Ref bias

BigDanT

BigDanT

J. Batt Fan
Joined
Jul 1, 2015
Messages
11,646
Whether it could be conscious or sub conscious there needs to be a study done about the time it takes for a ref to whistle a play dead after contact. Seemed they let plays go forever against uga, but when uga had the ball they whistle the play dead quickly.

Secondly there needs to be a study done about the number of blatant pass interference calls that go missed and when the ones that are called occur.
 
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I have a little bit of experience with this - I officiate high school football. Two points come to mind:

First, an official's whistle should never make the ball dead. You should blow your whistle after an incomplete pass, a runner is down, a runner steps out of bounds, forward progress is stopped, etc. A whistle in those cases is signaling that the ball is dead, but the act of blowing the whistle didn't make the ball become dead. Second, the worst thing you can do as an official is an inadvertent whistle. That is, blow your whistle when the ball is still live. In this case, the ball becomes dead, and one team is usually going to be pissed. For example, if team A throws a pass, an official blows the whistle while the ball is in mid-air, and team B intercepts the ball and returns it for a TD, team A will get the ball back and get to replay the down due to the inadvertent whistle.

Thus, when I officiate a team with an offense based on deception like the triple option, I will have a slower whistle. For example, if the B-back runs up the middle and gets tackled, I'm going to check and make sure he really had the ball (and not that the QB or A-back really don't have the ball and are streaking upfield). An inadvertent whistle in that scenario is perhaps the worst thing I could do. This isn't any sort of bias, but just making sure I get the call right. Again, the ball is dead by rule and not by my whistle. So in theory it shouldn't matter how long it takes me to blow my whistle after the play is over.
 
What year was it when JT was stopped on a run and the refs held their whistles for a good 10 seconds, allowing the uga players to beat at the ball until it came out? Second worst call I’ve seen. The first was during yesterday’s tamu game where the uga receiver threw the CB to the ground then caught a wide open pass.
 
gtphd said:
What year was it when JT was stopped on a run and the refs held their whistles for a good 10 seconds, allowing the uga players to beat at the ball until it came out? Second worst call I’ve seen. The first was during yesterday’s tamu game where the uga receiver threw the CB to the ground then caught a wide open pass.
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That was Reggie or did it happen to JT too?
 
gtphd said:
What year was it when JT was stopped on a run and the refs held their whistles for a good 10 seconds, allowing the uga players to beat at the ball until it came out? Second worst call I’ve seen. The first was during yesterday’s tamu game where the uga receiver threw the CB to the ground then caught a wide open pass.
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2014
 
2006 in the cesspool. Worse call I've ever seen.--and I've seen some bad one's--mostly in Ugag games. Go figger!
 
The refs in the uga game yesterday were under clear orders to protect the conference’s playoff contender. The offensive pass interference on uga’s only touchdown was obvious and not called. The damned receiver dragged the defender to the ground by his face mask to get open. Then the refs didn’t call defensive pass interference when uga pulled the guys undershirt to hold him from a pass. A call would have given A&M a crucial first down. On top of that uga held all damned game with no calls.
 
You know it is blatantly obvious if David Pollack calls it out.
 
ElCidBUZZingFAN said:
2014
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Yep, 2014 -that play subsequently led to me leaving my basement den to walk up to the kitchen. On my way up the stairs I elbowed the wall and put a hole in it, which stayed until I had the interior of the house repainted in 2016. Just glad I didn't hit a stud.
 
I may be alone in thinking NCSt got some pretty generous spots on Thurday night. You would almost think the ACC was providing a subtle nudge to try to help a team get to bowl eligible.
 
In last night's Oklahoma win over TCU, the Big 12 refs and booth review crews made a horrible spot at the end of the game on a 4th and 2, when TCU obviously stopped OU, meaning TCU could have knocked Oklahoma out of the playoffs.

The announcers agreed TCU stopped OU. It wasn't even close. But, the Big 12 was not giving up their chance at the playoffs. You can't convince me these conferences aren't more concerned with making that playoff money than they are with having fair and honest officiating, when the closeness of the game gives them the chance to decide the outcome. Very sad.
 
savbandjacket said:
The refs in the uga game yesterday were under clear orders to protect the conference’s playoff contender. The offensive pass interference on uga’s only touchdown was obvious and not called. The damned receiver dragged the defender to the ground by his face mask to get open. Then the refs didn’t call defensive pass interference when uga pulled the guys undershirt to hold him from a pass. A call would have given A&M a crucial first down. On top of that uga held all damned game with no calls.
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Guess we'll just need to kick their a$$ badly enough that the refs can't make it up for them.
 
gtphd said:
What year was it when JT was stopped on a run and the refs held their whistles for a good 10 seconds, allowing the uga players to beat at the ball until it came out? Second worst call I’ve seen. The first was during yesterday’s tamu game where the uga receiver threw the CB to the ground then caught a wide open pass.
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2014. It was that 14 point swing (JT was insode the 10 when it happened and the urinal ran it back for a TD) is what required us to have the late game heroics of the Kick and the Pick.
 
aeromech said:
I may be alone in thinking NCSt got some pretty generous spots on Thurday night. You would almost think the ACC was providing a subtle nudge to try to help a team get to bowl eligible.
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You aren't alone. I know its my bias speaking, but it feels like we play the damn refs every game, in addition to the opponent, and that we never get the benefit of the doubt, especially in rivalry games.
 
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