Greg Sankey on SEC officiating

Tug Tide · Oct 23, 2019

Commish posted a statement today re league officials, training, evals and such

https://www.secsports.com/article/27911146/sec-commissioner-greg-sankey-sec-officiating

Included were links to something’s i found interesting:
Articles written by sports writers and commentators who acted as officials in UGA spring game
Andy Staples: https://www.si.com/college-football/2019/04/22/georgia-spring-game-sec-officials-referees

Dennis Dodd:
https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...ege-football-officials-try-being-one-of-them/

SEC film room segments with Steve Shaw and Matt Stinchcomb:
https://www.secsports.com/clubhouse/officiating

SEC Conflict of Interest policy:
https://www.secsports.com/article/27493561/sec-conflict-interest-policy

Finally a weekly/annual chart of review and evaluation process:
https://www.secsports.com/clubhouse/officiating

B1GTide · Oct 23, 2019

Are we supposed to feel sorry for them?

rgw · Oct 23, 2019

SEC officiating has had a bad year so far. Sounds like PR spin to me.

81usaf92 · Oct 23, 2019

When do we ge to the part that the #1 priority for SEC refs is to protect the importance of the major games in November?

Tug Tide · Oct 23, 2019

Agreed with everything above, don’t shoot the messenger fellas.
I thought it was an odd statement, like mentioned above it read more as a PR CYA piece. I did find the experiences of the writers intriguing.
I’ve umpired baseball at competitive HS and JUCO before, so I get that not everyone is able to put themselves in the officials shoes.

theballguy · Oct 23, 2019

SEC refs are the worst. Enuff said.

81usaf92 · Oct 23, 2019

theballguy said:
SEC refs are the worst. Enuff said.

I rather have the NFL replacement refs over them. Atleast the NFL replacement refs were too incompentent to rig a game on purpose.

4Q Basket Case · Oct 23, 2019

The very fact that Sankey felt the need to issue a statement says volumes.

He knows there are problems.

The worst calls I’ve seen all year were actually two no-calls, on the same play. The USCe - Florida game where a Florida RB scored a TD on a long run down the left sideline. A Florida WR held the USCe defender for literally 20+ yards running interference. Earlier on the same play, the Florida RT clearly had a false start, and it wasn’t close.

How they miss both of those...I doubt even Sankey can spin his way out of that.

(Sorry, Bazza, I had no rooting interest in that game for or against either Florida or USCe....this is about the refs.)

BamaInBham · Oct 23, 2019

theballguy said:
SEC refs are the worst. Enuff said.

I don't know if you meant this literally or in a figurative sense but if literally, you must not watch other conferences. There are some who make one yearn for the SEC - especially the PAC12. I'm not one who typically believes in fixes or conspiracies, though I know they can and do happen, but some of the PAC12 stuff is so bad that you wonder.

81usaf92 · Oct 23, 2019

BamaInBham said:
I don't know if you meant this literally or in a figurative sense but if literally, you must not watch other conferences. There are some who make one yearn for the SEC - especially the PAC12. I'm not one who typically believes in fixes or conspiracies, though I know they can and do happen, but some of the PAC12 stuff is so bad that you wonder.

The simple fact that UF-USCe 2019 and Mizzou-UK 2018 were more or less seriously affected from blantant blown calls, in which a ref was in clear position to see the infraction, is enough proof that the SEC looks out for its own postseason chances. In both games, the team competing for a CFP spot was getting punched around, and a horrible call was a key deciding factor. Also both results setup a serious Playoff matchup between Top 15 teams a few weeks later.

I get bad calls happen in the course of the game, but there are bad calls that get makeup calls later, and then there are bad calls that only go one way.

RammerJammer15 · Oct 23, 2019

Matt Loeffler's crew needs to be suspended, they called the Bama/A&M game and the USC/UF game, they did a poor job in both games.

4Q Basket Case · Oct 23, 2019

RammerJammer15 said:
Matt Loeffler's crew needs to be suspended, they called the Bama/A&M game and the USC/UF game, they did a poor job in both games.

I didn’t know his name, but I recognized his face. Agreed 1,000%

crimsonaudio · Oct 23, 2019

Sad part is there was a time when Matt's crew was the best in the SEC. A few years ago it nose-dived and has been awful ever since...

