Dallas Week

A couple weeks ago I saw a guy going down the freeway with his top down.  It was in the 50's and I had the heat blasting in my car.

 

Point being, your body does aclimate to the weather over time.   Those southern boys are in for a shock.

FTFY

Saw where NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino is taking some heat for being spotted on Jerruh's party bus. I have a feeling the game refs and Blandino will be out to show there is zero favoritism toward Dallass. Not saying they will overcompensate and favor GB, but I think they will call a tight game. That helps GB IMO because it seems the offense struggles when the refs aren't calling it tight and are letting the DBs mug our receivers all day. If the Dallass LB/DBs are worried about getting a PI or IC or holding then our receivers will have some great opportunities. Just a thought.

All week long we'll be hearing about how GB will stop Dallas' OL/run game. We won't be hearing a peep about how Dallas' defense will be able to stop GB's OL/run game...the one that averaged over 142 rushing yards a game the last 8 weeks of the season and looked far more dominant against that Detroit stout run D than Dallas just did the other day

Do we know yet who this weeks officials are for the game?

 

Please tell me it's not...

 

This isn’t a call to fire Pete Morelli because this isn’t just about Pete Morelli. In fact, I don’t think Morelli is even close to the worst referee in the NFL.

 

That honor belongs to Jeff Triplette, whose blown calls are so legion that I’d get depressed if I listed them all here. (It says something about Triplette that he once seriously injured a player by throwing a weighted-down penalty flag in his eye, and that wasn’t even close to his biggest blunder.) Triplette is so bad that when he blew a replay review last year, the NFL responded not by firing him but by changing the entire replay review system. Now all referees have to get on the phone with Blandino while they’re reviewing a replay to make sure they’re not screwing it up. Triplette can’t be trusted to get it right on his own.

 

Triplette keeps his job because NFL officials aren’t held to anywhere near the same high standards that NFL players and coaches are held to. That’s a big part of the NFL’s problem. The NFL needs to fire the officials who get the lowest scores on their evaluations, just as players and coaches lose their jobs when they’re at the bottom of the league. And the NFL needs to replace those fired officials with the best officials in college football, just as the best college players push veteran NFL players out of their jobs every year. That’s the way football works.

The other problem with the refs is....Nobody grows up wanting to be a referee. You have 55+ year old guys trying to keep up with world class athletes.

I believe the league keeps it this way to have more control over the games. Create controversy, to keep interest in the league. More interest, more money.

It was only a matter of time. Just say no, Ted. Let all those needy bastards squirm.

@JasonLaCanfora: The Eagles have requested permission to interview recently promoted Green Bay exec Eliot Wolf for their personnel opening.

FIFA won't let refs do international matches after age 45.

Phil Luckett screwed up a coin toss on national TV.

I'm pretty sure Eliot is smart enough not to jump into the middle of the Roseman/Kelly pissing match. Not sure Philly will have much luck filling that spot. 

There is no way Tripplett is a playoff ref. His grades had to about the lowest of all refs and only highly graded refs do playoff games.  

Yesterday I heard some playoffs refs graded out below average during the year but still ended up towards the top at their position. I find that very believable. 

Well, their job is harder

 

http://www.footballzebras.com/category/assignments/

 

Should show up here at some point this week

I imagine by that age most refs are so fat from all the under the table money they've already received that they can no longer be properly bribed.   Time to bring in hungry young refs with empty bank accounts.

Yesterday Blandino included a comment when addressing some of things Morelli's crew screwed up. He said Dez Bryant being on the field without a helmet yelling at an official "is really a call that's at the discretion of the officials".

 

What in the blue hell does that mean??? Is it a penalty or isn't it? If a guy runs 20 yards onto the field to yell at an official it's 50/50? It might be 15 yards? It might be nothing?

 

The "all star" officiating teams for the playoffs is a stupid, stupid, stupid idea. Triplette is the worst official in football. He's obviously not an all star. But two guys from his crew are. So to recap, two guys that aren't good enough to take the Referee job from the worst referee in football are good enough to make the playoff all star roster. Makes sense. 

 

Having said that, Blandino saying some rules are "kind of at the discretion of the officials" is another example of a rule book that's about as vague as it could possibly be. No wonder debacles like Dallas happen. 

How did Dallas get through the Detroit game in terms of Injury?  I thought a few of their LBs left the game:

 - McClain - neck/concussion?

 - Carter - did he leave the game too?

 

Any other notable injuries?

lol Jerrah. Isn't your bribing him for favor on your Port Authority business enough?

