Chains

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

I guess the point I'm making is that all the tech, replays, reviews, etc. marginalizes the officials on the field in the name of "Getting it right".
And then we argue the next day anyway about the Dez Bryant call and others and blame the officials for throwing the game to one team or the other. C'mon man.

It doesn't marginalize field officials - t brings them into the spotlight. I also disagree that it really has anything to do with "Getting it right". Everything the NFL does is to increase profit - if "getting it right" increased profit, then they would "get it right". They haven't been "getting it right" a lot of the time, even with instant replay. If 2 hour football games were more profitable to the NFL than 3.5 hr ones, then they would still be 2 hours.

Regarding chains and instant replay, I have been impressed at how accurate officials have been at spotting the football. Instant replay has verified their accuracy in most cases, but perhaps knowing that they would be scrutinized in slow motion leads them to spot more accurately? Hard to say - there were complaints about spots prior to instant replay and there are still complaints, even after instant replay causes the spots to change.

We argue the next day because slow motion replays have changed the way we view live action football plays - football occurs very fast and it should (in my opinion) be officiated based on what we see in real time. If mistakes are made, sobeit...but again, it comes down to lining the NFL's pockets.

Officials have been accused of throwing games long before instant replay came along. Instant replay just gives them a new set of tools for throwing games.