Dan Orlovsky puts the NFL in a box over blown Saints call
By Joe Romano
The NFL has an officiating problem, according to ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, and he calls for drastic changes.
Championship Sunday in the NFL featured two games going into overtime and an epic finish in both. Unfortunately the fantastic play has been overshadowed by poor officiating. The black eye on what should have had the NFL offices celebrating, instead, has them playing damage control.
A blown call in the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams game is at the center of the controversy. What should have been a pass interference or helmet-to-helmet penalty was instead ruled a no-call. It has plenty of people in both the league and media speaking out on the state officiating in the NFL, including here at FanSided. None have shown the type of thinking like ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky.
The former NFL quarterback did not hold back in his discussion over the NFL’s poor officiating when he was on ESPN’s staple morning show Get Up.
In the clip, former head coach Rex Ryan gives his take. Ryan essentially says the refs have a tough job and the fact that a call that blatant should change the rules. He is arguing that this scenario should have been allowed to be reviewed. Something the NFL has said it is considering.
That is when Orlovsky gets a turn to talk and pulls no punches. He brings up a great point about the age of these officials, even go as far as saying “some of them are grandfathers.”
Orlovsky asks the NFL for two things. First and foremost that the officiating crew needs to get younger. As Orlovsky rightly points out, reaction time and vision are two of the first things to go when people age. To ask these men that are well into their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s to watch the greatest athletes in the world move at absurd speeds and react is unfair. The second point is that the NFL should be reviewing these officials year by year review of their physical ability.
This type of next-level thinking is not new from Dan Orlovsky. The former Lions quarterback, and 12 year NFL veteran has been a fantastic Twitter follower in his retirement. It is why he was snatched up by ESPN in July and is considered a rising star by the higher-ups in Bristol.
With the attention Tony Romo was getting for calling out pre-snap what the Patriots were doing last night, Orlovsky’s star should only get brighter. There is a market for these former quarterbacks who see the game on a cerebral level. Fans are clamoring for more of that and Orlovsky can deliver that in spades. Do not be surprised if he winds up on a bigger platform next season, including a seat at a pre-game show.