A dark day for the NFL...

[Demi]

To be fair even the other refs would occasionally allow coaches to challenge instead of a timeout. I could swear they let Frazier do the same thing just last year.

[BGM]

What is inexcusable are the illegal hits that are occurring because players feel brazen enough to do them with the replacement refs. Players are getting hurt while the NFL whistles past the graveyard. It sickens me.

[PurpleMustReign]

Does anyone think thaty Harbaugh knew what he was doing and that he was dealing with idiots for officials? I think he was playing the ignorant card and knew damn well he wasn't supposed to be allowed to challenge it.
What a tool. I have lost almost as much respect for the 49ers as a team as I have with the Saints.

[dead_poet]

Does anyone think thaty Harbaugh knew what he was doing and that he was dealing with idiots for officials? I think he was playing the ignorant card and knew damn well he wasn't supposed to be allowed to challenge it.

The more I read about how he went about it, the more I can believe he was trying to manipulate the officials through supposed "ignorance." It's pretty well known that you can't call a challenge after you called your last timeout. That isn't some buried rule.

[Juice]

Does anyone think thaty Harbaugh knew what he was doing and that he was dealing with idiots for officials? I think he was playing the ignorant card and knew damn well he wasn't supposed to be allowed to challenge it.
What a tool. I have lost almost as much respect for the 49ers as a team as I have with the Saints.

I would like to think it isn't true, but after watching him during the Packer and Lions game it wouldn't surprise me.

[mansquatch]

I hate what the replacement refs are doing to the NFL brand, but I do not think it is gong to end. Major League Baseball had a bunch of Umpires resign in protest in 1999. MLB hired new umpires and eventually the umps who retired had to renogotiate a new agreement at a disadvantage to get back into MLB. MLB didn't even bat an eye.

I personally feel that the NFL could shed viewership over this if it goes on too long, which you have to think has some at the office concerned. I hate seeing the integrity of the game tarnished in this way. However, the problem the Refs face is that while the replacement clowns are not good now, they are probably well compensated and will likely get better as time goes on. The question is twofold: Can the Replacements become as good as the old refs and how long will it take? Is that time too long to prevent shedding viewers? The NFL seems to think time and ability are on their side.

It seems like the "real" Ref's only card to play is fan dissatisfaction, but fans not watching the game is a trailing indicator, not a leading one. IMO, the refs should buckle, it might reach a point where the NFL will tell them their services are no longer needed.

[indianation65]

"Illegal hits" used to be called good football when I was a kid. Heck, just 10 years ago it was called "Hit Somebody!"

...wisdom

[PurpleMustReign]

As for the Jim Harbaugh thing, I hate to break it to you guys, but Toby Gerhart DID fumble it three times, and I think the refs only called one of them. The 49ers are who got screwed initially by the ref's not calling it in the first place and that's the point that everyone is missing. Had they adhered to the challenge rules like the world is so upset about, we would've gotten away with a fumble and it would've been Harbaugh that got screwed by them ignoring a Viking fumble.

I've never agreed with limiting challenges in the first place because if a team is a victim of one-sided officiating, they are SOL if it keeps happening over and over again. I'm just glad our defense squashed any comeback and this all happened in the final minutes of the game anyway so it didn't kill any momentum for us.

He was ruled down (whistle) for the first one. Plus, did you see how he was being tackled? They practically made him a woman pulling his legs apart. I'd drop the ball too then.

[vikeinmontana]

He was ruled down (whistle) for the first one. Plus, did you see how he was being tackled? They practically made him a woman pulling his legs apart. I'd drop the ball too then.

ya that is all that matters PR. i just watched it again and you can clearly hear the whistle. play was over. doesn't matter if he fumbled or not after that. bottom line....even the real refs miss calls. officiating at this lvel with the speed of the game is nearly impossible. however, what they have that the replacements don't have is knowledge of the rules. refereeing across the league was awful yesterday and it's only a matter of time before a game is literally decided by one of these missed calls.

on a side note....can we please stop acting like there is a big conspiracy with officiating in the nfl?! give me a break. the guys are out there doing the best they can in real time. they don't have the luxury of sitting in their living room watching slo-mo replays 15 times at 12 angles before making their call. even the replacements are doing the best they can and there is no big conspiracy to win games for particular teams. their issue is their best simply isn't good enough at this level.

[Hunter Morrow]

Well sure, and Gerhart's knee was done which was why it was whistled dead. The guy who said it was a fumble and overruled a knee on the ground that caused the play to be whistled was like 30 feet away from the incident. It was an illegal challenge and the wrong call that gave a competent offense the ball back with over 3 minutes left in the game and 1 challenge and a 2 minute warning left? Just imagine if that turned into a 2 minute offense that capped off with a touchdown/2 pointer? The entire dynamic of the game would have been changed. Think how many games we've either lost or won in those scenarios.

[Knoxx]

Actually I don't think the play was blown dead because a ref thought a knee was down but rather forward progress was stopped and he was being held up and being pushed back.

[S197]

"Illegal hits" used to be called good football when I was a kid. Heck, just 10 years ago it was called "Hit Somebody!"

...wisdom

And many of those players are either taking their own lives or living with debilitating head trauma.

[PurpleMustReign]

And many of those players are either taking their own lives or living with debilitating head trauma.

Exactly.

[PurpleKoolaid]

And many of those players are either taking their own lives or living with debilitating head trauma.

Actually not many really. But you get paid big bucks for being an NFL player, and thats part of the price. They are over doing it now, and in a few years, if it continues as it has been, there wont be any football. I get the calls on a QB, like the one on Shaub yesterday. But if your catching a ball running in the middle of the field, you KNOW your going to get hit. Dont go there if ya cant take the hits.

[indianation65]

"Everyone" knows, football, like hockey, like full contact mix martial arts, like UFC, like boxing, etc., is brutal. Congratulations to everyone on the gift of "choice." When I rode my bike all day long, I fell and hit my head, butt, shoulders, elbows, knees, etc., but I was okay, even if I hit hard on cement. I know there may be some hits that are clearly not good, such as a side shot right at the knees, but defenders not being allowed to hit with the facemask? C'mon, I bet the offensive players hit with whatever they want.

Addendum: I am not against protecting players, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who believes that penalties for some kinds of tackles has gotten out of hand, and I know I did not coin the phrase, "Well, they may as well put dresses on the quarterbacks these days. Ya' can't even hit'em anymore!"

...wisdom