The Officials Ruined a Great Lions and Packers Matchup

Let's get to Packers and Lions, Albert, because this was sort of the, the main entree, uh, of, of Sunday.

But it, it, it very, it very quickly devolved into an officiating fest.

And I, I love our guy, Bill Huber, who covers the Packers for on SI and I think Bill said something to the effect of, over the course of 19 years covering the Packers, I've never written a blame the ref story until now, like, The the officiating in this game just felt so out of control, and I'm wondering what your take is, Albert.

Um, I thought my buddy Mark Cessler had a good thought that like, these referees, some of these referees feel so observed, and not just from the general public, but from, I 100% agree with that.

What analytics that are deciding their assignments from 3:45 Park.

That they're calling everything like painfully to the letter of the law with no nuance.

I, I 100% agree with that that are just like ridiculous.

Yeah, I, I don't know if I would have said observed.

That sounds like a real Cessler thing to say, but um.

I'd agree with it though, like, I think it's right.

Like I, I, I, I, uh, I, I, I, I think that the level of scrutiny on them is like, at, at an all-time high, and I think it's because we can see so much.

I think it's because we can see every angle of every play in crystal clear, high definition.

Is his toe in?

Is his toe out?

Did the corner tug on the right shirt sleeve of the receiver?

I, we can just see so much now.

And that's why I think like what happened last week at the owners' meeting.

Look, they're trying to take the temperature down, and I think that this is why they are going to make a real effort to try and televise replay review by the end of the regular season, the same way the ACC does, the same way the Big 10 does, and I think the reason why, Connor, have you, you've watched those, right?

Did we talk about this on Thursday?

I don't think we talked about this on Thursday, but I, I, I think.

I, the reason why , the reason why you do this, like when you watch those, don't, do you not like usually come away, be like, oh, that makes sense, you know what I mean?

Like, even if you're mad about the call initially, it's like, then you hear them talking about it, it's like, oh, OK, you know what I mean, like, like I really feel that way.

And so I think like a huge part of this is like they're just There's naturally been a lack of transparency around officiating , whether it's that, whether it's, you know, only making the official who made a horrible call that affected the game available to one reporter, while the player who was involved in it has to go in front of throng of media.

Like, I, I, I just think the more they can do to help the officials out with replay review, to create some transparency around the process, the better.

Um.

I mean, I, I just, I don't know.

I, I think officials have a really hard job, you know, and I'm not saying that every official has done a great job, but I do have some sympathy for them and that the game is being played at a faster level than it's ever been played at before.

They have to deal with like 15 different like rules changes or clarifications or points of emphasis every single year, and they have to retrain their eyes to see those things every single year.

And it's, it turns into a big mess, you know, and That's why I've been, again, I'm gonna use this term that I've used a million times.

That's why I think they need to tear it down to the studs and figure out how to use the technology effectively.

But to your point though, I, I mean, to your point, I, how much of an improvement would it be?

So, I'm gonna draw a comparison to the Jalen Hurts thing, right?

And the Jalen Hurts thing with, with the, with the blood clots and with the injury, it sounds so nefarious because we're not privy to any of the conversations that happened between when it started and when it ended.

So, within that silence, we can fill it with what we believe to be the potential worst-case scenario based on the way that the NFL has behaved in the past.

Does that make sense?

Yeah.

And then it's almost like Lamar Jackson, right, where Lamar Jackson doesn't have an agent.

So we don't know when he's hurt, how hurt he is, and for how long he's going to be out.

And so in the void of that, there always develops this little kind of smoke cloud of like, oh, is he, is he doing this because he doesn't have another couple of years fully guaranteed on his contract.

And so that percolates.

And I think in this situation, In the absence of us being privy to the officiating conversations.

We automatically assume what gambling, uh, the NFL is trying to rig the game.

And so, the fastest way to take that away is to just open up the, for us to hear the, the referee's conversations, you know, um, and even if the NFL is leaning on some of these calls or whatever, it's so easy to fake for our, Like, you know, it's so easy to stage for just for our understanding of it.

I don't know who's complaining about the games being too long, but add another 5 minutes to a broadcast and we have to listen to officiating conversations.

I think it would be illuminating.

I think it would actually be kind of interesting.

And I, I think it would.

Help their case ultimately, Albert, you know what I mean?

Like it would humanize them.

It would be like, hey, I saw this.

I think this is what I saw.

