1. The coaches, players, announcers, etc. have decided that it is their duty to try to get away with as much as possible, for as long as possible. Whining, moaning, complaining, and bullying are mandatory to try to get their way, regardless of what the rules are.
2. If the refs actually call a penalty (oh, let’s say because a defender wrapped his fingers through the quarterback’s face mask) the booth will complain because said face mask was not violently twisted during the tackle. Last time I checked, a face mask penalty was a penalty when the fingers were wrapped around the face mask, period.
3. The referees in the booth, who are not replacement refs since they’re under a different collective bargaining agreement, are screwing calls up too. So why aren’t they getting criticized? Oh right, because we all need to jump on the bandwagon.
4. I’ve seen plenty of non-calls from the regular refs (let’s say, oh, when the Saints’ bounty system was in full swing and they were pile-driving Brett Favre into the ground AFTER the play) that were dangerous to a player’s health. Maybe it’s because the so-called replacement refs don’t kow-tow to the league “elite” and are actually calling the RULES for a change?
5. The players need to man up and stop getting into these stupid slap fights after plays. Shut up and play the game – at least these refs aren’t calling 30 penalties on one team and 5 on another (I’m from Buffalo, trust me, I’ve seen more than my share of those lop-sided games).
6. Why aren’t we criticizing the players for refusing to play the game the way it was meant to be – within the rules – and are instead trying to enact their own form of lawlessness?