Evans World 2012–Week 3

Well, as much as I loved kicking Nathan’s ass so soundly this weekend (for the first time ever, me thinks), let’s just jump right into the question I know you’re dying to hear my answer to:

WHAT I THINK ABOUT THE ENDING OF THE PACKERS-SEAHAWKS GAME

I’ve tried, I’ve really tried to give these replacement refs the benefit of the doubt, understanding the difficult situation they’ve been put into.  I’ve grunted and yelled at missed penalties.  I’ve marveled at the apparent blindness or lack of understanding of the NFL rules on their part.  I’ve laughed at their follies and disorganization.  But I have never, not once in my life, seen a game end so poorly due to a problem with officiating.  I understand that if there is a simultaneous catch of a ball the catch goes to the offense.  It’s the only reason I can think of that the official review gave the TD to Seattle.  Even still, it’s just as clear that possession of the ball was clearly obtained by Jennings and not Tate.  Tate’s arm touching the ball is not possession.  Jennings’ two arms clutching the ball to his chest is possession.  It’s an interception in any league from the NFL down to Marshall’s pee-wee league.  To make it worse, the play should have been dead because of the offensive pass interference from Tate that the refs failed to call.  My favorite moment had to be when the two officials looked at each other, shared a look of “what do you think?” and both raised their arms … one for a touchdown and the other to call the play dead as if there was a change in possession.  If there is any better image of how badly these unqualified, unprofessional, unprepared refs are impacting the game I can’t think of one.

I think this last play will define a good portion of the 2012 season.  The sheer folly, unprofessionalism and the unfortunate consequences of the inability of the NFL to negotiate with the refs’ union are forever enshrined by that last play.  Every success and mistake by the replacement refs from this moment on will be compared in impact to this play.  The refs and the official reviewer should all be fired.  The NFL should sit back down at the table, finish the deal and move on before they start to lose fans and players.  This is professional football.  The people who participate in it are held to the highest standard of performance, from the MVP of the league down to the equipment manger of an individual team.  Everyone must participate at the top of their game, the best of the best.  Those players who cannot are cut from rosters.  Coaches, general managers, vice presidents, scouts, etc. who fail are fired from their positions.  And yes, refs and officials must be able to call games with the highest degree of uniformity and correctness.  That’s not happening with these replacement refs, and now it’s impacted the season for every NFL team, not just my beloved Packers.

In a nutshell, we need the professional refs back before we can play professional football games.  Until that happens, you have an understood asterisk beside every play and game, and that’s just not how the game should be played.

That being said, let’s go back to the weekend that was in Evans World.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

• I was actually worried for a moment that this was going to be a low scoring week for everyone after the first set of Sunday games.  Well, instead it turned out to be a low scoring week for only a few teams in the league.  We still had some more close matchups.  Berk lost again in a close one with Gary, and Tony P. etched out a win against Mike. 
• Hmm, I wonder if the higher scoring has anything to do with the replacement refs … nah.
• So, Gary is a solid 2-1.  Anybody else thinking about using autodraft next year?
• Speaking of Gary, I applaud the trade with Nathan.  Good job on both sides.  Nathan takes the small risk for the long-term benefits of Forte while Gary cashed in on the success (if even only temporary) of Brown and Jackson.  I don’t know who suggested it, but it’s a gem for both teams.
• Speaking of Nathan, nice show of support for Ogletree.  Didn’t even get a single start.  I’ve got a feeling Nathan is shooting for another 50-move season.
• So, why did I pickup Dalton?  Good question.  In a 10-team league, we’ve got a surplus of effective FF QBs.  But, looking around the league I know there are some teams that can upgrade.  Dalton is going to be solid every week, unlike a few others (can we all say Vick?).  Expect some trade requests from me this week. 
• Is it just me, or does Tony P. always seem to find his way to the #1 spot in the league about this time every single year?  Oh yeah, usually again towards the end of the regular season.  Will it happen again?
• Here’s hoping the injury to CJ Spiller isn’t too bad.  I think Tony G. is going to rely on him, even if Jackson ends up returning this week. 
• Speaking of Tony G., considering Ingram is managing only 3.3 points a game so far this season, is it time to consider a team name change?  Hey, I picked him up last season thinking he’d be a huge FF RB but he’s coming up as a big fad dud for both seasons. 
• In case you haven’t noticed, 0-3 Jason’s team is HEAVY with WR.  Take a close look for trade possibilities.
• Be weary of the Brees-Graham combo for Marshall.  If the Saints are able to right their ship a bit more, that could be a huge FF combo for him every week.
• So, was I responsible for the failure of Ben Tate to produce this week?  That’s be pretty damn cool if I was.  Let’s give it a shot … I’m sure this will be a huge week for Ray Rice.  Ha! Take that, Berk.
• Watching the Broncos, Ravens and Seahawks defenses play this weekend, I wonder if there isn’t a bounty program still in place to take out key players.  Damn, they’re hitting each other harder than ever!
• Wasn’t Tony Gonzalez going to retire at some point recently?  Sheesh.  I think it’s hilarious that Tony P. will bench Health Miller in his place.  Here’s a factoid that Yahoo recap won’t give you … Gonzalez is the #1 scoring FF TE in our league so far this year.  #2?  Heath Miller.  Tony, when will you start petitioning me to change the flex position to allow RB/WR/TE?
• If a team is clearly the winner, if there is no way to stop the clock, if the game is over, it is NOT okay to send your defensive players rushing after the center or QB when they’re just going to kneel down.  Period.  You might be able to convince me that the dedication a player feels to play every single down in a game justifies a spirited attack against a victory formation, but I doubt I’ll buy it.  There are things known as discipline and honor, two facets of professional football players that prevent them from doing anything to deliberately injure another player and allowing them to accept defeat amicably.  Sending linemen after the QB in an unlikely attempt to come up with the ball is a poor reason to risk injury or to tarnish the decorum of the game.  You’ve lost.  It’s okay.  Not going all out on the last 3 plays won’t make your players play less in the next game.  Chill the fuck out.
• Speaking of chilling the fuck out, I don’t buy that Bellichek just wanted to talk to the refs about the final field goal kick.  He’d been yelling at the refs for the previous 15 minutes non-stop.  I don’t blame them for just running off the field.  That game was almost as bad a joke as the Packer game was, officiating-wise.  Unfortunately, he’ll pay a fine for touching a ref.  I hope he takes the same approach that T.J. Lang is for his tweets last night … let the NFL go ahead and fine him, then use the money to help pay the normal refs.  LOL. Love it.

