Tobias-Reiper

That is absolutely right. Once the games are for real, the refereeing will be an issue.

I was watching a bit of the Bills-Skins game; after a punt, a Bill downed the ball at the 4 yd line, and it was ruled a touchback. And no, I am not exaggerating when I say the 4 yard line. What happened? Well, the Bills coach complained, so the refs just changed the call without a challenge.

Now, how much wrong in that sequence? Let us count the ways.

Seer1

No, the coach had to waste a review on the play for legally blind stripes to get it right! I still can't figure how they'd mess that call up.



This thread is now closed by order of the kommisar!

Tobias-Reiper

Oh, the Bills did challenge? I don't remember seeing the red flag, so I guess that made me think there was no challenge. Anyway, it is still atrocious the refs called that a touchback.

Danno

The NFC South

I think the Saints personnel got better, but losing their coach probably puts them back to an 11-12 win team.

I don't think Atlanta got any better. The improved CB but downgraded LB. I see them staying a good but not greatteam. If they're hit by some injuries they could fall apart fast

Carolina should be better, but the common sophmore slump should keep them around 6 or 7 wins. A better team, but probably the same results record wise.

Tampa got a lot better, but they had a long way to go to start with.

Saints 11-5
Falcons 10-6
Carolina 7-9
Bucs 6-10

skymike

I like what I see from Spags so far. The defensive players seem to be already better fundamentally. Curtis Lofton will make you look good too. But yeah, I already see the first roots of improvement. There must be a reason so many teams were interested in him.

One thing I dont do a lot of, is complain about refs. It is what it is, and everytime you try to do something to make the officiating better, you get unintended consequences. Replay drags the game down, and adds an element of whining that I could live without. Im the only person in the world who feels like this, but I'd like to see replay done away with, and just get the best refs you can--- and like baseball, quit crying and play ball. or maybe have an occasional blowup argument, get thrown out.... and have some fun.

Thats just me; I dont expect anyone to agree with it.

overall, I think the scabs look like the real refs, minus a bunch of holding calls.

Utah_Saint

I'd like to comment on the poor officiating that we've seen so far this season....

But I got this memo from the league.

Rugby Saint II

I got fined for talking about it...............

The Dude

I wonder how many games they will change the outcome of. Can a loss be overturned if its proven to be the refs fault? Has is ever happened.

|Mitch|

Games have been won or loss due to bad calls and no not one has ever been overturned

papz

Strong division.

Atlanta - I think they're going to have one of their best offensive statistical seasons in a long time. They're going to open up the offense and start flinging the rock around. Lots of talented skill positions on offense and should actually be a fun team to watch for non-Saints fans.

Defensively, their DL is rock solid and has the name players to dominate. As of now they have no MLB and Witherspoon is the only player of note. Secondary looks stout. One thing to make note of is that Nolan's defenses has always had good rush linebackers... which no one on that roster fits the bill. Regardless, should be the Saints main obstacle in the division.

10-6 looks about right but I wouldn't put 11-5 past them.

Carolina - If Cam Newton doesn't have a sophomore slump, they can make a lot of noise. No matter how much one dislikes Steve Smith, he's very difficult to stop. They have one of the best 1-2 punches in the league at running back and added a versatile touchdown machine at fullback. Greg Olson was a great addition as Cam(got to give the man his props), for a young quarterback, does a good job utilizing his TE's. The question marks they have on offense is the right side of their offensive line and lack of proven talent behind Steve Smith on the outside.

Defensively they have a stud in Charles Johnson on the front line and a very good LB core... although frequently injured. If those two tackles can plug the middle effectively, you're going to see their linebackers flying all over the field making big plays. The secondary is average and Gamble has been slowly regressing throughout the past few years. I would say Godfrey is their best player back there. If their front 7 can't get consistent pressure, they're going to have trouble stopping people from throwing the ball all over them.

I can see a 9-7 season if Cam Newton can come close to mirroring last season's production.

Tampa Bay - Their season hinders largely on Josh Freeman. Who are we going to see? Is he going to be that young quarterback whom everyone thought was going to eventually evolve into an elite quarterback or the mis-firing jitterbug from last year? Jim Harbaugh had a lot of success transitioning from the college ranks but he also had a great pedigree. Schiano has a couple of head cases on his team and pretty much brought a college staff to surround him. He has a lot of work cut out for him. Talent wise, they're doing pretty well for themselves. Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams are two talented wide outs and their backups have some upside as well. While a big headcase, Blount is talented and they brought in Martin with their first round pick. The addition of Nicks solidifies a solid interior line with some question marks on the outside. Old man Dallas Clark should still be an upgrade over Winslow.

Defensively going across the board, they have a lot of young talented players on the team. With that said, I'd like to emphasis young. Young equals inexperience and as I mentioned earlier, a coaching staff from the collegiate ranks. How are they going to mold these young players? It may take a few years before these players start making their marks. And as if Blount wasn't enough on the offensive side of the ball, they have Pac Man Jr. roaming the secondary. Getting this unit to gel is the main key... and they're not ready yet.

6-10... just to many question marks.

As far as the refs are concerned, it'll all get worked out. I'm not concerned.

Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.

All little common sense goes a long way.