Saints
14. New York Giants
15. Indianapolis Colts
16. Pittsburgh Steelers
17. Miami Dolphins
18. Buffalo Bills
19. Philadelphia Eagles
20. Kansas City Chiefs
21. Washington Redskins
22. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
23. Dallas Cowboys
24. Chicago Bears
25. Cleveland Browns
26. San Diego Chargers
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. Houston Texans
29. Jacksonville Jaguars
30. San Francisco 49ers
31. Tennessee Titans
32. Detroit Lions

There it is.

Week 8 Thoughts

The Minnesota Vikings finally won a game in Chicago.

The Vikings defeated the Bears on a 36-yard Blair Walsh field goal as time expired. 23-20.

The Vikings offense didn't do a lot until the final two minutes. They scored 10 of the 23 points in the final 1:49.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had some accuracy issues for most of the game. He finished with 17 completions in 30 attempts for 187 yards. He completed six of seven for 106 yards on the Vikings final two possessions. He also added a 19-yard run on 2nd and 17 to get the first of those last two drive going.

Vikings rookie receiver Stefon Diggs has played in four NFL games. In that time he's become the team's top pass-catching threat. Bridgewater looks for him early and often. Diggs had six catches for 95 yards. His 40-yard touchdown with 1:49 to play tied the game. at 20-20. He made a Lions defensive back miss at about the 30 and was off for the endzone. The final couple of yards were a battle. He won. Diggs as put up yardage totals of 87, 129, 108, and now 95 in his four games. The feeling here is that he's just warming up.

Diggs' hot start was made possible when the Vikings had some injury issues among the receivers four weeks ago. Charles Johnson was one of those injured receivers. His 35-yard catch over Bears safety Antrell Rolle set the Vikings up for Walsh's game-winning kick. Welcome back Charles Johnson.

The Vikings really need receivers other Diggs to step up as they move forward. Bridgewater targeted Mike Wallace four times. He had no catches. Jarius Wright had one catch for 8 yards. Johnson had the one big catch. Huge catch. Other than that it was all Diggs among the receivers.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson looked like he was going to have a huge day. 75 yards in the first half. He got to the second level of the Bears defense on several occasion. He had only 28 yards in the second half. That drop in production was due more to the Bears offense than their defense.

The score was 10-10 at the half. The Bears controlled the second half. Except for those final two minutes. They opened the second half with a 12 play 68-yard drive that took up 6:32. It ended with a field goal and 13-10 lead. Vikings punted. The Bears responded with a drive of about 3:30 that ended with a missed field goal. Vikings got a field goal. The Bears responded with another time-consuming drive. 14 plays, 74 yards and the kept the ball for 8:34. The only Bears possession that didn't get the Vikings on their heels was their last one. A three-and-out. The Vikings needed to get the ball back. And the defense got the ball back quickly. The Vikings benefited from two of the three plays being incomplete passes. That preserved their timeouts. The Vikings greatly benefited when Jeremy Langford dropped the third down pass. He had the first down and should've had the catch. That drop made the Vikings game-winning drive possible.

The Bears did a fantastic job of keeping the ball away from the Vikings offense in the second half. And they did it without outstanding running back Matt Forte for most of it. He suffered a knee injury at the end of their first drive of the second half. He didn't return to the game. Langford played well in his place. 12 carries for 46 yards. But that one drop takes off some of the shine.

Bears quarterback Jay Cutler can be very frustrating defense. When he's not being a downer he's a terrific quarterback and he often seems to be a terrific quarterback against the Vikings. He led a very effective, ball control offense in that second half.

Cutler even ran for a touchdown.

Alshon Jeffery looks healthy. He missed several games at the start of the season. He's back. The Vikings really had no answer for him. He caught passes against Xavier Rhodes. He caught passes against Terrence Newman. He scored their lone touchdown in the first half. He moved the chains in the second half. He finished with 10 catches for 116 yards. Other players made some plays but the Bears offense ran through Cutler and Jeffery. Especially after Forte left the game with the knee injury.

Cutler's touchdown toss to Jeffery was the 137th of his Bears career. That ties him with Sid Luckman for most touchdown tosses in franchise history. In today's pass-crazy NFL it's astonishing that a franchise touchdown tossing record dates back to a player that played in the 1940s.

Bears second-year corner Kyle Fuller is a keeper. He shut down Diggs in the first half. Aqib Talib and Chris Harris of the Broncos couldn't do that. Sean Smith and Marcus Peters of the Chiefs couldn't do that. Rashean Mathis of the Lions couldn't do that. Fuller got an interception in the second quarter when Bridgewater tried to force a throw into Diggs. It was a terrible decision and Fuller took advantage of it. That set up the Bears first half touchdown.

