Packers / Vikings - Game 3 of 4

[zepman]

It's when people and fans STOP complaining and [PoorWordUsage] that you know you've lost the fan base...that will never happen in Viking land.

[SkunkedAgain]

Is it not the same offensive line that gave Farve all the time in the world last season?

That offensive line was as terrible last season as it is this season. Favre was on his back a lot in the beginning of last season. Go back and watch the tapes. Once Favre threw the game-winning TD to Greg Lewis in the 49ers game, he came alive. It was Favre's ability to improvise and mobility (compared to this season) coupled with Sidney Rice that made the o-line appear adequate last season. Since the championship game ankle injury, Favre has been a lot less mobile.

The biggest problem with the Vikings is the receivers. You have three go-deep receivers in Harvin, Moss, and Berrian. Camarillo is the only possession receiver now that Rice is gone. Shiancoe should be that outlet but he hasn't been special this year. Yes, Harvin has been trying to fill the possession receiver role but he's nowhere as good at providing Favre with a dependable receiving target when there is pressure. The absence of Rice is much more than most figured.

[fishersofmen]

As well as the absence of Chester Taylor.

Don't mind bluelund, he's just bitter his cowgirls are the laughing stock of the league this year....

[SkunkedAgain]

Great point. The loss of Chester Taylor on 3rd down has been huge. I think that Toby will be capable in time, but the offense is missing Chester right now.

[Shack]

It's when people and fans STOP complaining and [PoorWordUsage] that you know you've lost the fan base...that will never happen in Viking land.

and it's working like charm for us isn't it Zep. Once things go south, go for the jugular with on-line blogs, forums, real life MN local media and make those coaches & players who had a bad game suffer and even refuse to open their drapes and blinds while at home!!!!!

Guess what the topic was today around the lunch hour on KFAN??????? DuuuuDaaaDuuunnn! This could very well be the LAST coordinated play-off attempt season of the Vikings being in Minnesota.

[james_walleye]

I'm not one to ever blame the officials for a game. And we all know the vikings left alot on the field sunday night. But don't you guys get sick of these officials constantly having a such a big hand in these NFL games??? I mean come on, who tuned in to watch the officials blow so many calls the other night? And now you have challenges in which the NFL admits the right call on the field was incorrectly overturned. They can't even get the challenges right.

How many Dolphin fans paid for there tickets for sundays game so they could watch the officials take the game away from their team at the end?? In this case the officials absolutely directly had a hand in that Steelers win. Its getting to be a total farce.

[LMITOUT]

I completely agree and have been saying it since week #3. Week 1 was suspicious, then week 2 came along and it started to become more obvious the more I paid attention and it's just spiraled downwards since then. Doesn't matter what game or who's playing, they've all become an officiating mess.

I'm really tired of the officials doing a hack job on calls because they know they'll be bailed out by instant replay, such as both Harvin TD's the other night. It couldn't have been more obvious that he was out of bounds, yet they make the safe call of TD which causes the coach to burn his challenges that should be used for highly questionable plays, which these were not. This happens in almost every game but I used that example as I know most here saw the plays in question.

If there is any argument against instant replay it's clearly evident that it eventually makes the officials lazy and dependent on their "crutch".

[Steve Foss]

I'm not one to ever blame the officials for a game. And we all know the vikings left alot on the field sunday night. But don't you guys get sick of these officials constantly having a such a big hand in these NFL games??? I mean come on, who tuned in to watch the officials blow so many calls the other night? And now you have challenges in which the NFL admits the right call on the field was incorrectly overturned. They can't even get the challenges right.

How many Dolphin fans paid for there tickets for sundays game so they could watch the officials take the game away from their team at the end?? In this case the officials absolutely directly had a hand in that Steelers win. Its getting to be a total farce.

First off, I agree.

Two things going on here. Does a fan blame the officials for a loss in a single game? Sure they do, but it really takes a series of EGREGIOUS ref errors to cost a team a game. Far more often it's the team's problem, not the officials' problem.

Second thing. Are the officials ruining the game? No. They are sergeants following the orders of officers. Rip on the officers who continue to constrict football, not those charged with following those orders. Honestly, the way these rules keep coming down, it's like there are liberals on high trying to make safe a game that is inherently dangerous. Sure, you can tame it, but who likes watching Lawrence Welk? Football danced to a waltz beat ain't wunnerful!

[zepman]

Agree on both the last two posts. However, ONE blown call can completely determine the outcome of a game or more importantly, how the rest of the game plays out.

They need to be better and there is no excuse.

If I remember right...the officials also said (a day removed) a very important P.I. call in the last NFC Championship game was a "mistake" also.

