The day when every NFL officiating crew is comprised of more full-time league employees can’t come soon enough for Cardinals coach Bruce Arians, especially after two alleged errors by one team contributed to Arizona’s 32-16 loss Sunday to the L.A. Rams.
Arians believes the Rams illegally blocked a Cardinals extra point and field goal attempt, even though no penalties were called.
On the first, two 300-pound defensive tackles (Michael Brockers and Tyrunn Walker) collided with long snapper Justin Drescher and sent him tumbling backward into defender Andy Lee and kicker Phil Dawson. Walker then blocked the kick, allowing Los Angeles to maintain a 16-13 lead late in the second quarter.
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Brockers got his second block early in the fourth quarter by tackling Drescher shortly after the snap. The Rams took advantage of the situation by kicking a field goal to take a 29-16 lead and leave the Cardinals with a 5-7 record and an elusive position in the NFC playoff race.
Now classified as a “defenseless player” in an effort to improve safety conditions, the long-thrower is protected from contact under NFL rules.
“While (Drescher’s) head was down there was contact with him,” Arians told Bill Polian, co-host of the play, and me Tuesday night on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “That’s a foul.
“I’m on the NFL Competition Committee, so I know it’s a foul. He’s a defenseless player.”
Arians said he expressed his displeasure to the crew led by Ron Tolbert, but to no avail.
“The referees on the field tell you everything is legal,” Arians said. “Now we have video on the sideline. That’s the biggest nemesis for referees now (laughs). You feel like it’s not legal and you can’t get an answer and then on Tuesday or Wednesday you get confirmation (from the NFL) that yes, it was illegal.
“Ron Tolbert is a great referee. I had no problem asking him questions. But there are things that happen after the fact. You send the tapes back and they say, ‘Yeah, that should have been called, that should have been called, that should have been called,’ but it’s not and that frustrates you a lot. For me, it’s just the inconsistency.”
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Arians believes there would be greater uniformity in the application of rules if more than 17 percent of NFL referees (21 of 134) worked full time. The league began hiring full-time referees this season and plans to increase the number of members in the coming years.
Asked why he thinks having full-time referees would result in better performances on game days, Arians said: “First of all, they would have to be held more accountable. Right now, they’re accountable to their union. There’s no ramifications (for), ‘Hey, I made a bad decision. It was my mistake.’ If they were full-time and under the league umbrella, that would be totally different.”
Arians said having all referees as full-time employees is essential to improvement. Currently, only four referees — Brad Allen, Walt Anderson, Jerome Boger and Pete Morelli — have that status, with some of the others choosing to continue in full-time jobs outside the auspices of the NFL, including those that pay far more than what the league offers. (Time magazine reported last year that the average referee salary for non-NFL employees was $173,000 in 2013 and would rise to $201,000 for the 2019 season.)
“If you can get all the referees full-time, then teams will be taught the same thing because they follow the referee,” said Arians, who has been an outspoken advocate of full-time referees since becoming Arizona’s coach in 2013. “All the teams follow the lead.”
Even if the NFL increases its full-time officiating staff in 2018, Arians might not sit on the sidelines to reap potential benefits.
First and foremost, the Cardinals would like to have him back after what will likely be their second straight year without a postseason appearance. While that seems likely considering his track record of success and the mitigating impact injuries had on this year’s team, Arians said he will initially talk to his wife, Christine, before making his own plans for 2018.
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Arians turned 65 in October and has suffered health issues in recent years severe enough to sideline him from coaching duties for short periods. That said, Arians didn’t seem to be in a retirement frame of mind when asked about his future plans.
“I’m having a lot of fun right now,” he said with passion in his voice. “(Christine) and I will decide like we always do right after the season. When I look at that (injured reserve) list and who’s coming back to this team, I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I get really excited.”
Arians would be even more excited if the NFL addressed his concerns about officiating.
“It’s a disgrace that referees are severely punished and coaches are fired for (mistakes),” he said.
Alex Marvez can be heard Wednesday from 7-11 p.m. ET on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
