Moderatoren » With questionable calls (or lack of a call all together)

in both the AFC and NFC championship games Franco Harris Jersey , the issue of officiating in the NFL has been brought out on a national level. Steelers fans understand the problem has been going on, both in 2018 and prior. But with such high-profile decisions in marquee games, there have been many questions about the possibility of challenging and reviewing penalties. Implementing such a drastic change has many people concerned about opening a can of worms the league doesn’t want to have to take years to iron out. But does the NFL want poor officiating to be there story line in the biggest games of the season?I think it is a nearly universal opinion there needs to be improvements in officiating in the NFL. Eliminating terrible calls and making sure obviously missed calls don’t change the outcome of a game should be the highest priority. The problem is figuring out a system in which this can be done while still maintaining the integrity of the game and not disrupting the flow more than necessary. Some review plays seem to drag on an unreasonable amount of time when the first look at the play shows if there will really be enough to overturn the call or not. Is more replay the answer? Would more officials on the field help?Since it would take an extreme, somewhat ludicrous idea to help correct horrendous calls in the NFL, it doesn’t mean an attempt can’t be made to fix the problem. I’ve come up with my own crazy idea. I’m not saying it’s perfect, and I’m sure the wonderful users here at BTSC will help me find the flaws. But it is an idea as a starting point. So here it goes鈥eginning in 2014, senior officials in New York began communicating with the head official during the review process. On scoring plays, turnovers, and any play inside of two minutes of the half or in overtime, the decision to review these plays comes from “above.” Is there really a reason why such an official cannot decide the play was called incorrectly due to a penalty, whether it wasn’t called or was called and should not have been? The argument for this in the past has always been about the officials and their “judgment calls.” But every call by an official is a judgment call. The official has to judge if a runner was down or not. The official has the judge if the ball crosses the goal line. Every call in the game comes from the judgment of the official.Perhaps a better way to sum it up is that these penalties are subjective, and not necessarily concrete. What one official sees on the field versus what another official sees on the TV screen can be a completely different subjective viewpoint. Should an official on the field who allows some contact on a pass play be overruled by an official in the booth who thinks any contact should always be pass interference?I’ve set it up long enough. What I believe the NFL should implement is three independent officials in the booth, none of which have contact with the other. Whether or not these officials are in stadium or in New York makes no difference. While watching the game, if any one of these officials feel a penalty was missed from being called, or a penalty which was called should not have been, they press the alert button. The only way the official is buzzed to review a play is if all three officials buzz an alert on the same play. The subjective opinion of each official will not influence a change on the field, but all three officials agreeing independently that a call should be changed would trigger a review.At this point, the head official goes to the replay area as normally done. Once they get on the headset, all three booth officials along with the official on the field will be in communication with each other to share their feelings about the play. The head official views the replays, and with the input of the other three officials and what they saw, a penalty can be called or overturned based on “clear and obvious video evidence.”In this system Darrius Heyward-Bey Jersey , there would be no coaches challenges for penalties. The only way a penalty would be reviewed is from a unanimous alert from the three video officials at any point in the game. Another wrinkle which could be added is to also involve the official closest to the play where the penalty was or was not called. If that official was added to the mix, they could explain the reasoning for the penalty or lack thereof to the replay officials, who could then show them on the replay why they felt a call needed to be changed. If all officials are in agreement, the call on the field would then be overturned.One question which could be asked is why three officials? Why not just have one official? In my opinion, the three officials would give a situation where only the obvious calls would be reviewed. With just one official, it’s basically one opinion versus the other. Going with three officials, it would take three varying sources all agreeing together, reducing situations where reviews happen which would not be overturned.With such a system in place, I