Our local papers need to lead on this

[Murilo Bustamante]

Now it's out. Spurrier is talking about the biased reffing against us also.

Our local papers, the (com)Post and the Slimes, need to get out and TAKE THE LEAD on this.

The NFL would **** a brick if the (com)Post started running articles questioning its officiating. The NFL would instantly be on the defensive and you better believe you would start to see some changes.

But if our local papers don't do it, who will?

[OaktonSkins/BushFan]

Originally posted by Murilo Bustamante

Now it's out. Spurrier is talking about the biased reffing against us also.

Our local papers, the (com)Post and the Slimes, need to get out and TAKE THE LEAD on this.

The NFL would **** a brick if the (com)Post started running articles questioning its officiating. The NFL would instantly be on the defensive and you better believe you would start to see some changes.

But if our local papers don't do it, who will?

Like I said in an another thread on the same topic, I don't think sports journalists have the balls (and probably talent) to get into some good 'ole fashion investigative journalism.

[@DCGoldPants]

Peter King did it yesterday. He blasted the Refs in the New England/GB game and the Jax/Tenn game.

[OaktonSkins/BushFan]

Originally posted by Bufford

Peter King did it yesterday. He blasted the Refs in the New England/GB game and the Jax/Tenn game.

Ok - but I'd like to see someone go the distance with this one. I want to see a major 3 day-3part feature story on ESPN. I want to see something on the cover of SI. This should be the football/NFL world equivalent to, say, major exposes on government fraud, waste and abuse. Think Pentagon's $1K toilet seat.

[@DCGoldPants]

you'd have to nail MLB and the NBA first, they are so much worse than the NFL. Come on, Shaq steps over the line how many times in the row? Jordan never travels or pushed off?

[bulldog]

I read the WP article where Spurrier talked about the officiating. Let's face it. He is frustrated and that is coming out. The calls didn't cost the team the game. And the Redskins mistakes put them down so quickly that these comments appear like nothing more than sour grapes.

if you have a 8-2 team that loses a game on Monday night because of a bogus pass interference call in the end zone that is one thing, but at 2-3 and having lost by 37-7, 20-10 and now 43-27 to the solid teams on the schedule his comments are like shouting into the wind at this point.

You have to earn your right to bit** in the NFL as a coach and team, and the Redskins are not there yet.

[OaktonSkins/BushFan]

Originally posted by bulldog

I read the WP article where Spurrier talked about the officiating. Let's face it. He is frustrated and that is coming out. The calls didn't cost the team the game. And the Redskins mistakes put them down so quickly that these comments appear like nothing more than sour grapes.

if you have a 8-2 team that loses a game on Monday night because of a bogus pass interference call in the end zone that is one thing, but at 2-3 and having lost by 37-7, 20-10 and now 43-27 to the solid teams on the schedule his comments are like shouting into the wind at this point.

You have to earn your right to bit** in the NFL as a coach and team, and the Redskins are not there yet.

bulldog - As a practical matter in terms of garnering attention, perhaps you are right. However, I don't care if a team goes 0-16. If they are victimized by poor officiating all season long, then they have a reason bitc*. Also, I believe Spurrier qualified those remarks by saying that they were not the reason the Redskins lost.

[Murilo Bustamante]

Bulldog-

I'm not going to blame the loss on the calls. The Saints played very well.

However-

- take away the Ohaleate call, and the Saints kick a field goal instead of getting a TD. 4 points.

- call the clear case of blocking in the back on the punt return, and the Saints don't get a TD. 7 points.

Already, that's a 32-27 game now, and I've only covered two of the blatant errors.

Moreover, poor play is no excuse for biased officiating.

This has been a trend for several years now (reffing against the Skins in particular)...

- clear blocks in the back springing punt/KO returns against us (Deion a few years ago, the Saints on Sunday, Owens a few Sundays ago- not a punt/KO, but another clear block in the back)

- Chicago was called for zero penalties in our close loss to them last year, until the very last minute of the game.

- Dallas...too many to list.

- against the Whiners last week, mysterious flags flying before some of our offensive plays. The calls would be phantom holds if we made yardage, and the flags would be picked up if the play made no yards.

- When we beat the Midgets last year, there was a phantom pass interference call that set up their TD. Our safety wasn't within five yards of anyone, but called for interference.

