After a short reprieve in which NFL officiating did not beclown itself for a couple of weeks, we saw the return of questionable and borderline unprofessional work by the league’s men in stripes during the Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions game on Sunday.
And as the most curious calls went against the Packers, it doesn’t surprise that team’s postgame media session was replete with a withering review of the poor officiating work – led by safety Xavier McKinney who called the officiating “bulls–t.”
Yes, McKinney should expect to be fined for sharing his opinion, but he definitely got his money’s worth during a one-minute rant on one controversial call in particular.
“I don’t know how the NFL [is] going to treat it, but I’m not a big fan of the refs right now,” McKinney told reporters in the locker room. “I don’t think it’s great officiating if I’m being completely honest. I think it’s bulls–t a lot of the times.”
McKinney pointed to an obvious third-quarter situation in which Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was wrapped up in what seemed like a tackle, but because he was on top of his tackler, he apparently decided he wasn’t actually down.
So, St. Brown got up and going as if the play wasn’t dead. There had been no audible whistle. So, defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt tackled St. Brown.
While these hijinks were going on, St. Brown’s leg whipped upward and hit approaching umpire Terry Killens Jr. in the groin. Killens Jr. went down and proceeded to throw a flag while on his back.
Unnecessary roughness on Wyatt.
The Lions used the penalty to draw closer to an eventual touchdown that gave them a 17-14 lead.
“I think there are drives where they make calls that don’t even make any sense,” McKinney said. “We tried to get him down and then their player hit the ref and he falls. He gets mad on the ground and he just throws the flag. He don’t even know who hit him.
“So it’s just like, it just be bulls–t that’s going on, bulls–t calls.”
Yes, fine incoming because the NFL has a strict policy that says public criticism by players or club employees of game officials or officiating is prohibited and may result in a fine and/or suspension.
That includes comments in press conferences, interviews, broadcasts, livestreams and social-media posts. The league can discipline someone when the criticism concerns a specific call or the general quality of officiating.
But the discipline isn’t the major point. The questionable officiating is.
The NFL has had something of an officiating problem this year. The league recognized that when it suspended two officials in separate incidents Oct. 5. Also, penalty flags are near a historical high.
And while commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that more flags does not necessarily equate to bad officiating, the league is concerned at some level. The league recently told officials to stay away from holding calls on the backside of plays, but the plays that draw attention have been a concern.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent last week discussed the suspension of the two officials and said the league is currently dealing with “the consequences of a grievance” filed by referee Adrian Hill, who was suspended for one game for the manner he dealt with a player while unaware of the circumstances behind his reaction after being knocked down.
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Killens Jr. seemed to find himself in a similar circumstance as he lay on the turf while throwing his flag.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur treaded carefully about the officiating at first, but left no doubt he was unhappy his team was penalized when there was no clear whistle to end the play.
“There was no whistle blown, and the guy continued to run, and our guy didn’t hear a whistle. He continued to play too, and then we get called for a penalty,” LaFleur said. “So, I don’t know. They were trying to tell me the play was obviously dead. I’m like, ‘How do you know if you don’t hear a whistle?'”
Referee Alex Moore didn’t hear a whistle, either. But in a pool report after the game, he stated the play was over as if it was a known fact to everyone.
“We ruled that the play was over,” Moore said. “I can’t honestly hear if there was a whistle or not, but the tackler made the tackle, the play was over. Then, there was an additional action, and he basically tackled him again with force after the play was over.”
This was the most controversial call in a game with multiple questionable calls, several of them resulting in eyebrow-raising flags against the Packers for roughing the passer.
Defensive tackle Karl Brooks, who was called for one of those roughing penalties, declined to speak with reporters after the game.
He’s one of the few Packers players victimized by questionable calls on Sunday that knows he’s not going to fined by the NFL for ripping the officials.