believe the pass interference at the end of the NFC championship game would have eventually been called. Additionally, the roughing the passer against Tom Brady in the AFC championship game would’ve been overturned. There would be multiple calls changed throughout the Steelers season, including two separate touchdowns against San Diego and the first DPI penalty on Joe Haden against New Orleans (the second one would not have been egregious enough to set off the alert).Just to clarify, an official should not be setting off an alert for, “well maybe that wasn’t right.” Close calls should not even be reviewed. It’s the terrible, obvious calls that the league really needs to fix. And implementing this system could slow down the game minimally as long as officials improve their on field performance, while the video officials are not stopping the game for borderline calls. The NFL office would also have a report of plays where replay officials buzzed in but we’re not unanimous and can use these reports as a grading tool for their reply officials.I feel this would be a win–win situation for everyone. An official would get the chance to fix a bad call which could determine the outcome of the game. For example, does anyone really believe the official who didn’t call the pass interference penalty in the NFC championship game still feels it was the correct call? If this system were implemented, fans would hopefully not be as outraged about terrible calls. And, most importantly, the players on the field would be more of the determining factor as to who wins the game. Would this system have an increased cost to implement? Of course it would. But for the multi-billion dollar business of the NFL, isn’t having a better product more important than saving the money? A better product would increase revenue which would possibly be lost for paying to implement penalty reviews.So there you have it. Now it’s your turn. Does this system seem as if it is something which could work? Are there things to be tweaked? What should be added or what should be taken away? Please leave your suggestions in the comments below! The Pittsburgh Steelers are back-to-back winners for the first time in this 2018 season after a solid performance vs. the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Week 6. With the team now able to relax on their bye-week in Week 7, they will hope to improve on their 3-2-1 record by beating the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens in Weeks 8 and 9. Something I did last season and I’m going to start again is the Black-and-gold Links article. This is an article where I take stories from quality news sources across the Internet and add them here for your viewing pleasure. I won’t be posting the entire articles Dermontti Dawson Jersey , but I’ll link each story and author so that you can read the full article. Today we talk about how we all might have been spoiled with the early success of JuJu Smith-Schuster. When the Steelers selected James Washington in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft, most expected a similar production from the former Oklahoma State product, but it just hasn’t happened yet. So, what gives?Let’s get to the news:James Washington fighting through slow start with SteelersBy: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewIn his first professional game, he wasn’t targeted for a pass. In his second, he had three catches for 16 yards. In his third, he caught two passes.JuJu Smith-Schuster’s production at the outset of his rookie season didn’t generate banner headlines or foreshadow an emerging star wide receiver. He was like most first-year pass-catchers, struggling to find his footing in the NFL.The Pittsburgh Steelers weren’t alarmed by Smith-Schuster’s lack of productivity in the first half of the 2017 season, which is why they aren’t concerned about James Washington’s slow start this season.Through six games, Washington’s totals are five receptions on 14 targets for 49 yards and one touchdown.“It’s a process for him,” said Darryl Drake, the long-time wide receivers coach who is in his first year with the Steelers. “We have to push him along faster and get him more involved. When the opportunities come for him, he has to deliver.”Washington hasn’t delivered in each of the past two games. He didn’t have a catch and was on the field for just 16 snaps Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals as the Steelers utilized two and sometimes three tight ends in formations.The week before, against Atlanta, Washington had a drop and then was called for pass interference on a deep pass.“It just takes time,” Washington said. “It’s not going to happen overnight. You’ve got to keep coming to practice and try to get better and better and take coaching. It’s hard at times, but you have to be available.”Smith-Schuster had similar issues last season although they weren’t as pronounced. He had 15 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns after his sixth game. His breakthrough came in Week 8 when he caught seven passes for 193 yards, including a 97-yard touchdown, against Detroit.Smith-Schuster had two more 100-yard games and finished with 58 catches for 917 yards and seven scores.Drake thinks it’s only a matter of time before Washington gets beyond the growing pains that rookie receivers typically endure.