NFL’s Strict calls will continue in regular season
By Cory Buck
Those bemoaning the sea of yellow raining on NFL fields in the first two weeks of the preseason will have to take a deep breath and find a new cause. League vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told the MMQB in a recent interview that the new standards are going nowhere once the NFL’s regular season commences in September.
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“We’re not going to change how we’re calling the games once the regular season starts,’’ Blandino said. “The way the game’s being officiated now is the way it’s going to be officiated when the season begins. We have to remain consistent.”
Consistency is always the biggest issue with fans. The standards are neither here nor there as long as the same fouls result in the same punishments every time. In the blur of professional sports though, that can be easier said than done.
In enforcing new standards, officiating crews aren’t just looking to change the way the game is played, they’re trying to blanket the league with a more enforceable standard. Hands clutching the jersey? Foul. That’s a lot easier to regulate than ‘Hands on the jersey sometimes, but then sometimes not, depending on where the ball is and a bunch of other factors.’
The new rules will be tough from a fan’s perspective just because of how much penalties can bog down a football game. That said, Blandino is confident the rest of the league will catch up and the flags will diminish in number as the regular season progresses.
“I knew we’d see a spike in calls when we put out these points of emphasis. But coaches adjust, and players adjust. They have to, and they know it. And we’ll correct our officials when we feel they’re being over-zealous with certain calls.”