Each team's first half touchdown was set up by the special teams (Vikings) or defense (Bears).

Vikings punt returner Marcus Sherels returned a Bears punt 65 yards for their first half touchdown.

Every NFL game is a struggle. Road games against division foes are struggles. This was a game in which many people, especially fans, felt that the Vikings should easily win. It's always a struggle. The Vikings haven't won in Chicago in a long time. This was a big win even if it wasn't a pretty win. Pretty doesn't impact the standings.

The Vikings are on a three-game win streak. A streak of that length hasn't happened for a while.

Sid Luckman
Adrian Burk
George Blanda
Y.A. Tittle
Joe Kapp
Peyton Manning
Nick Foles

It's always cool to hear mention of Sid Luckman these days. His named popped up twice yesterday. The above is a list of quarterbacks that have thrown 7 touchdowns in an NFL game (AFL in the case of Blanda). Drew Brees joined that list yesterday.

The New York Giants and New Orleans Saints took part in a video football game. The Saints scored the most in the 52-49 contest. Crazy games like this usually come down to the team that has the ball last. The Saints had it last. They won.

This game was ridiculous. Brees had nearly as many touchdown passes as incomplete passes. 7 touchdowns vs. 10 incompletions. He completed 40 of 50 passes for 511 yards and those record-tying seven touchdowns. Video game stats. He had 300 yards passing at the half. The 511 total passing yards was one of the top passing totals in league history.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning also had crazy statistics. That tends to happen when the score is 52-49. He completed 30 of 41 passes for 350 yards and six touchdowns.

The 13 total touchdowns between the two quarterbacks must be a record.

Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. caught half of Manning's touchdowns.

Beckham had 8 catches for 130 yards and three scores. Sometimes he makes football look way too easy.

The room for those that have thrown seven touchdowns in a game is getting crowded. Three have come since 2013 (Manning, Foles, and Brees). 44 years passed between Kapp and Manning. It's difficult to say whether it will ever be broken. If it ever is I think that it will happen in a game like this crazy Giants-Saints game. A game in which both teams are scoring at a video game pace. A seven touchdown game usually comes in a blowout. Quarterbacks are too important to a team to chance leaving them in a game simply to get a record. The next game is always more important than individual records to coaches. Yesterday's game was easily the closest game among the games that held tossers of 7 scores. Tittle's game was the next closest game. A 49-34 affair.

The NFL had another early London game. The Kansas City Chiefs "hosted" the Detroit Lions. The game started at 6:30 on the west coast of the U.S. The supposed home team Chiefs thrashed the Lions. 45-10.

Nearly all of these London games are terrible games. The travel and logistic hassles simply aren't conducive to smoothly played games by both teams. These exported games aren't going away as the NFL has agreed to an extension of them into the next decade. If anything we'll see more of them. I guess that the league is set on "expanding the shield" with a shitty product. It's a damn shame.

Someone had to win in the San Diego Chargers-Baltimore Ravens game. It turned out to be the Ravens. 29-26. Both talented teams have been having a helluva time getting wins. The Ravens have been in every single game right to the end of them.

It was terrible to see Steve Smith Sr. go down with an Achilles injury. He's already announced that this is his final season. It's terrible to see it end like this. He's not only of the best receivers of this generation. He's been one of the most entertaining football players the game has ever seen. He'll be missed. Already is.

The Arizona Cardinals defeated the Cleveland Browns by a couple of scores. 34-20. The Cardinals were supposed to defeat the Browns by at least a couple of scores. The final score doesn't show the fight that the Browns gave the Cardinals. The Browns were up 20-7 at one point. Then the Cardinals got down to business. 24-0 in the second half.

The Cincinnati Bengals welcomed the Ben Roethlisberger back with a 16-10 win. This game was more like the AFC North defensive battles of old rather than the offensive fireworks that we expect from these two explosive offenses.

Todd Gurley is good. His St. Louis Rams team handled the San Francisco 49ers 27-6

The Vikings have to slow Gurley next week.

The Oakland Raiders look good too. They handled the New York Jets 34-20.

The Vikings have to slow the Raiders in two weeks.

The Jets lost starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a thumb injury when the game was a young 0-0.

Geno Smith replaced Fitzpatrick and he often looked like he wasn't sure what sport he was playing.

The Seattle Seahawks outlasted the Dallas Cowboys in a 13-12 scorcher.

The Cowboys got receiver Dez Bryant back from a broken foot. He wasn't much of a factor, except as a decoy, with two catches for 12 yards.

The Seahawks still don't look like the team that played in the last two Super Bowls.

The Denver Broncos defense have been playing great defense season. That defense is the reason for their lack of a single loss. They played their best game of the season last night against the equally undefeated Green Bay Packers. The Packers aren't undefeated anymore. Broncos won 29-10. It really wasn't that close.