“In the pro game, we ask them to do so much Chris Boswell Jersey ,” he said. “They have to understand the coverages, they have to understand what the safeties are doing, they have to understand the concepts of what we are asking them to do and they have to be able to make a decision in less than a second.“The thing I try to get them to do is not think – react. The game is a reaction game, and you have to react the right way. You have to make sure you are going right instead of left.”Tim Benz: Steelers on ‘wasteful’ Le’Veon Bell speculationBy: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-ReviewCameron Heyward had some advice for the Steelers media members who might be working over the bye weekend.Some of us might try to find Le’Veon Bell in an attempt to figure when — or if — the running back is going to report to the team.”If y’all have to put out an Amber Alert or a milk carton, do what you gotta do,” joked Heyward.James Conner’s emergence as a reliable lead running back the past few weeks has mitigated the need to go that far. During the previous two games — wins against Atlanta and Cincinnati — the second-year product from Pitt has totaled 314 yards from scrimmage.Those results have put continued games of “Where’s Waldo” with Bell on the back burner.So if offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner ever was worried about keeping a packet of plays ready for whenever Bell ends his absence, the coach doesn’t appear to be concerned now.”I just think it would be wasteful time management to think about it,” Fichtner said Wednesday. “When it happens, it happens. We move on from there.”But like many Steelers fans, Fichtner seems torn over the reality with Bell. On the one hand, Fichtner is referring to preparation surrounding a potential Bell return as “wasteful.” On the other, the coach seemed to yearn for when Bell’s talents are back on the field.Fichtner was asked about the prospect of having two running backs — i.e., Conner and Bell — capable of running the ball and catching it with great effectiveness on the field together.”I’ll take four if we can have them,” Fichtner deadpanned. “We want all the good players we can get.”Le’Veon Bell saga: Post-bye plans, payouts, locker room pranksBy: Jeremy Fowler, ESPNLe’Veon Bell is not in the building.The Pittsburgh Steelers have one practice left before breaking for the bye. Bell can show up at any time, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the team doesn’t expect that to be this week.Now is a good time to dissect what’s next for Bell and the Steelers in this weekly saga.Where does this story go next?Bell’s plan was to utilize the two-week period between the bye and the Browns game in Week 8 to get back into the football swing with extra practice time. The Steelers open Week 8 with what they call a “bonus Monday” practice, which Bell can utilize. If Bell doesn’t show by next week, it’s possible his plans have changed.This is a fluid situation featuring a team actively trying to trade an unsigned player who hasn’t kept in contact with it. More fireworks are expected.How do the Steelers’ expectations for Bell’s reporting correlate with Bell’s plans privately?That’s a key factor here. Bell hasn’t talked to the team in months Merril Hoge Jersey , and that’s strategic. Not informing the club of when he’ll show is exercising his leverage as an unsigned player. And unless there’s a franchise-tag stipulation that Bell must notify the team in writing of his return, Bell can simply show up when he wants.How might this play out?Last season, Bell showed up on a Friday to take his physical and signed his tender the following Monday. Following the same plan for this week and next is not out of the question but would be a bit clunky. The building will be empty save a few trainers or staff members.Bell is from Columbus, Ohio, so when he leaves Miami, where he’s been training, he’ll likely return home for a day or two, then transition to Pittsburgh for the fall and winter months.How did the bye-week dynamic play into this?Over the weekend, the NFL Network reported the Steelers aren’t obligated to pay Bell his $855,000 salary for the bye week because there’s no game to be played. I checked on this and can confirm it. I don’t know if Bell stayed away because of that, but it could be a factor.A few weeks ago, Bell used his official Instagram account to “like” a SportsCenter post about a timeline for Bell’s return.So how does the immediate payout work upon his return?Well, the two-week roster exemption looms large here. The Steelers can withhold pay for those two weeks if they see fit -- or see unfit, if Bell is not in game shape. The best guess here is Bell will report game-ready. Otherwise, why show up at all? Once Bell is in the building, the Steelers can make that call.