Replacement Officials. Maybe the NFL Should Replace it Commissioner

The "replacement officials", or at least that's what the NFL has been calling them, has been the topic of conversation since the preseason. But given what we have seen since week one when the games started to matter maybe a better term would have been "incapable officials".  They have shown to be about as good at officiating football games as Michael Vick has been throwing touchdowns. But I don't wanna beat the issue of the replacement officials into the ground anymore than it already is. I wanna go a different route. I wanna put the  blame with the guy who allowed this to charade to happen in the first place.

Blame it on the Commissioner
It's simple really. Rodger Goodell is solely responsible for the embarrassment that has been brought upon the NFL. It's his job as the head man of the NFL to resolve these types of issues. It's a job that is different from any other top job in the corporate world. He has a ridiculous salary, no governing body to answer too, basically unlimited power, and the ability to actually discipline his only superiors which is the owners. It's a cakewalk. Now yes, he is responsible for a multi billion dollar company. But its a company that would continue to make money with or without Rodger Goodell. And that's my point.

The NFL is richest sports identity in the country and that didn't happen under Goodells watch. The league has been racking in money for years, each season making more and more. Why? Because it's a TV driven league. The TV contracts are worth hundred's of millions of dollars each year alone. Because it's the premier sports brand. Stop ten people on the street and unless one of them is blind,deaf, and dumb all ten will know the NFL brand. You cant say that about any other major sports brand in the world. And its also because they have and always have had a loyal fan base. And its expanding at a rapid rate. You want proof. How many fantasy leagues out there don't have at least one female player? Not many. Yea, you have always had casual female fans but nothing like it is today and its because of the brand. Somewhere out there right now there's a women checking stats, filling out a waiver wire, making trades and talking smack on her leagues message board all because of the what the NFL has built over the years.

Rodger Goodell is hurting that brand. And not just by letting the referee situation get out of hand. The rules of the game have been changed so much that it makes players look like pansies. Don't get me wrong I'm all for player safety to a certain extent but lets not forget: It is football. Its a contact sport. Its meant to be played in a violent fashion. You take that away and you take away the history that makes the sport so great. And its heading in that direction. You throw in the absurd fines he dishes out, the suspensions that are uncalled for and the way he blundered the Saints ordeal and what you have is a pattern of bad and inconsistent decisions.

All I'm saying is that the NFL is the NFL. You could put the CEO of Enron in charge and it would still make money. You don't a commissioner to be an All Pro, he just needs to manage the game.

And right now he's playing like Micheal Vick