Oh, yeah, I saw it too, or no, no, no, you know, like, bring us into that, you know, I think we're like seeing replay assists too, um.

You know, used effectively in some spots like, do you see the play, the Bengals Ravens roughing the passer?

Yes, awful, right?

So like probably one of the worst roughing the passer calls you'll ever see where, you know, the, the Ravens D-lineman, um, basically jacks up the Bengals' offensive lineman, pushes him in the burrow, and like shoves basically like.

Pushes the guy's right elbow into Burrows's face.

So, I think to an official out there, it probably looks like.

Burrow got freaking elbowed by the Ravens D-lineman, right?

So they throw the flag, and then like 15 seconds later, replay assist calls in, like within 15 seconds, replay assist calls in, no, you gotta pick that up.

They announced it over the, over the, the stadium PA and it's done, and it's done.

And it was that quick.

And I felt like rather than replay assists, put one of these guys in every stadium, so there's one guy focusing on every game.

And give that guy, make that guy a part of the officiating crew.

That's the sky Judge model.

And what governs him is the, the 20 seconds, you know, the, the, the, the, the, the, the 40-second play clock, and you can tell him like, you, if you're gonna make a change, you gotta come in the 1st 20 seconds of the play clock, whatever it is, you know what I mean?

Like, but you gotta make it fast.

And to me, like that kind of governs it to a point where it's like, you're not gonna get 51, 49 calls overturned there, you know, it's gonna have to be pretty clear.

Um, so yeah, I mean, they, they should modernize this.

They should, and I've always said this, like, technology should make stuff more efficient, like, Is technology making television more efficient?

No, right?

No.

You can't flip between channels anymore.

You have to go into this and out of that.

And like technology and television has become kind of a means for making money rather than making the.

The viewer's experience more efficient.

And I sort of feel the same way with this, where it's just when you just pile more technology upon more technology upon more technology, rather than figuring out, OK, like , what do we need to take away to add the technology, then you're gonna have a real problem.

The whole thing's gonna get all tangled up.

And that's where my whole argument for tearing it down to the studs comes in.

It's like, no, like, figure out the way that you can use the technology that you have now and build around that.

And um I think that would, I think a good start would be having a replay official, a sky judge, whatever you want to call him in every stadium.

I think that, uh, to pivot back to the game for a second, I think that And, and we can have a separate discussion about how unappetizing it is, I think, for Josh Jacobs to just be playing while he's still under investigation.

Like, it's just like, OK, I'm off the commissioner's exempt list, I'm gonna play now because our running games in the hole.

And, but then after that, I can possibly get suspended again.

I don't know.

And I thought Burkhardt and Brady did a really good job.

Like, this is all you need to do.

In the NFL.

Hey, here's why Josh Jacobs wasn't playing in the first place, everybody.

Read the list of charges, you know, read the list of allegations, and then we're off, you know, and like, OK, at least we've done that and not be like, well, there were some issues in the past .

No, just say it, you know, we're all adults here.

Except for the kids watching it, but like, explain to us you're creating, I mean, the reason the NFL doesn't want that is because they're so obsessed with getting the casual viewer, and they're afraid that the casual viewer might be tuned off by tuned out or turned off by that you get into it, like you realize what you're into, you know, but it's, yeah, I mean, it's like, it's like, look , like there's.

Uh, these aren't Boy Scouts, you know, um, in a lot of cases, some of them are, but like these, these, like a lot of cases they aren't, and, um, when there's something serious to be said, you say it, you lay it out, and once you say it, like, OK, like now it's on the table and, um, everyone knows, and we're not avoiding it, and we've given the information that's necessary.

Here's why he didn't play the 1st 6 games of the year, and then you can move on and call the game, right.

Um, and it's like, who doesn't know that, like , and I'd be interested, wouldn't you, wouldn't you be interested to know too, again, we're going off in all kinds of tangents, but wouldn't you be interested to know too, like.

Is that the league office telling so and so not to say it, or is that so and so in the booth just figuring the league office wants them to shut up about it and not say anything, you know, I mean, I think that all sorts of stuff can get lost in translation or the lack of translation, you know, uh, which I think is interesting, but Josh Jacobs, the player on Sunday, obviously added something to, I mean, he is markedly better than what they have.

You saw him wiggle his way out of traffic and gain yardage that the Packers just didn't have access to during the previous weeks.

And if I were Green Bay, Yes, like, this loss sucks, it sucks that it's to a division rival, it sucks that the Vikings keep winning, but I wouldn't come out of this feeling like it's a complete and total disaster.

