Jerry Jones: With replacement officials, NFL has been ‘exciting’ and ‘great’

[Irving Cowboy]

Jerry Jones: With replacement officials, NFL has been ‘exciting’ and ‘great’
By Jon Machota / Special Contributor
8:56 am on September 25, 2012

The Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks had their Monday night game ended in such a controversial fashion that non-sports related television shows were focused on the topic Tuesday morning.

The highly scrutinized replacement officials made an incorrect call on the final play, a 24-yard touchdown pass that should’ve been ruled an interception by Packers defensive back M.D. Jennings, who made a leaping grab. But as Jennings fell to the ground, Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate — yes, the player that delivered the vicious hit on Sean Lee in Week Two — wrestled the ball away. One official ruled it an interception and another called it a touchdown.

The replay booth ruled it was a touchdown grab, giving Seattle the 14-12 upset win at home and causing chaos to break loose on the field.

Jerry Jones, who has defended the replacement officials, said he didn’t see the ending because he turned the game off around halftime. The Cowboys owner and general manager also said he did not get phone calls about the play.

Yes, that is very difficult to believe.

“I just read a little note in the paper that the Seahawks pulled it out,” Jones said during his weekly radio appearance Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan [KRLD-FM]. “Boy, that’s an impressive Seahawks team. That’s a rough place to play and it shows what that defense will do. I sure am impressed with how the Seahawks were playing, particularly impressed with how they played in that first half. It shows you how tough it is to win.

“We’ve got a lot of respect for a Green Bay team. But that is pretty impressive and frankly makes me feel a little better about the caliber of team that we played up there, not that we didn’t have all the respect in the world for them.”

The Cowboys lost 27-7 in Seattle on Sept. 16.

Jones says the league is working to get the contract issues resolved with the locked-out officials but pointed to how exciting of a season it’s been through three games because only three teams (Arizona, Atlanta and Houston) remain undefeated.

“It’s exciting. It gives us a lot to talk about on our shows that we have,” Jones said. “Fundamentally, when I look at where the league is over the first three ballgames, it’s great. We have a lot of competition.”

:jerry


:Emo

 

[Irving Cowboy]

Jerry Jones thinks you're stupid
September, 25, 2012
By Dan Graziano | ESPNDallas.com

Here it is, folks. Your NFL officials controversy in a nutshell. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, asked about the controversial ending to Monday Night's Packers-Seahawks game, said on the radio Tuesday morning that he didn't see it and hadn't heard about it. Per ESPNDallas.com:

"I didn't see that ending last night," Jones said on KRLD-FM. "I cut it off about halftime."

Jones said he hadn't received any phone calls about the controversy: "I just read a little note in the paper that the Seahawks pulled it out," he said, quickly switching the subject to praise Seattle's team.

Pressed further on the matter, Jones made his best sales pitch.

"We can have all kinds of what-ifs," Jones said. "We've played three games and we've got 16 to play. It's exciting. It gives us a lot to talk about on our shows that we have. But fundamentally, when I look at where the league is over the first three ballgames, it's great. Lot of competition."

That's it, right there. That's the NFL owners' stance. They don't care how ridiculous the proliferation their lockout of the officials makes them or their league look, because people are still talking about and watching the games. And that's why nothing that happens on the field with these replacement officials is going to change anything about the situation.

A couple of people have suggested that Jones' take on this might be different if it had been his team that had lost on the bad call. I do not believe it would. I think the owners have dug in on this, that they believe they are in the right and that what they are hoping to accomplish in terms of dictating and establishing work rules for their employees that are as beneficial as possible to their own bottom lines. I believe a conversation very much like this took place some months ago in a plush hotel banquet hall in Palm Beach, Fla.:

Hypothetical voice of reason (the commissioner, a fellow owner, a league PR rep, somebody): "OK, so another lockout. Second year in a row. This is what you guys want to do, right?"

NFL owners, including Jerry Jones: "You betcha!"

Hypothetical voice of reason: "OK, then. You know it's very likely that if we go ahead with these replacement officials, we're going to look really foolish, get ripped like crazy by media and our broadcast partners and a few of our teams are probably going to lose games we should have won. That's OK with you guys too?"

NFL owners, including Jerry Jones: "Well, is any of that going to affect TV ratings, attendance or advertising revenue?"

Hypothetical voice of reason: "Nope. Not one bit. We'll actually probably keep setting records for that stuff."

NFL owners, including Jerry Jones: "So, what was the problem again?"

Face it, the NFL's owners are fine with things the way they are and aren't about to change the way they're operating this situation. This is what they wanted, and they don't see anything wrong with the way it's working out. That's why Jones can come out and ask us to believe he didn't see the game and didn't get any calls about it. He and the rest of his fellow owners know you're going to keep buying their product no matter how they present it to you. So why should he act as though anything's wrong?