Bertrand: NFL Doesn't Give A Damn About Horrendous Officiating
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's pretty clear the NFL has an officiating problem, with several questionable calls plaguing Sunday night's Patriots-Broncos game in Denver.
The two that stand out are an offensive pass interference on Rob Gronkowski (his league-leading fifth of the season) and a defensive holding on Patrick Chung. Both came at critical times of the game, and both ended up costing the Patriots. This comes a week after there was an inadvertent whistle in New England's win over the Bills, and a botched call at the end of the game that should have given Buffalo one more shot at the end zone.
But 98.5 The Sports Hub's Marc Bertrand has a warning for Patriots fans hoping the NFL will correct their ways after more blunders on national television: The NFL doesn't care.
"The league office isn't going to do jack about it. Nothing. There will be no reaction. Did anything happen last week after that disgrace we saw on the field in the Buffalo game? Did we see any apologies issued, any suspensions or any refs get put on the bench? Did any of that happen last week? No," said Beetle. "This is what you have in that league: You have a system that covers up when things go wrong. You have a culture that is, 'Let's cover up and avoid any PR disasters and limit the damage from a PR angle.' That's what they do.
Just as Gene Steratore covered up last week's gaffs against Buffalo (and so too did the league's head of officiating, Dean Blandino) Beetle says the NFL will once again try to brush Sunday night's issues under the rug.
"When things get screwed up and the real integrity of the game, when people question if things are on the level, that's when they go into cover-up mode and nothing happens. The league doesn't care. Park Avenue doesn't give a damn what happened last night in that game," he said.
"It's a league full of people who don't want to do anything… At the end of the day, Tony Corrente, 64 years old and unable to keep his wits about him last night because it was cold out, and he's chattering on the field and going catatonic. You know what they're going to do about that? They're going to suit up Tony Corrente, put him back on the field next week and say 'Go officiate some games because we don't care.' That's the sad truth about the NFL. They don't give a damn, so don't expect anything to change."
Bertand says this is much more than just Patriots fans being paranoid that the league has some sort of vendetta against the team.
"You are not delusional, Scott Zolak, for suggesting there is something going on the in the league as it relates to this team. Here's why: Beyond the culture of covering everything up, there's a culture of 'We don't care if the Patriots get screwed because no one really likes them in the league.' That's what it comes down to," he said. "Last night, as a Patriots fan, you have all the right in the world to be pissed off today about the refs last night. You should be mad about it and you should call the league into question and question whether or not this thing is on the level. All of that is fair today based on the horrific officiating we saw on the field last night."
Beetle hates to blame a loss on officiating, but says it's clear the league has no integrity.
"They have none, and this is not news. It's disappointing and insulting as a fan," he said.
Scott Zolak adds that this is now, "Two weeks in a row where we've witnessed some of the worst officiating the league has had in years."