BLATANT ERRORS OR IS THERE SOME TRICKERY AFOOT?

Although you may be thinking so, I am not talking about the New England Patriots this time (sorry). Instead I am going to rant about the multiple poorly called plays the referees have been calling lately. There have been some games lately where it seems like very bad, blatant calls against a team (which usually ends up being the underdog) are occurring more frequently.

Example: Titans/Texans game, MNF, November 21st, 2009

Last Monday, I begrudgingly turned on the Houston game; because I'm not a fan of either team, I figured I wouldn't be very involved. However, I stuck with it, rooting for Houston because many Buffalo Bills players have stopped there on their way towards retirement, as well as Andre Davis, who is my favorite special teams player (and Niskayunian, aside from myself, family, and close friends). The game was very close and actually exciting, which division games should be. Here is the call that was a very bad call; when the MNF announcers are saying the refs are making bad calls, then you know that there actually are really bad calls being made.

"The Titans started the go-ahead drive at the 6-yard line, but the Texans were called for a 15-yard horse collar penalty on a tackle on Chris Johnson. A 22-yard run by Johnson two plays later put the Titans on their 41 just before the two-minute warning."

Anyone who watched that play knew that it was a terrible call. Did it cost the game? Most likely, but we will never know.

There have been multiple bad calls over the years, but it seems to me that they have become more prevalent. Watching the Oakland/Dallas game, there were many small holdings that weren't called on the Cowboys. Although, with the new big screen tv they have, I'm surprised they didn't notice. I think that these poor calls, especially those that might be game changers should be taken seriously. Is it because these guys are too old? Do they need glasses or do they need to retire? Should teams have the option of being able to stop the game to have the refs review their call to see if they were in fact correct or not, as they can do in tennis? No matter what happens, I think that something should be set in place so that the refs aren't the ones who are giving the (favored) teams more points. And maybe there should be some checking into bribery if the calls are that ridiculously wrong.

Jaclyn Kahn