NFL continues to embarrass themselves

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We’re only three weeks into this NFL season and we’ve already reached a tipping point with the NFL replacement referees. I’ve seen some pretty bad officiating this year, not only on botched penalty calls but NFL rules as well, and I thought it couldn’t get any worse. Well, it turns out I was wrong. None were worse than what I witnessed last night as the Packers traveled to Seattle for Monday Night Football.

As time expired, the Seahawks’ Golden Tate came away with a touchdown on a Hail Mary from Russell Wilson to win the game 14-12 and send the Seahawks’ fans home happy.  Upon further review of the play, not only did Tate commit a blatant offensive pass interference when he pushed the Packers’ Sam Shields to the ground from behind, but there is no way he came down with that football. Packers safety MD Jennings had both hands on the football and came down with the ball inbounds for what should have been an interception. Why wasn’t the play ruled an interception on the field? A misinterpretation of NFL rules is the most likely culprit.

The simultaneous possession rule is pretty clear cut; Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5 states:

“Simultaneous Catch. If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball”.

Simultaneous possession? Get real.

If we go back and look at the play, it’s quite clear that Jennings had the football in his possession before Tate got any hands on the ball, meaning that this play was not a simultaneous catch. Even when both players came back down to the ground, Tate still didn't have possession of the football as this picture clearly shows. However, in a statement released by the NFL, they threw this out there:

“When the players hit the ground in the end zone, the officials determined that both Tate and Jennings had possession of the ball. Under the rule for simultaneous catch, the ball belongs to Tate, the offensive player. The result of the play was a touchdown”.

What? How in the world did the officials deem that a simultaneous catch? It’s quite clear there was a mistake made on the field, but that’s why we have instant replay right? The NFL went on to say:

“Replay Official Howard Slavin stopped the game for an instant replay review. The aspects of the play that were reviewable included if the ball hit the ground and who had possession of the ball. In the end zone, a ruling of a simultaneous catch is reviewable. That is not the case in the field of play, only in the end zone.

Referee Wayne Elliott determined that no indisputable visual evidence existed to overturn the call on the field, and as a result, the on-field ruling of touchdown stood. The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review.”

What’s the point of having instant replay if the referees can’t get it right even after a second look?

The NFL should be ashamed and embarrassed at the events on Monday night, and I’m not just talking about the Hail Mary. An offensive pass interference penalty should have been called on the Seahawks’ Sidney Rice with about 6 minutes left in the game. The Seahawks were facing a 1^st and 25 before being bailed out by the referees when they called pass interference on Green Bay’s Sam Shields. Seattle gained 32 yards on the play when they should have lost 10. Earlier that drive, a phantom roughing the passer penalty on Green Bay’s Erik Walden negated a would-be interception. Seattle also got hosed on some pass interference penalties earlier in the game.

In his post game press conference, Aaron Rodgers talked about how he was given a kicking ball for the 2 point conversion instead of a regular ball. Mistakes like this cannot be allowed to continue and the NFL and Rodger Goodell need to start having serious talks with the real referees and end this madness. Is the NFL ready to step up and fix this problem? Who knows, but we as fans have a right to let our voices be heard, and the easiest way to do that is not by calling Goodell’s office, or writing letters to the NFL, but to stop watching the games.

The easiest way to make the NFL budge is to hit them where it hurts--their wallets. I won’t be watching another NFL game until the real referees are back on the field. That’s a promise, and judging from social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, I'm not the only one who's talking about boycotting the NFL. Hopefully enough fans will boycott to the point where the NFL’s ratings plummet next week. Maybe then they will understand that this is a huge problem and it needs to be fixed.

Don't Give up on the Badgers

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It hasn’t been the start to the season that most Badger fans were hoping to see. After three lackluster performances, including a 7-10 loss in a road game vs. the Oregon State Beavers, the Badgers still have a chance to turn their season around. Wisconsin will welcome the UTEP Miners into Camp Randall tomorrow in their final test before conference play begins.

The good news is; If Wisconsin still wants to play in the Rose Bowl, it’s well within their reach. With Penn State and Ohio State ineligible to win the Leaders division, odds are the Badgers have a strong shot at making it to Indianapolis for the BIG Championship game. Someone has to make it there right? And if they do, they’d only be 60 minutes away from a third consecutive Rose Bowl appearance. So how do the Badgers turn it around? Brett Bielema hopes a quarterback change is the answer.

