Lousy play doesn't excuse lousy officiating (1 Viewer)

[WxM]

I'm really tired of hearing this ridiculous argument from some of our fans. I don't know if it's virtue signaling, that some fans think they're better or more rational than other fans, or they want us to look better to other fan bases, or what. But I really wish it would stop.

How many times this season would you say the Saints played to their full potential; a complete game? Two? Three? So those folks are essentially saying we have no business objecting to any negative officiating in 80 percent of our games. Or, the Saints deserve good officiating only 20 percent of the time.

Sorry guys. That's a recipe for failure. It's not only an impossible standard for the Saints to live up to, it's impossible for any team. Teams have won championships without playing their best ball all the time, and even in the playoffs. Why do you feel it should have to be any different for the Saints?

And why is it that you won't apply this standard to other teams, including our opponents? How often does our opponent play their best? Probably the same amount. So why don't they deserve to get hosed 80 percent of the time? And if it's merely "human error,* why is it that we never benefit from said "error?" When's the last time we won a game on uncalled interference?

Disclaimer: the players and coaches can control only their performance. They don't need to concern themselves with any other factor, legitimate or not. But I'm not a player or coach, nor am I addressing them. I'm speaking to our fans. And if we're just going to throw up our hands at lousy officiating and say, "Oh well. The Saints didn't play all that great. It doesn't matter," then what is the point? If we won't have their backs, who will?

Mediocre or bad play does not justify or excuse mediocre, bad, or corrupt officiating.

 

[whodatsaint]

I agree. An aggregious call or non-call is a problem requiring fixing even if you are being beaten 100-0. All this “Well we had plenty of opportunities to win the game” business is just a way of changing the subject.

 

[Saint Kamara]

"to avoid an issue with officiating"

 

[Brennan77]

From a simple standpoint of logic, I agree with you. I have never understood the argument that officiating errors should be excused on the basis that the team could have made more plays. A game between two playoff teams is often likely to come down to the wire. The difference can be a single play. You don't want the refs mucking up that play and affecting the outcome of the game.

It's two years in a row that that has happened to the Saints. I feel less upset about it this year for some reason. Perhaps it's less egregious in at least you can make the argument that sometimes that goes uncalled, unlike last year. Still, it happened.

That said, it's easy to point to the poor performance of the team in this situation. They really did stink it up with uncharacteristic mistakes. That doesn't, however, excuse the poor showing of the officials. The two criticisms can coexist.

 

[csg1027]

Bad play does not excuse bad officiating.

BUT

Bad officiating does not excuse bad play. It goes both ways.

 

[WxM]

Bad play does not excuse bad officiating.

BUT

Bad officiating does not excuse bad play. It goes both ways.

I haven't seen a single soul suggest the latter, but that the lousy officiating was the final factor that decided the game, robbing the Saints of their chance to win.

The Vikings had lousy play, too. They turned it over. Nearly twice. They allowed heavy pressure. They missed easy throws. They got obliterated for most of the game in running, averaging a dreadful 3.4 YPC. Stunk it up defending our return game. Couldn't tackle Taysom. Gave us a cake walk to a tying field goal.

And yet they won, because they were allowed to break the rules at precisely the right moment.

 

[dtc]

Bad play does not excuse bad officiating.

BUT

Bad officiating does not excuse bad play. It goes both ways.

Officials make mistakes. It's part of the game. Bad play happens.

We played poorly most of the game and the Vikings did what nobody else has been able to do and that is to shut down Michael Thomas and pressure Brees while keeping our run game from busting loose.

The OPI was no worse than 10 other pushes during the game and Michael Thomas is a master of the push off.

Quit freaking whining people. We lost.

 

[WxM]

Officials make mistakes. It's part of the game. Bad play happens.

We played poorly most of the game and the Vikings did what nobody else has been able to do and that is to shut down Michael Thomas and pressure Brees while keeping our run game from busting loose.

The OPI was no worse than 10 other pushes during the game and Michael Thomas is a master of the push off.

Quit freaking whining people. We lost.

I've got two retired NFL refs and a ref who flagged Tre'Quan just a few weeks ago to disagree.

If it's just "mistakes," it stands to reason it will benefit us sometimes. It never does. When the mistakes only happen one way, they aren't mistakes.

You call it "whining." I call it speaking the truth. I'll continue to do so. Have a pleasant evening.

 

[Mississippi Saints Fan]

I agree. There's no excuse for bad play, but games still shouldn't be ultimately decided by inconsistent and unfair officiating. I almost guarantee had the jerseys been reversed and Cook pushed off, that's a flag on us 10 times out of 10. Now, could we still have played better and that not have mattered? Sure, but that's not the point. A team can always play better, but when the game is coming to a close and all that matters is those last few plays, then what happened before that should not matter at that point.

 

[Saintslfc13]

It doesn't, I agree with you. For me personally, after the game happened I was just more disappointed with our teams performance than I was about not getting a call I never expected us to get. I have no intention of spending another off-season complaining about a call when it's quite clear that no one that matters cares and quite frankly, no one that doesn't matter outside of Saints fans and some of our own personal friends care either. So that's why I'm more focused on our play than anything. If you wanna run with it then you're welcome too, and if the media feels the needs to go after Riveron and the officiating and use this latest no-call as a reason more power to them.

The better team on the day won the football game. The better overall team lost, I really believe that, but we could just as easily be complaining about the overtime rules and ask why not let the men on the field play a full quarter of football in OT. I'd even be fine if the NFL kept overtime as is for the regular season because of the injury aspect but said "there is no sudden death in the playoffs, we will play a full quarter or more until a team wins." Similar to how hockey does away with penalty shootouts in the post-season.

I think most of us here expected "our rule" to be used against us at some point in the playoffs. As it turns out they just didn't use "our rule", well I mean they said they did, but that it wasn't enough which given how this year has gone with the officials is par for the course.

 

[csg1027]

I haven't seen a single soul suggest the latter, but that the lousy officiating was the final factor that decided the game, robbing the Saints of their chance to win.

The Vikings had lousy play, too. They turned it over. Nearly twice. They allowed heavy pressure. They missed easy throws. They got obliterated for most of the game in running, averaging a dreadful 3.4 YPC. Stunk it up defending our return game. Couldn't tackle Taysom. Gave us a cake walk to a tying field goal.

And yet they won, because they were allowed to break the rules at precisely the right moment.

Eh... this is a weak take IMO.

Vikings were better in all of the following facets of the game:

- Time of Possession
- First Downs
- Total Yards
- Rushing Yards and attempts
- Third Downs
- Penalties
- Turnovers

The Vikings weren't perfect, but the Saints were sloppier and had no control of this game. We didn't play winning football.

 

[WxM]

Eh... this is a weak take IMO.

Vikings were better in all of the following facets of the game:

- Time of Possession
- First Downs
- Total Yards
- Rushing Yards and attempts
- Third Downs
- Penalties
- Turnovers

The Vikings weren't perfect, but the Saints were sloppier and had no control of this game. We didn't play winning football.

We put up the exact same number of points as they did. Of course they would have superior stats in reaching that equal point total, because they allowed us shorter fields, meaning fewer yards and less time needed to score.

Again, we scored the same number of points as they did. Right up until they got away with breaking the rules.

 

[csg1027]

Edit: Need to read more good-er

 

[WxM]

We can't control the officiating. But we can control how we came out , got out-coached, and played like absolute horse feces. I'm gonna focus on what the team CAN control. Good luck on your soap box.

Please read my disclaimer paragraph in the OP. I already addressed this argument.

 

[csg1027]

Please read my disclaimer paragraph in the OP. I already addressed this argument.

Noted.