Owners, coaches, and players aren’t allowed to speak out about the situation.  Or so they say.  I’m the exception.  I’m one of 360,000 owners who has a voice and can’t be fined by Roger Goodell.  So here it goes.

I’ve been trying to think of a way to say this, being a reasonable person and all – but there’s just no way to be nice about the way that the NFL is handling the replacement referee situation.  They’ve had their hands in botched calls and plays in many games so far this season, but tonight’s game featuring my Green Bay Packers @ Seattle Seahawks showcased just how bad it can be.

I worked for Bank of America a few years back, and my manager there coached high school basketball in his spare time.  The one thing he was always proud of was not making calls that would disrupt the flow of the game or have an impact on the outcome of the game, unless it was blatantly obvious and necessary.

Roger Goodell’s replacements could learn a thing or two from that man.  Rather, Goodell should never have put such underqualified individuals on the field in the first place.  @NFLCommish, as he’s known on Twitter, and NFL owners need to step up to the plate and get veteran officials back in there.  Will they be perfect?  Of course not.  But they’ll know how to handle situations 98% of the time and they’ll make sure the players decide who wins games.

This was a conversation I had with a friend of mine, Bill, via Facebook:

Bill:  I want to hear an unbiased Packer fans response to the Seahawks game?!?

You’re one of a very short list of people who came to mind. You must keep in mind, I’m 100% Minnesotan, but have attended more Packer games in Green Bay (4), row 14, 45 yard line. Vikings games in the dome (1), upper deck nose bleeds. I attended collage in WI & know GB what a true football town should be. So they’re my 2nd team to the Vikes.

If you get a moment, your thoughts?

Me:  My Twitter account tonight was a roller coaster of emotions. Haha.

In the end, Seattle “won” the game and that’s that. No hate for their team / coach / fans or anything. They were on the other side of an unfortunate series of events.

The Packers were a class act for even acknowledging the referees’ call to have them come out for the PAT.

The calls were horrible throughout the game, on both sides really – but when the game came down to the wire they were pretty heavily in Seattle’s favor. The roughing the passer call, the PI call, the lack of OPI call on the touchdown – let alone not calling it an INT. So many things wrong there, it’s hard to watch.

Overall the NFL officiating has been sloppy when at its very best. Tonight was a clear case of affecting the outcome of the game.

I truly do believe that the integrity of the game has been put into jeopardy by scab officials. Goodell and the owners need to step up and make things right, and soon. I’m ready to forfeit my fantasy seasons and just watch pro wrestling for the next 4 months.

Bill:  Fair enough, the replacement refs have been sketchy from day one. It’s not “new” news…this was bound to happen.

I’ve got a bunch of buddies who got all wound up about it (Packer fans of course). So I told ’em I could find a Packer fan who’d give it to ya straight. You came through in flying colors.

Final thoughts:  I know I’m not alone in my opinions.  Heck, I even have Seahawks friends who accepted that victory begrudgingly.  I’m not even kidding about being on the verge of giving up on the NFL.  Something needs to happen soon – if not, I kind of hope players and coaches would be willing to stand up and walk out on Goodell and company.  I doubt it would happen, but #NFLAnarchy would be a nice trending topic to see each Sunday until this gets resolved…