By Mike Corasaniti

The Replacement Referee Era officially ended with Thursday night's matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Ravens in Baltimore.

Gone are the days of criticism, skepticism, and questioning every call the referees make...sort of. Either way, fans are now able to watch games with a little less reason to get angry and players are able to do what they are paid to do without the worry of failing due to reasons that are out of their hands. And more importantly, exceptional performances will replace blown calls on headlines across America.

With that being said, and 14 beautiful weeks of regular season football left to enjoy with veteran referees, it's time to take a look back on five of the worst instances of this disgraceful period in NFL history.

5. Sept. 23: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings

Low point: Referees grant San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh two invalid video challenges after a fourth quarter timeout. 

It was hard to pick a No. 5 since there are a good number of other games where the refs didn't necessarily blow the game, but embarrassed themselves nonetheless (Redskins v. Rams just to name one). But more than some of the others, this officiating mess highlighted the lack of confidence these replacement referees had in themselves and the calls they were making.

In their defense, the refs did have to deal with one of the most excitable coaches in the league in Jim Harbaugh, but no self-respecting ref should ever be intimidated to the point where a coach convinces them to hand out extra challenges.

The referees didn't blow this game. The Vikings won this game, behind probably Christian Ponder's best NFL performance to date (a solid 198 yards, two touchdowns and no picks) and some handy David Akers field goals, but they didn't make it the easiest to watch.

4. Sept. 23: Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders

Low point: No flag is thrown on a helmet-to-helmet hit on Oakland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, who was a defenseless receiver.

This game was a tough one to swallow for the Steelers. Take away the game-winning field goal as time expired for the Raiders, and there was still a lot to be upset about, especially with the referees.

A pick 6 being called back on a very questionable roughing the passer call on James Harrison, the lack of a call for the blatant face mask grabbing of Mike Wallace in the end zone, and an overall 14 flags against Pittsburgh held back a Steelers team that should have had a much easier time against the Raiders.

But still, the worst moment of the game came on the flagless hit against Heyward-Bey in the end zone that led to his carting off the field. Obviously, a latter penalty wouldn't have prevented the hit on Heyward-Bey, but simply allowing a dangerous hit like that to go unpunished is an embarrassment for a league so "dedicated" to player safety.

3. Sept. 17: Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons


Low point: Lack of control over the game leads to no control of sideline-clearing confrontations between players after a Knowshon Moreno fumble.

One of the worst aspects of games officiated by replacements was that they took forever. The Monday night Broncos-Falcons matchup was one of the most blatant examples of that with a first half that took a little over two hours, all because the officials had no control over the game.

The lack of control was evident throughout the game, which was filled with delayed and overturned calls and was ultimately represented by the on-field skirmish. It was a mess, took more than five minutes to clear up, and, when all was said and done, only one flag was thrown.

There were a few other instances comparable to the mess in Atlanta, but the disarray being on full display on a Monday night just made the situation that much worse.


2. Sept. 23: New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens

Low point: Questionable to ridiculous holding and interference calls extend Baltimore drives, assisting in their comeback; John Harbaugh is called with unsportsmanlike conduct for trying to call a timeout.

Joe Flacco engineered some terrific drives to lead the Ravens to their bizarre one-point win, but at times, the referees were the only reasons those drives were able to continue. It all culminated in one of the hardest field goal calls of all time that, to their defense, the refs probably got right.

But there are two main problems with the game besides this. One: If the game was called perfectly—which it wouldn't have been with the real referees either—it would not have even come down to the close field goal at the end of the game. Two: The referees were awful against Baltimore as well.

In total, 24 penalties were called throughout the game, for a total of 218 yards. Almost every single drive that had major penalties led to scoring, and almost every single call led to PG-13 jeers from the Baltimore faithful. 

After the game, many were questioning whether this would prove to be the "straw that would break the NFL's back." But, as we know now, that straw wouldn't come for about 24 more hours.


1. Sept. 24: Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks

Low point: Do I even have to say it?

To reiterate the point that everyone has been talking about this past week, the last call made by replacement referees was one of the worst calls in NFL history for three reasons: It was wrong; they reviewed the play and still didn't realize it was wrong; and they weren't technically allowed to review the play anyways.

The Era of the Replacement Referee is over. The old referees are back, and while they're far from perfect, it's nice to know that, moving forward, the game can get back to being the game. 

Players will be able to play with the knowledge that the game is back in their hands, coaches won't have to be so on edge to challenge the officials on every single player, and, miraculously, America won't be so quick to hate the referee. 

Well, at least for a while.


This article can be seen on Bleacher Report

By Mike Corasaniti

Have you felt old yet watching football yet this year?

Rookie quarterbacks (with ages ranging from 22 to 28) made a splash at the start of this season when five of them earned the starting spots for their respective teams.

Washington’s Robert Griffin III, Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck, Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Cleveland’s Brandon Weeden and Miami’s Ryan Tannehill gave us a mixed bag of performances across the board; some of them giving weary fans hope for years to come, some of them leaving fans more confused than they were just a few weeks ago.

But two weekends into the 2012 season, what grade has each youngster earned for his performances so far? Let’s take a look.


Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

In a sense, you could say that Wilson has been the most consistent over his first two starts this season. He has not been impeccable, but he’s been about as solid as you can realistically expect from a rookie QB (remember, we have been spoiled recently with Griffin, Luck and Newton).

Two touchdowns, one interception, 300 yards and a solid win under his belt does not look too bad for the Badger moving forward.

Unfortunately for him, with two notable backup quarterbacks, there is added pressure for him to do a little better than 150 yards a game. Because of that, Wilson will also be a very interesting one to watch in the coming weeks.

Grade: C+


Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins

Ryan Tannehill’s first performance was nothing that he will want to remember years down the road. No touchdowns, three interceptions, and a quarterback rating of about three...let’s just say he was happy to bounce back this Sunday.

One passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and a more respectable QBR (not to mention a little help from Reggie Bush) made Tannehill’s curtain call a lot more pleasant to watch.

Hopefully things with Matt Moore will work out in Miami, because when Tannehill’s on, he’s a pretty solid rookie signal-caller.

Grade: C-


Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

His weird neck-beard aside, Luck has put up some pretty impressive numbers himself (ignoring those three interceptions in his debut).

Any time someone can say they threw for more than 500 yards over their first two professional games, that is nothing to sneeze at, but Luck will have to get a little more comfortable in Indianapolis if he wants to capitalize on his seemingly endless potential. Granted, they will rely greatly on his surrounding teammates, which does not necessarily mean great things for the No. 1 draft pick’s first season in the pros.

Grade: B-


Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns

The ageless wonder was another one that improved greatly upon his disappointing Week 1 debut. Though still winless, Weeden put up a very strong 70 percent completion rate with two touchdowns against the Bengals to make up some for his four interceptions against the Eagles the previous week.

In my opinion, Weeden will be the most interesting rookie QB to watch, as it seems like he can really go either way (as evidenced by his first two starts). Let’s hope things will stray to the better side for Weeden this week against Buffalo.

Grade: C


Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins

Easily the cream of the crop so far, Bob Griffin made the most noise of any on opening weekend with his 320-yard, two-touchdown performance (good enough for a QBR of almost 94). He was slightly less impressive in Sunday’s loss to St. Louis, but slightly less impressive was still pretty darn good.

If Griffin can keep up stats anything close to his current averages (70-plus percent completion rating, 250-plus passing yards per game) than he is going to have to move his Heisman over on the shelf to make room for a nice Rookie of the Year trophy.

Grade: A-


This article can be seen on Bleacher Report

By Mike Corasaniti

The melodrama surrounding handshakes has gotten a little ridiculous.

In my recent memory, all of this hullabaloo started six years ago yesterday, when Bill Belichick’s Patriots toppled Eric Mangini’s Jets at the Meadowlands in the first game of the rivalry under Mangini’s tenure. The fourth quarter ended and the two sidelines engaged in the dry tradition of hugging the men they just spent three hours trying to hurt when Mangini and Belichick made their way over to each other, climaxing with an eye-contactless deadfish grip that only succeeded in making everyone watching at home feel a little more awkward.

Since then, I’m sure you can remember the many more handshake headlines that unfolded around the league. The headline going into the Jets-Patriots 2007 playoff game was a handshake, Jim Harbaugh handed Jim Schwartz a strangely intense pat on the back leading to a strangely intense chasedown, and just this Sunday, Tom Coughlin ignored any sense of pleasantries and simply ripped Greg Schiano apart for his defensive line’s hit on Eli Manning during the final kneel-down of the game. It was after the latest chapter that I really started to think about the absurdity of the postgame handshake and why the mandatory nature of the tradition needs to die.

Let's look at how a few other sports do it.

First up is basketball. If coaches want to keep exchanging pleasantries after games, that's fine with me, mostly because it would be harder to ignore the other coach and walk away, then walk the seven feet down the line to shake his hand. It's like dealing with the ex-girlfriend you're forced to sit next to in class: it's best to just address the elephant in the room, say good game, and move on. But with the same analogy applied to football, if you're standing across a football field from someone you have ill will with (see Mangini and Belichick), it's probably best to just ride the elephant all the way home.

Next up is baseball, which in my opinion does it right. Not that I’m completely against manners, but if I were a manager, I wouldn’t want to have to climb out of the dugout and across the infield just to spank the man that just beat me. Baseball realized this is silly, and you know what the best part about all of it is? There are no subsequent baseball storylines about handshakes.

There is a lot of good to be said about the history of NFL coaches with good manners. Men have gotten their butts kicked and looked the opposing coach in the eyes and said, "nice job." Coaches destroyed opponents and respectfully wished their counterparts better luck next time. People enjoyed seeing it and it was good for the game, but pettiness isn't good for anyone. If Jim Schwartz is tired of getting beat by San Francisco, then he should just write Harbaugh an e-mail next week when he's cooled off. If Belichick wants to punch the nearest Jet in the face after a loss, then he should probably save it for his punching bag. Nobody should be forced to show good manners. And if a new tradition starts, where head coaches aren't shellacked for just walking off the field after a loss, then hopefully, people won't mind. Because I'd honestly rather watch someone ignore their ex-girlfriend, than awkwardly stand by to see them shake hands, ignore eye contact and walk away (see Mangini and Belichick).


This article can be seen in The Daily Campus