MAC on Bolden Targeting
Was in a meeting this morning with a guy who is apparently a pretty good friend of a veteran MAC football official. They've talked the past few weeks, and it seems the MAC has given its officials a bulletin specifically on the Bolden vs. MSU targeting call, to the effect of, "Guys, that's not how we call it."
So there's that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:36 PM ^
November 2nd, 2015 at 4:35 PM ^
I take it you aren't a fan of House of Cards? I found Kevin Spacey's breaking of the fourth wall a major distraction.
November 2nd, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:05 PM ^
is to change the culture of the game - to get players to stop smacking each other in the head as much as possible.
The rules explicitly state "When in question, it is a foul". They're fine with some unjust calls in order instill the fear of God in the players of coaches about it. Thus Jordan's ejection is a feature, not a bug. The refs are are being ordered to make shitty calls by the Rules Committee.
The best analogy I can make to the situation is clipping. Years ago it went on all the time, with lots of players' careers being ruined from knee injuries as a result. The Rules Committee cracked down on it, and for several years there were clipping calls constantly on almost every play. Now, however, clipping is very rarely called, because the culture of the game has been changed.
So plan on seeing lots of crappy targeting calls for many years until coaches and player break themselves of the habit. Long term, it's definitely good for the game but it's going to suck for a while.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:44 PM ^
I wouldn't care so much about the "injustices" for occassionally calling it when it shouldn't IF it was almost always called when it should be. Right now, you've got some cases that look pretty obvious that aren't called. While other cases that are borderline at best are called.
Part of the problem maybe the call is always initiated on the field. If it really is targeting and targeting is a safety issues and if the refs on the field miss, then the review ref ought to have the right to call it anyway. Having a targeting review initiated from the booth would be culture changing.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:50 PM ^
Regarding the targeting that was picked up in the Northwestern game. You can't use the intent of the rule excuse when it is being applied so inconsistently.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^
I'm not so sure Michael Jordan wasn't the Michael Jordan of being a son of a bitch.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^
The leage needs to hire full time officials. This has reached a tipping point this season.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
If the fucking Big Ten can bring in crap like Rutgers the least they can do is hire full time officials. Schools can pay coaches millions but not get competent officials? I think they would need about 50 officials. Say we pay them $150k each including all benefits that would be $7.5 million for the whole league.
I think the TV contract alone is $500 million. I's say spending 1.5% of the TV revenue would be a good investment.
November 2nd, 2015 at 6:01 PM ^
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^
But they could distribute a memo several inches thick based on the officiating that game.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^
If this went out to MAC officials, it also went out to Big Ten officials. The "Collegiate Officiating Consortium," with Bill Carollo as the coordinator of football officials, supervises game officials for the Big Ten, the MAC and the Missouri Valley Conference (FCS).
So is this why an obvious targeting call wasn't called on Saturday--the officials had just received a memo telling them that they are over-calling targeting?
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^
But I doubt they were able to read/understand it given all the big words it contained.
Seriously I think the targeting call has simply become a "fuck you I dont like you or your team" call for the refs. Don't like the team you're assaigned to? Either give them a bullshit targeting call (like Bolden's) or refuse to call an obvious one (like any one of the 16 on Rudock this year they somehow missed).
I know Brian doesnt agree but man I'm telling you that Michigan itself is "targeted" by the incompetent boobs that officiate the game. I'm starting to think they ALL went to either OSU or more likely MSU and have a major chip on their shoulder in regards to us. I was shocked when they overturned the Minnesota TD Saturday night it's gotten so bad.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:46 PM ^
We get screwed twice.
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
and this conversation and the incessant complaining about refs probably never takes place.
I'm consoled by the fact that Michigan football is finally in capable hands and on the right path finally after wandering around with Barney Rubble for 4 years. Even a broad, vast, natinowide conspiracy of referee incompetence directed at Michigan (which doesn't exist btw) would not change this fact or trajectory of things to come. And for that I'm happy.
November 2nd, 2015 at 5:43 PM ^
I'd be pissed about that horseshit targeting penality against Bouldin if we had won 100-0. He got EJECTED FROM THE GAME for being pushed over by someone on the other team. That is the definition of utterly ridiculous.
November 3rd, 2015 at 8:35 AM ^
November 2nd, 2015 at 9:08 PM ^
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:44 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
November 2nd, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
No one knows what this rule is and is not.
Seems there is one group of refs who thinks the rule applies when a player goes after someone else in a way that is outside what is needed to play the game. You know, "targets" them for a wicked hit. That reading maybe excuses the no-calls on the hits on Rudock on Saturday since you could say they where football plays. (Kinda, maybe?)
There also appears to be a second camp which obsessively focuses on all the details of the rule and says any head to head contact on a player going down is targeting. Even if the offender was being held and is thrown on top of the QB. This gets you the Bolden call.
The largest group is a bunch of officials who have no fucking clue at all what the rule means, They just guess at it and look like fools. I don't even know that I blame them, since they didn't come up with this and it seems like no one has trained them on it.
The NCAA needs to define the rule and train its officials so it is evenly called. Or the NCAA should just admit that the rule is just a PR campaign to make people think that it is doing something about the concussion problem in football.
November 2nd, 2015 at 8:59 PM ^
They have a huge problem figuring out what is or is not a Catch!
November 2nd, 2015 at 4:43 PM ^
and these problems should be addressed.
But there is another problem, the replay officials in the booth need an upgrade, too. Often these replay officials are older refs who can no longer run up and down the field. I not sure they've watched too many games on tv this century, or are comfortable with the technology. Get some neutral observers in their late 20s / early 30s; they don't need to be on the site of the game. Mike Pereira always seems to get the calls correct (meaning I agree with him) when consulting on Fox. It is possible.
November 2nd, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^
I think he protects the officials way too much and refuses to overturn close calls that are wrong. But he is better than the typical Big Ten replay guy, that is for sure.
I also think you are off-base assuming that only people under 40 can possibly tell what is going on on replay.. I'm assuming by your username that you may have gone to school in 1977 and therefore would actually be quite a bit older than me so I'm going to assume you aren't making that comment from a place of arrogance but I still don't agree with it.
But I do agree with you that we need better replay offiicials and not a bunch of retired/washed-up guys in the booth.
November 2nd, 2015 at 6:43 PM ^
November 3rd, 2015 at 12:49 AM ^
Including the part where I could never qualify because I couldn't be objective. Maybe I could do it if I was doing it a conference other than the Big Ten I could handle it, since I don't really care about most other conferences.
However it seems like a lot of Big Ten refs actually went to Big Ten schools. For example, the replay ref screwing us over against MSU was an Illinois grad.
November 3rd, 2015 at 8:50 AM ^
November 2nd, 2015 at 5:35 PM ^
I give credit to the MAC to identify a potential problem and take immediate corrective measures.