JCon said:  "

I don't have a problem with them imposing the rules. My point is that the refing is very inconsistent from play to play, week to week. The quality of refing is very low in the CFL. The poor refing is not incidentally because it can have, and has had, a direct impacted the result of the games."

I think the league could spend a lot more money on officiating such as :

1] Making the position a full time job

2] Continuous training of said officials and review using the latest technology

3] Imitate how the NFL trains and develops its officials ... hire the same way ... many college refs would love to become full time professionals ... also former Canadian football players would love to extend their time in the game...

Unless and until there is  a significant improvement in the quality and accuracy of the officiating calls, to protect themselves teams need more - - not less - - reviews. THIS IS CRUCIAL to the integrity of the game and the growth of our fan interest/base.

I know good reviews take more time but bad calls are too big a turn off to the marginal fans we need to grow our game. 

Here is what I propose:

1] a slight change in the rules to adjust for slight infractions away from the play  ... slight contact on a receiver, blocking on kick returns, holding and the like ... this means not over turning plays because the officials are using some common sense discretion  and "fairness" ie there are constant small infractions going on all over the field. Teams should not be able to take advantage of this.

2] adjusting for the speed of live play instead of the more accurate slow motion; for example  the Loffler hit on Arcenaux during the BC playoff game ... that call was a game changer ... in other words not over turning normal human judgment calls as a matter of practice ... over turn the egrecious errors in judgment only ... take away the picky technicality in favor of supporting normal judgment and on field pragmatic decisions giving back discretion to the official and NOT deferring decisions to the replay - - make the official make an on the spot decision instead of failing to decide in order to defer to the camera... this puts the burden on the official reviewer who should be the very best, not the very least, officials we have ( and who would be paid the best) meaning we have good discretion supporting the officials but knowing when to draw the line on a bad call.

The head referee may announce "the infraction was away from the play and will not be enforced"... or "the call was within the discretion of the official ruling at game speed and will not be over turned" ... etc.

3] Give teams unlimited reviews as long as they are right on the calls they protest. Teams get to be wrong on their request for reviews only twice ... and when they are wrong they will be charged a ten yard delay of game penalty ... this will deter teams from throwing the yellow flag unless they are sure of their protest ... throwing that flag will occur less just because it could be a game changer or because it is a blatant un-costly attempt to get lucky at a critical time.

I know more reviews slow the game but as long as they correct true officiating errors there is a certain satisfaction in justice being served. Fan frustration comes from the delays resulting from frivolous/marginal protests.

Who believes the extra reviews to get it right is  worth it to the well being of the league and the fans?

Edited November 25, 20169 yr by BigBlue

14 hours ago, Mr Dee said:

This was one of the most enjoyable Grey Cup games and the officials did it right.

Only 11 penalties.. That is fantastic. 

A CFL statistic, according to a source reported by Rod Pedersen, had the offiating with a 97% success rate.

That means there was a lot of fan'atical blithering over 3%.

Mind you, those were some bad, bad calls in that tiny percentage.?

I don't trust anything that Rod or the CFL puts out on officiating. Bias confirmation.

I don't blame the refs when they call lots penalties and don't praise them when they call only a few.

As long as they're getting the obvious ones correct, in particular when in front of them, it's all good.

On 11/27/2016 at 9:46 AM, Throw Long Bannatyne said:

It's no coincidence that with the increased holding allowed by the O-line, QB injuries are down significantly this year from the last two.  I believe the league tolerates this compromise in order to keep their star players healthy and in the game.

They have let holding go for way longer than the last few years. It isn't a compromise they don't call it because there would be holding on nearly every play just like there was lots of PI/Contact not being called for the same reasons. Clean it up and you will get better o-linemen not only at the pro level but down through the amateur ranks.