Quote:I'd be ok with the refs using their judgement and instant replay. It wouldn't be too hard; most of the time you can tell by who lowers their helmet first (usually anyway).As for allowing coaches to challenge a HTH call by the refs, it would be cool if coaches could challenge a missed call as well. Say a coach knows his QB got blasted and the ref missed it, for example.


There seems to be a lot of bias towards some of the bigger names in the league. Last week, Suh clobbered a QB with a forearm to the guys face. It drew a penalty, but no fine. If he did that to Brady the NFL would've imploded. I think allowing coaches to review all those type of calls would help balance that out a bit.


On a somewhat un-related side note, I hate that the NFL users older gents to ref these games. In my opinion, younger people who can run and can actually you know, see the field, should be the referees. I laugh watching a 50 plus year old guy trying to keep up with a guy who's running a score in. And don't give me that experience crap either. This is a game that young children play, and these old guys mess up a ton of calls. A little youth couldn't hurt.

 

The problem is officials frequently do not recognize the obvious fact that it was an unavoidable accident. This is like the stupid tuck rule: Even though it was obvious a quarterback was not trying to pass, it used to be ruled an incomplete pass instead of a fumble. The NFL waited 11 years after the famous one by Tom Brady to take that one out of the rule book. If game officials were able to judge a quarterback's intent there would be no tuck rule at the time Charles Woodson knocked the ball out of Brady's hand. So I think someone needs to show officials what to look for before HTH hits are reviewable. Until they learn to just penalize players who are clearly using their helmets to tackle runners and accept the fact that most helmet collisions are accidental, reviewing them will do no good. That is why I said the NFL needs to hire someone who is able to judge a player's intent and train officials in regard to personal fouls. I am all for reviewing HTH penalties, but afraid it will be like college where reviews confirm ejections every time.

 

As for the ages of game officials, there are some young referees. I think every year I see a first-year referee. And we have seen what happens when officials are short on experience: they do everything wrong.

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