The "replacement" officials were much better. The difference? They really TRIED harder. I wrote this little missive about this back in September 2012:
The bandwagon screams "we want the real refs baaaaaack" and it's almost as mindless as "Hope and Change" and the crap the Paulbots spew. I'll take it apart in two points.
1.)
Did you actually forget how BAD the "real" refs are?
We have coaches' challenges, instant replay, booth review and starting this season, plays resulting in a called turnover or scoring play are automatically reviewed. Why?
BECAUSE THE REFS SUCK! That's why. And they always have. Otherwise, why were all these checks made necessary?
The mindless ninnies out there seem to think the "real" refs were a whole hell of alot better than they actually were. Newsflash - they weren't and also aren't all that much "better" than the replacement crew. The replacements TRY HARDER to get it right, and WANT to get it right.
2.)
Blaming the officials when your team loses.
This mindless crap, where did it come from? What happened to placing the blame where it belongs - on your team not executing?
Jimmy Johnson all during his coaching career summed it up succinctly and I'll paraphrase, "We have to be good enough that bad calls don't affect the outcome of the games."
See? WE are to blame if we lose! What a concept! Personal responsibility!
Green Bay fans, your team should NOT have been in a situation where a "bad call" or non call could have affected the game, simple as that.
Why did Jimmy Johnson have that attitude? BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE REFS SUCK and there's nothing he or his players can do about that, except play and succeed far beyond the effect one, two or even three or more "bad calls" or non calls can have!
So stop the whining and the teeth gnashing, nattering nabobs and place the blame where it goes - YOUR TEAM.
NFL: Your public relations is TERRIBLE on this issue. Fix it like this:
1.) Tell the "real" refs to stick it up their ass and announce you are going with the replacements for the rest of the season.
2.) List the demands of this union one by one and break it down for the folks - point out that these by and large are RICH DUDES who all have high paying professional careers besides football officiating, and there is NO REASON for the NFL to provide pensions, health care and other perks to PART TIME SEASONAL WORKERS who are rich dudes anyway.
To hell with this crap. Get tough, NFL. Play smash mouth with these spoiled incompetents, these pukes who feel entitled to something NO ONE else has.
If you knuckle under to this union of part time seasonal workers who are rich dudes? You open the door to more such shit in the future. It goes back to why you did the lockout to start with. Shit, or get off the pot. Fish or cut bait.
But, you'll probably punt or take a knee. Weak livered sons of bitches.
And that's the memo.
Fast forward to today, and look at the results. Impossibly, the officials actually got WORSE after the NFL knuckled under to them.