This one feels like the referees kind of removed it from your hands, although.

If Dan Campbell makes that decision on 4th and 4th down, deep in his own territory, Albert, you got to make him pay for it.

And you can blame Trey Smack for missing a field goal at the end of that one, but like, you, you have to make them pay for that and score a touchdown.

I think the Lions are coming around though.

Like, I think, like you saw what Jamir Gibbs' actions at the end of the game.

That's really still a smart team, you know.

Oh yeah, it's really thought he was gonna tear his ACL, but he kept falling down like that.

I know, I know that last wasn't that last one awkward.

So I had him on the phone after the game, and I, I forgot to ask.

It was actually my, my, my son, my 10 year old who was in here, and he was like, Did you ask him why he felt that, like if it hurt, how he fell that way.

It's like the most simple way to like say it like, yeah, I should have asked that question, but it's a great job by, uh, who is that, uh, Drew, Drewer, yeah.

Yeah, but I, I thought like, cause it was, it was interesting.

I asked Gibbs, right?

Like, this is like another aside, but Um, when he first slid, if you noticed, like, so you slid on the two runs at the very end, right?

And on the first one, he slid about 1 yard short of the marker, and my thought on that was, oh, that was really smart , because now, like if they pick up the 1st down, the game's effectively over, so he's basically created more plays for the team.

And, um, he said to me, he's like, yeah, I actually got in trouble for that.

He was like, I was supposed to get the 1st down and then slide.

And he's like, and, and he's like, but I had the same thought process as you did.

And to me, it was like a good example of like, like, that it was smart of the team to tell him to slide, but he was like actually exhibiting another level of it where he's like, well, if I slide 1 yard early, then I'm giving us more plays, and that'll help us run the clock out.

So, um, You know, I mean, credit to the Lions because I, I'll say what you will, the defense did get the stop they needed to get, right after the 4th and 1 call, which I would not, I'm not gonna defend Dan Campbell on that.

I thought that was, I thought that was a little ridiculous to go for it in that situation from your on 42 or from your own, your own, I'm sorry, from your own.

You're on 24.

You're on 24, um.

But they get a little, they get the stop they need, which the defense deserves a ton of credit for that.

They're able to stop the Packers.

Packers don't pick up a first down.

They get a little lucky with smack missing the field goal, and then they drive the field to win the game.

And This feels like, so now they've got Brian Branch back, and maybe they get Kirby Joseph back in the next few weeks, and maybe the defense isn't as bad as we thought it was.

And so, it's starting to feel like these pieces are picking up, uh, are starting to, to come together a little bit for the for the Lions.

I mean they have, I think, a couple of best players in football at their positions and Gibbs, and Saint Brown, and Sewell, and then even on the defensive side of the ball, Hutchinson, you know, and so to get some of the defensive pieces back that they've been missing, they add Cade Mays to the offensive line, which was a big offseason pickup for them, you know, um.

I think the Lions might be becoming what you and I thought they were before the year cause I knew you and I had talked about that.

I, are you, are you concerned at all about like Gibbs' usage?

Yes, but I'm, I've, I've gotten to the point, and I've talked to enough coaches and players over the years that like, No one is as concerned about their usage as I am, you know what I mean?

And I think, you know what I mean ?

Like, it's just like, this isn't baseball, it's not a relief pitcher.

Like, these things aren't taking place yet, uh, at the NFL level.

These thoughts, these conversations.

Christian McCaffrey is probably the closest thing to like a true load management situation that we have with a star player.

Player in the NFL, everybody else is just out there slamming their bodies in a Vitamix blender, man, you know, it's just like, and, you know, I can say that it's like, well, well, it's like the effect of losing Montgomery, and then you pay Gibbs what you pay him, and it's like we want to get the most out of him, right?

And it's like, and, and I can understand like you also have the, I mean, it's just a temptation, like he's your best player, so of course you want him out there in all situations, but I, I just , I wonder if that's gonna have any effect later in the year, but they throw for over 300 yards , they run for 119.

Um, yeah, I, it's, uh, Jason Williams scores another couple of touchdowns, like, it's a, um, It's They've got a chance to build some momentum here, really big game next week against the Vikings, which we touched on earlier, and uh And yeah, I mean, like, I, I, you know, you look at their schedule, that game in Germany, they've got a chance to go into that game in Germany against the Patriots at at 6 and 2, pretty good.