The Broncos offense probably had their best game of the season because Peyton Manning had his best game. And they were able to run the ball effectively. The offense gained over 500 yards.

The Broncos defense held Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a stat line of 14 completions in 22 attempts for 77 yards. He was sacked three times and hassled many more. Simply suffocating stuff there.

The Packers at 6-1 lead the Vikings at 5-2 in the NFC North. They meet for the first time this season in three weeks.

I am so sick of the idiotic FanDuel and Draft Kings commercials. There were two FanDuel commercials in a single commercial break. It's the most redundant, excessive commercial campaign that I've ever seen. How much is enough?

Speaking of commercials, the McDonald's "Game Time Gold" campaign is difficult to handle. Seeing Mike Ditka in Packers garb and Jerry Rice in Cowboys garb just looks wrong. So wrong. I'd rather see about a thousand of those commercials before I see another commercial from those fantasy football idiots.

Week 8 Picks

Week 8 is here! About half of the teams will be at the midpoint of their season after today's game. Amazing. The season feels so young.

The New England Patriots slapped the Miami Dolphins back down to earth on Thursday night. Here's a look at the remaining games in week 8.

Buffalo, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Washington are on bye.

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
Pick: Vikings
The Vikings haven't won in Chicago since 2007. Adrian Peterson was a rookie then. He ran for 224 yards that day. That great day. The Vikings have to end this sad streak.

Detroit Lions @ Kansas City Chiefs
Pick: Lions
Jim Bob Cooter! It's Cooter time in Detroit. Both teams are struggling through frustrating seasons. The Chiefs lost Jamaal Charles for the season. The Lions fired Vince Lombardi's grandson. The offensive struggles of the Lions resulted in the firing of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn this past week. Quarterback coach Jim Bob was promoted to the coordinator spot. It's Cooter time!
Jim Bob Cooter!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons
Pick: Buccaneers
This is a "why not" pick. The Falcons struggled to beat the Tennessee Titans last week. A Titans team without their starting quarterback. The Buccaneers blew a huge lead against the Washington Redskins. I have an easier time seeing the Buccaneers responding favorably. But Julio Jones could blow up that thought.

San Diego Chargers @ Baltimore Ravens
Pick: Ravens
These two teams combine for three wins. 3! Very surprising. The Ravens have had a shot in every loss. They were within a single score in each. They have to come through this time. At home. Against a Chargers team that keeps finding ways to lose.

Arizona Cardinals @ Cleveland Browns
Pick: Cardinals
The Cardinals had a close one on Monday against the Ravens. This one shouldn't be.

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans
Pick: Texans
Coin flip.

New York Giants @ New Orleans Saints
Pick: Giants
The Saints have played a couple of good games since Drew Brees returned to the lineup. The Giants are a mystery. They win games that they should lose. They lose games that they should win. I'll go with the mystery team. For some reason.

Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Pick: Steelers
How will Ben Roethlisberger perform in his return from injury? The Bengals have been perfect. At least when it comes to wins and losses. And wins and losses are the only things that really matter. Can they continue at this perfect pace? This feels like the right time, right team, and right place for that first loss.

San Francisco 49ers @ St. Louis Rams
Pick: Rams
Todd Gurley and the Rams defense. That's a fantastic combination. The Rams always seem to play like a Super Bowl contender when they face a division foe. Th 49ers have been a mess more often than not.

New York Jets @ Oakland Raiders
Pick: Jets
The Raiders have been one of the great surprises of the season and they have a bright future. The Jets are a more complete team right now.

Seattle Seahawks @ Dallas Cowboys
Pick: Seahawks
The Seahawks haven't played like a team that took part in the past two Super Bowls. The Cowboys haven't won a game since they lost Tony Romo and Dez Bryant to injuries. The Seahawks have more going for them right now.

Green Bay Packers @ Denver Broncos
Pick: Packers
A great nightcap. The two teams combine for a splendid 12-0 record. Something has got to give. The Broncos have had a more difficult time staying undefeated. I trust Aaron Rodgers more than Peyton Manning to score enough points to win this game.

Indianapolis Colts @ Carolina Panthers
Pick: Colts
The Monday night affair. The Panthers started the season with four breezy wins. They passed much stronger challenges the past two weeks to get to 6-0. This season has been a disaster for a Colts team that entered the season with Super Bowl dreams. Andrew Luck leads his team to enough points to win this week. He's far too good to struggle like he's been struggling.

An unprecedented five teams entered this week at 6-0. New England, Cincinnati, Green Bay, Denver, and Carolina. If my ludicrous picks hold, two teams exit week 8 undefeated. New England and Green Bay.

Jim Bob Cooter!

Officiating Blues

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.