Whether because of Snyder, or because the league has decided it prefers other teams, or whatever, we have become the NFL's goat that they can sic their refs on.

I'm the first one to fault poor play/coaching by the Skins, but this

pattern is a reality.

[bulldog]

I don't fully buy the conspiracy theory. now, the Mel Gray pass in 1975 at the goal line that kept us out of the playoffs, now THAT was something to go ballistic about

in the Saints game, didn't calls against the Saints cost them another interception deep in Redskins territory?

in the Arizona game didn't the Redskins get the benefit of the doubt on an interception that iced the game against the Cardinals?

I am not saying the refs are going out of their way to help the Redskins but I haven't seen enough to show they are trying to screw the team either

[proudestmonkey09]

It may not be a conspiracy, but someone high on the officiating totem poll has to look at the tapes of the game between the Skins and Saints and realize that joke of a referee should be penalized or something. This is the NFL. They arent supposed to miss blatent calls, or make terrible calls.

[Murilo Bustamante]

Bulldog-

If it goes on for long enough, there is something afoot.

I agree, we got a few calls against Arizona. And against Tennessee. (And there were a few bad ones against us, which is normal- refs do make mistakes) And usually, we would get them against New Orleans. Usually,we just get the shaft against Dallas, the Giants, and Whiners, and the Squealers.

I think the calls have a lot to do with which teams the NFL wants to get the calls, generally teams with a large national following that the NFL will hype as "the tradition" of the NFL. At the same time their refs are shafting the Skins, though, the announcers (like Maas) are running us down, not hyping our own, richer traditions. Would the NFL let a FOX announcer run down the Cryboys the way Maas ran us down in the last game at Three Sewers in 2000?

And the last few years, I think the evidence shows the refs against us more than for us. And I don't think it's unrelated to who the NFL wants to hype, and perhaps some lingering ill will towards Snyder.

I've just been seeing too much of a blatant bias against us in game after game for several years now for me to think it is all just error.

[Murilo Bustamante]

The problem is, whenever you start to talk about biased refs, people argue with a strawman, like I'm saying this is the only reason we lost.

Of course not, nor would I say that.

We gave up 250 yards on the ground against the Whiners. We had a terrible coach for years (Norv). We gave the Saints five turnovers.

And the Ravens were a small market team with an alleged murderer as a star, but they were so much better than everyone else that they won the Super Bowl.

But our bad play doesn't mean there also isn't a weird pattern going on. How do you explain that bizarre flag-throwing last Sunday, where the refs threw flags on like 4 of our first downs, calling back two of them (when we lost yardage) and calling penalties (one extremely dubious) on the two where we gained yardage?

[bulldog]

we'll just have to agree to disagree. When Gibbs was here and the Redskins had the clear advantage on the line of scrimmage against Dallas I remember the refs calling a LOT more holding calls against the Cowboys

when you have a physical edge on your opponent that makes him overextend himself and do more beyond the rules to try and handle you.

and that has borne itself out over time in the NFL.

the 49ers often got pass interference calls in deciding situations because Jerry Rice WAS indeed held on a lot of pass plays down by the goal line.

teams got holding calls when they were playing the Giants because they WERE consistently holding Lawrence Taylor and Leonard Marshall.

I am sure when the Redskins are in a position to contol the line of scrimmage and the flow of play regularly (as the team did against Arizona and Tennessee), they will get more calls as teams desperately try to catch up against us

[Murilo Bustamante]

Bulldog-

O.k., but Gibbs was more paranoid about this than me! In fact, we have a long tradition of paranoia here at the Skins, as you obviously know, going back to at least George Allen.

Gibbs and Beathard pushed for a much more expansive instant replay precisely because they felt the Skins were victims too often. And when we had that 0-7 run against the Cryboys (pre-1982) Cooke got an NFL ref removed from doing any more Skins' games. I remember once when Montana got injured before we played the Niners, and Gibbs had a comment like "I hope the refs don't decide to call us for phantom roughing the passer just because he's injured".

I think when we play in the same division as the Cowboys and Giants, we need to worry about this issue. The NFL isn't as bad as the NBA or MLB yet, but it might be moving in that direction. (For a while it definitely was when they would protect Ain'tman and let Irvin do whatever he wanted on pass ruotes).