Earlier this week, Bielema named redshirt freshman Joel Stave the team’s starting quarterback. Stave, or Sunshine as his teammates call him, will get his first start after Danny O’Brien, the transfer from Maryland, failed to produce. 

'Sunshine' as depicted in the movie

Joel Stave

Where did the nickname Sunshine come from? Stave bears a striking resemblance to Sunshine from the Movie ‘Remember The Titans.’ Now, I don’t know If Stave will be able to lead the Badgers to the Rose Bowl like Sunshine led the titans to the state championship game, but if he is going to have a chance of doing that; the blocking up front has to improve.

The o-line play so far has been abysmal to say the least. A multitude of missed assignments and failures to pick up blitzes have been the cause of most of the misfortunes, and that’s also why I believe the o-line can turn it around. Lack of communication is something that can be fixed unlike a lack of talent. I feel pretty confident in saying that a lack of talent is not the problem here.

It’s not just the o-line either, the fullbacks, tight ends, and wide receivers have all struggled in the blocking game. Could this be attributed to inexperience? FB Derek Watt and WR Jordan Frederick are first time starters (WR Kenzel Doe is also new to the playing field), but I feel like they’ve already improved throughout the course of the first three games. Bielema has called Watt, the younger brother of Texans DE and former Badger, JJ Watt, a “natural” at the fullback position and I wouldn’t be shocked to see some progress in the coming weeks.

Improvement is possible, and so is a Rose Bowl birth, though it may seem unlikely. The sky is not falling in Madison, and there’s plenty of season left. It’s not time to give up on the team quite yet.

Ryan Braun is the 2012 NL MVP

 After watching Ryan Braun smack two home runs today at Miller Park in the Brewers’ 3-0 win over the Mets, something occurred to me; there’s an ongoing debate about who should win the 2012 NL MVP, and there really shouldn’t be.

Ryan Braun is putting up yet another fantastic season. As of today, he has 103 runs batted in, a .312 batting average, an OPS of .989, and he has belted a career high 40 home runs. Those are MVP numbers, maybe even better than the numbers he put up last year en route to winning the 2011 NL MVP award. With All due respect to guys like Andrew McCutchen, Matt Holiday, Buster Posey etc., nobody else even comes close to the numbers Braun has been producing this season.

Many have labeled Buster Posey the favorite for the MVP award and I just can’t understand why. Posey has 93 RBI, a batting average of .333, an OBP of .407 and an OPS of .952. Solid numbers for sure, but Posey only has 22 home runs and just 1 stolen base as opposed to Braun’s 24. Braun even leads Posey in some of the more advanced stats such as wOBA (.411 vs. .403 coming into the day) and ISO (.281 vs. .214). I’m also well aware that Posey plays catcher, which is a much more difficult position to play, but that doesn’t come close to closing the gap on Ryan Braun and his stats. If anything, McCutchen should be considered over Posey, but with the Pirates struggling (10-24 since August 8^th) and falling out of contention fast, I just can’t see him winning the award. 

While I’m on the subject of being in contention, the Brewers’ recent surge; winning 20 of 26 and pulling from 12.5 back to 2.5 back of the 2^nd wild card spot, will certainly help Ryan Braun’s case. Only 7 players have won the NL or AL MVP while playing for a losing team since the BBWAA (Baseball Writers’ Association of America) started voting back in 1931. If the Brewers can at least finish over .500 the award should be Braun’s to lose. Why is Braun seemingly not getting the respect he deserves? It might have something to do with his tumultuous offseason.

It’s remarkable what Ryan Braun has been able to accomplish this season given the events of this past winter. In early December, it was revealed that Braun had failed a drug test and would be suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games. That suspension was, of course, overturned in February on what some deemed to be a technicality. The only question that remains now is how the BBWAA will react in light of these events. Will they punish him for the link to steroids, or will they take a look at the stats that show no drop in performance this year? By all accounts, Ryan Braun should be the 2012 NL MVP and it’s not close. Will the BBWAA see it that way? I sure hope so.

About Me

Welcome to my Wisconsin Sports blog! For anyone curious, here's a little backstory about me. I guess I'll start with the most important thing of all; my name is Alex Miller. I am currently a senior at UW Madison majoring in Life Sciences Communication. My true passion however, is following sports. I could talk Brewers, Packers, Badgers, and Bucks all day everyday, and that would be okay with me.

A few other interests include running, skiing, watching TV shows and living life. If you enjoy reading my content, you might enjoy following me on Twitter as well at @milleralex774.