I'm not privy to all the other teams bad calls against them throughout the past year or so but I think Viking fans have been given a reason to cry wolf on this subject.

Dolphins/Steelers game could be the one to determine a home field spot in the play-offs. That will prove to be a HUGE blown call.

[SkunkedAgain]

I agree with Foss but disagree with everything else. Officials have a hard job. MOST of those commenting on here have never been a paid official.

When it comes to replays the officials are paid to make the correct call. They are scored and graded after each game and their pay (ability to ref playoff games) is directly tied to it. They do let officials go and so you have to consistently make the right call in order to continue being a referee. So all this "laziness" talk is non-sense.

Where ref's are in a real pickle is with when to blow the whistle. They used to blow plays dead when they determined a play was over. Now with instant replay, those calls can be reversed especially when fumbles are involved. Therefore, referees have been told to hold their whistles even if they think a player may have been down by contact because the replay booth can determine whether it was a fumble or not. If the ref blows his whistle, the play is dead and there is no review. That is where they are truly handicapped.

The league has always reviewed controversial game calls and shared the results with teams. Childress was a fool for disclosing that information publicly. Yes the fans and media want to know but he wanted to do a "I told you so" more than anything. Other coaches handle these rulings with way more class. There will always be officiating mistakes and coaches can eliminate them by having their teams prepared to beat the tar out of their opponents.

It hasn't been brought up here, but it's gotten plenty of sports talk attention....the issue with Clay Matthews removing his helmet was not illegal. The league stated so. There is no rule stating that you can't do that during a play. In fact, Mike Periera (former head of officiating) posted the following:

Quote:

The helmet started coming off as he was being blocked. He then pushed it the rest of the way off because it appeared to block his vision. The interesting part is that it is not a foul. The rule book is specific when it states, it is unsportsmanlike conduct for "removal of his helmet by a player during a celebration or during a confrontation with a game official or another player." What happened in the Green Bay game was not unsportsmanlike conduct but it was stupid in my opinion. Maybe this is Matthews' solution for not getting called for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless player.

As for the Vikings getting hosed argument, nobody else in the country is showing any sympathy or giving it ANY play so Vikings fans should take that as a sign to stop complaining because they weren't hosed worse than any other team. The only controversy being discussed at any length is Favre and Childress.

[LMITOUT]

It is pure laziness and insecurity.

Who has or has not been a paid official is hogwash. Over the years since instant replay was initiated, the quality of officiating has noticibly declined.

They know they have instant replay to fall back on so they make the easy call and hope that I.R. bails them out.

[SkunkedAgain]

Correlation doesn't equal causation LMITOUT.

[james_walleye]

Skunked did you read my original post above. Im not blaming the officials for the loss. But you CANNOT argue that poor officiating isnt having a hand in way to many games. The Dolphins 100% got a check put in their loss column because of a bad call. What happens the other night if the Packers don't have a challenge left and that horrible TD call on Harvins catch can't be challenged? I'm sorry but when it is now coming down to these guys blowing calls on challenges it steps to a new level. You cannot even try and pretend that in a close game, that taking a TD off the board for a FG isnt having an outcome in a game. Whether its the officials, or the league needing to pay these guys to be full time referees, something needs to change. That refs explanation after reviewing Shiancoes TD.....it was pretty much like he didnt even know the rules after giving the explanation for a reversal.

I also know these guys get graded every week. It doesnt change the facts of what is going on.

[SkunkedAgain]

I didn't say that officiating doesn't affect games. It always has in every sport including football. Blame television and multiple camera angles. The game was easier back then. Bad calls happened, Bud Grant/Vince Lombardi would get mad, and then they went out and continued to coach.

My point is that officiating hasn't necessarily gotten worse but that we see 15 angles in review when the refs had a split second, and then we analyze and argue about it (like we are now) for a week.

[SkunkedAgain]

...and I did read your post where you said

I'm not one to ever blame the officials for a game

[james_walleye]

What part of that says the officials blew the game for the vikings?? I said they blew alot of calls, including calls that went the vikings way. The most blatant i believe was the Shiancoe TD. But im not blind, the no call on Frank Walker beating Jennings out of bounds was a horrible no call.

And I will say it again, the fact that they can't even get challenge calls correct is what puts this all over the edge for me. He had 90 seconds to see that the correct call was made on the field reguarding Shiancoe. And you said it yourself, these officials are told to eat the whistle and let the plays play out and then let coaches challenge. So why didnt the official eat the whistle on the Roethlesberger TD? Let it play out and being inside 2 minutes the booth would have called for a review. Its downright horrible.