Arkansas Business

This story is from the archives of ArkansasSports360.com.

Here’s betting Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings knows how New England Coach Bill Belichick feels.

After the Monday night officiating seminar that concluded NFL Wreck Week 3, both men would probably like to grab a replacement referee and give him a good shake.

Jennings (Arkansas State) looked to have clinched a victory for Green Bay at Seattle on Monday with an end zone interception of Russell Wilson’s Hail Mary. But despite mixed signals the refs ultimately ruled receiver Golden Tate, who clearly pushed off to get in on the play, had possession, and not replay could bail out the Packers as the call was upheld to give Seattle the 14-12 victory.

What game were they watching?

It has been pointed out Green Bay had its chances and that Jennings, with position, should have just knocked the ball down. But it doesn’t change the fact that if the officials had been on top of things, this discussion would not be taking place.

The rulebook seems to support Jennings and the Packers, and the league was going to address the play, and the recent poor officiating, Tuesday.

Short of settling the labor dispute with its referees, the NFL didn’t have much of a choice. Either go with replacement officials or delay or cancel the season, which was unthinkable after the NFL narrowly avoided the same fate in its dispute with players last year.

But no one anticipated the ugliness of the officiating, especially this past weekend. We figured Belichick grabbing a replacement ref after New England’s loss to Baltimore on Sunday would be the officiating controversy of the week.

But, really, how long before Belichick realizes he can’t blame replacement refs for his team’s problems and turns to Ryan Mallett at quarterback?

Kidding. It may be awhile before the ex-Razorback Mallett comes to the Patriots’ rescue; it certainly wasn’t the play of Tom Brady that had Belichick looking for a ref to punt as the Patriots fell to 1-2 after Sunday night’s 31-30 loss.

Elsewhere, the pro-Arkansans were able rise or fall without officiating help.

Darren McFadden (Oak Grove, Arkansas) again led Oakland in rushing, but this time in a significant way as he helped the Raiders to their first victory. After he was held below 50 yards the first two games McFadden had his best performance of the year against Pittsburgh, gaining 113 yards with a 64-yard touchdown run as the Raiders beat the Steelers 34-31.