Bazza · Oct 23, 2019

4Q Basket Case said:
The very fact that Sankey felt the need to issue a statement says volumes.

He knows there are problems.

The worst calls I’ve seen all year were actually two no-calls, on the same play. The USCe - Florida game where a Florida RB scored a TD on a long run down the left sideline. A Florida WR held the USCe defender for literally 20+ yards running interference. Earlier on the same play, the Florida RT clearly had a false start, and it wasn’t close.

How they miss both of those...I doubt even Sankey can spin his way out of that.

(Sorry, Bazza, I had no rooting interest in that game for or against either Florida or USCe....this is about the refs.)

I'll have to find the video showing the South Carolina defender holding onto the facemask of Florida's Tyrie Cleveland all the way down the field. Of course, it was not shown on national TV and the announcers didn't help matters with their commentary. Maybe that's why there was no holding call - I don't know and seems to me the SEC should come out after the game with a post-game report of all these concerns complete with proper video showing what really happened.

The other "pick" play is questionable because from what I understand the NCAA rule allows a wide-out to block within one yard. If you look, Hammond's foot was one yard downfield and he releases while Trask is still a runner. That is borderline to no foul and not nearly as egregious as they made it sound.

Then we have all the calls made against Florida in the first half - some of which to me were ticky tack calls at best like the two 'lining up in the neutral zone'. They also screwed up several ball placements which went against Florida - so in spite of all the outcry, I really feel we weren't really given the benefit from the officiating as some would say.

Then in the LSU and Auburn games prior to the South Carolina game, Florida got jobbed on quite a few occasions.

Bottom line is there's incompetence every where and it impacts every team in the SEC and many outside the conference.

I think the only way to overcome this is to make sure you play good enough to win, in spite of the officiating.
====

The face mask I mentioned:

WishIwasInBama · Oct 23, 2019

The fact the announcers rarely highlight missed calls (it happens but only for the ones the color guy usually has a particular issue with) tells me there is some kind of deal with the leagues and networks. There is too much money involved for the officials to be as bad as there are/have been. Sad part to me is from the business point of view we, the user, have not altered our consumption so why would they spend money they don’t have to?

I think the game is faster than ever and they need to look at the quantity as much as quality. A few years back they looked at adding one and teams like Auburn and Ole Miss were up in arms because their game plans are built on staying as close to the ledge, in reference to the rules, as possible and more than occasionally stepping outside them.

In my opinion, it will not get better until the bottom line is affected.

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Ole Man Dan · Oct 23, 2019

rgw said:
SEC officiating has had a bad year so far. Sounds like PR spin to me.

Agreed.
Officiating has been bad league wide.
That's the only part of consistency that applies to our Officiating.

I'm inclined to agree with the Lane Kiffin Video of the blind refs.

bamacpa · Oct 24, 2019

The Commissioner’s statement was not helpful. Several high profile misses this year.

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TIDE-HSV · Oct 24, 2019

crimsonaudio said:
Sad part is there was a time when Matt's crew was the best in the SEC. A few years ago it nose-dived and has been awful ever since...

When Shaw took over, the first thing he did was break up standing crews. IOW, Loeffler's crew isn't the same week to week, as it was in the past. Under the old system, the crews came in as a unit, from minor conferences, and worked their ways up to the more significant games. Shaw's theory was that by "homogenizing" crews, the younger guys would learn from the more experienced. IDK if that were a short experiment or if it still is in place. I didn't like it at the time and still don't, if it's in place. I couldn't find anything recent on it. Maybe IndyBison or someone more knowledgeable will chime in...

TIDE-HSV · Oct 24, 2019

I found this quote in an article in the Dallas News. It makes me think he reverted to the old system...

While the SEC crew members watch film of their previous game and get critiqued by the league office the night before the A&M-ULL game, a local crew is less than 3 miles away calling a game.

The nucleus of this crew, led by referee Jerrod Jackson, started working together in 2007.

BamaInMo1 · Oct 24, 2019

My concern is the blatantly missed calls and calls where the ref stands there and watches one play swing at another or sling a player down and doesn't flag the instigator but the one who retaliates. To me, a lot of retaliation could be stopped with the flag immediately being thrown on the initial aggressor.

Greg Sankey on SEC officiating

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