WEEKLY AWARDS

• MVP – Lots of choices this week from a lot of stellar FF play.  I love to see Jamaal Charles come up huge for Mike.  Of course, I’m pretty sure he did that for Tom last year and then got injured the next week.  I’ve mentioned the payoff of Brown for Gary already.  Gotta give it to Rothesburger this week for Tony P. who blew the lid off his projected points, our expectations and kept Tony up with Mike in their high-scoring matchup.
• Honorable Mention – This is a tie between Michael Bush for Marshall and the Chicago DEF for Gary.  You’d think after the demoralizing loss to the Packers the Bears would just squeeze out a simple game against the Rams.  Instead they came back with the gusto they had in week 1, and Marshall and Gary reaped the benefits.  Good call sticking with them.  Of course, Marshall was just following my advice about Bush from last week.  Nice work there too, Marshall.
• Best Owner Choice – As much as I like the Nate Washington start for Ritchie, I’ve got to give the award this week to Jason for starting Reggie Wayne.  If you’re like most FF owners, you’d expect Wayne’s numbers to plummet this year with a rookie QB throwing to him.  Instead, Wayne is the #5 WR in FF points so far this season!  But the really crazy thing is that Jason benched Larry Fitzgerald for Wayne.  What would be considered insane in some leagues paid off huge for Jason this week.  Great call.
• Unfortunate Bench – So the Lions-Titans game was crazy enough the way it finished.  What was even crazier was how the entire Lions WR corps walked away with a shitload of points.  Nate Burleson sat on Berk’s bench but wouldn’t have been enough to catch up to Gary.  So I give the award to Mike for benching Titus Young who also blew it up Sunday and would have given him the win over Ritchie.  I give Mike kudos for picking Young up in the 10th round of the draft.  I actually had to check to see if anyone had picked him up at all.
• Lawrence Philips Award – I’ve already ranted, but now it’s time to award an official for being an idiot at the Lawrence Phillip level.  Do I give it to the line judge who called the TD?  The back judge who correctly called the turnover?  No.  I give this award to the NFL replay officials for the game, one of whom is a former NFL ref, who reviewed the play from the booth and for some stupid ass reason advised the head ref that the final play was a simultaneous catch and should award a TD to Seattle.  You fucktards should be fired.  Here’s this wonderful LPA for you as they show you the door.  Shame on you.

MEANWHILE BACK IN THE NCAA …

• Didn’t watch much of the Husker game.  Really wasn’t much of a challenge for them at all, so I’m not sure how much we learned.  Ron Kellogg does seem worth the hype so far at least.  Yawn.  Bring on the Badgers.
• In case you were wondering, I don’t like the “futuristic” Husker uniforms we’ll see on Saturday.
• I like to see UCLA lose.  Sure it hurts our BCS standing, but when does that matter for us lately?  It just makes me happy to see them get beat when we couldn’t do it.
• Yeah, as much as it pains me to say it, Kansas State and Florida State are for real.  Well, mostly.  If either of them played LSU or Alabama they’d have their asses handed to them soundly.  Alabama is clearly the best team in the nation today, and one of the best college teams to take the field in years.  They’re scary good.
• Notre Dame.  Yeah, still don’t give a shit about them.
• Goodbye, Boise State.  We won’t miss your ugly blue field on national TV.
• I miss watching college football with Marshall and Nathan.  Some days even the joys of fatherhood don’t compare to an afternoon/evening of football with those two.

LOOKING AHEAD

• Hello bye week!  Can’t recall a Week 4 BYE in recent memory so check those lineups!
• Please respond to trade requests as quickly as you can.  Berk, that means you.
• I’ve got a feeling there won’t be much movement around the standings this week, but time will tell.