@ESPNNFL: Jerry Jones called New Jersey Governor Chris Christie the Cowboys "mojo" and can't imagine him not being in Green Bay for Sunday's game.

mcchristie is welcome to come to Lambeau, spend a lot of money and leave disappointed just like any other cowgirl fan.

Glory hole.

 

http://thebiglead.com/2015/01/...government-contract/

Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, “personally pushed” for a firm partly owned by Jerry Jones to receive a government contract in New York City prior to accepting free travel and tickets to multiple Cowboys games, according to a report from the International Business Times. The deal involved hospitality services at the World Trade Center:

On March 19, 2013, Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a press release announcing their selection of Legends Hospitality LLC to operate the observation deck on the top floor of One World Trade Center. The next day, the Port Authority board — which is appointed by Christie and Cuomo — specifically cited the governors’ announcement in voting to approve the contract for the company, which is jointly owned by the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and Checketts Partners Investment Fund. The Port Authority press release announcing the vote quotes Dallas Cowboys executive Jerry Jones, Jr. as saying: “We are humbled to have been chosen to operate the Observatory Deck.”

The IB Times has a separate report that Christie’s receipt of those accommodations from Jones may violate New Jersey ethics rules, which state that there’s “a zero tolerance policy for acceptance of gifts offered to you … that are related in any way to your official duties” and classify forbidden gifts as “admission to an event for which a member of the general public would be charged.”

The governor’s aides told the Wall Street Journal that the trips do not violate ethics laws because Christie is permitted to accept gifts from “relatives or personal friends that are paid for with personal funds,” and that Jones and Christie have bonded over their mutual love of the Cowboys since the governor took office in 2010.

Politicians doing backroom deals and getting their backs scratched?  

 

Seems we've seen that one before.  

 

I don't care about the guy's politics or what he's done for Jerruh - I just think he's a blowhard and those photos of him lunging in for hugs with the Jones clan made me feel icky on Sunday. 

Andrew Brandt made an interesting point as well. Christie passed a bill allowing sports betting in NJ in October. All 4 major sports leagues and the NCAA immediately filed injunctions to block legalized betting in Jersey. The NFL and Christie are currently litigating against each other. 

 

It's all going to add up to make a Packer win on Sunday incredibly enjoyable. 

I've been thinking the same thing.  I don't think it will swing to over compensation, but I do think that the refs will call closer games all weekend, to try and disspell all of the debaucles this past week.  

 

Like McDonald's....I'm lovin' it.

 

The crash will be spectactular.

 

No excuses this Sunday. Rip their hearts out & crush their souls!

I read Blandino's comments, and the thing that jumped out at me, was when he answered the Dez Bryant question.  He says, "I think", that infraction is for players on the field...  blah blah blah...  When the head official says, "I think", and nothing definitive like, "That should be called or I know". You know's its a clown show.   

I just heard MIke Periera on Cowherd say that Dez was not a player on the field at the time so technically the taking off the helmet to celebrate or get in the face of an official rule would not apply.  What is the rule?

Nice to know that players who are not on the field can't be penalized.  That would have been a penalty-free way to seek retribution against someone like Suh. 

NFL Rulebook

Create controversy....generate more interest. That means more sponsors & more viewers & more money.

 

Follow the money.....and R-E-L-A-X

Sunday, Jan. 11

Cowboys at Packers, 1 p.m. (Fox)

Gene Steratore is the referee, who is in his 12th year and 9th as referee. This is his 8th postseason assignment, including 2 Wild Card Playoffs, 4 Divisional Playoffs, and 2 Conference Championships

Do we hate him?

In the grand scheme of things, Steratore is the ****. Put's the ref stuff to rest. Time to focus on the game. 

He does at least one NCAA basketball game each week I think. He seems to pop up all over the place. 

 

Hope he doesn't call traveling on Lacy.

Steratore isn't bad. Not when you compare some of the other maroons in the NFL. Triplette is right where he belongs. At home.

I think the got into a bit of hot water a few years back, when he asked Brent for an autograph, for his friend.  He owns a janitorial service business as well, and refs Big 10 bball.  

At the 20 second mark. Don't mind Rusty and his pal at the beginning:

 

It would be interesting watching the playoff games at home with Triplette, but he would probably flag me for double dipping.

Dallas will turn the ball over more than they have all year, Murray 2 fumbles and Romo 2 Ints.  Green Bay cruises 37-20

 

St. Hoolligan was right.  She needs to talk to some of you guys about your posts.