Replacement ref furor grows!!!!

 

      The furor over the work of replacement officials reached a fevered pitch during Week 3 in the NFL, especially Monday night when Seattle beat Green Bay on a desperation pass that many thought was an interception.

      Seahawks receiver Golden Tate was awarded a touchdown on the final play after a scrum on the ground in the end zone. Packers safety M.D. Jennings appeared to catch the ball against his body, with Tate getting his arm around the ball. After a few seconds, one official indicated a stoppage of play, but another signaled touchdown for a conclusion that former NFL coach Jon Gruden, working the game for ESPN's "Monday Night Football," called "tragic" and "comical." Tate clearly shoved cornerback Sam Shields to the ground on the play, but as Gruden noted, offensive pass interference almost never is called on desperation passes.

 "Very hard to swallow," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I have never seen anything like that in my time in football."

Forty years of improved technology, and the NFL is still at the same place as it was for "The Immaculate Reception," writes John Clayton. Story

 The Packers have the NFL MVP while the Seahawks have a stout defense, and neither was any match for the guys in stripes, writes Mike Sando. Blog


Can we now, in unison and without debate, agree that the NFL's plan to replace its locked-out refs has failed spectacularly, asks Kevin Seifert. Blog