Officially, the NFL has a problem

[Editor’s note: This is our weekly entry at National Football Post.]

After basking in the shadows of relative obscurity during the opening week of the season, the replacement referees found themselves struggling as if they were some intentionally mismatched contestants competing on a bizarre NFL reality show. The players, sensing that their peacekeepers were in over their heads, started to take advantage. The Ravens-Eagles game saw many scuffles, but no ejections. In the Monday night game, a few Falcons and Broncos players started some post-play activity in the middle of the first quarter. There was no stern warning to both teams at that time, and later, a full-on fracas erupted near the end of the quarter.

Balls are being spotted incorrectly. Referees are having issues with resetting the play clock or game clock. Game-delaying conferences are increasing, while uncertain on-field referees confer with the game supervisor, a veteran from the league officiating headquarters stationed in the pressbox. This eye-in-the-sky proofreader doesn’t interject in judgement calls, but will correct errors in administration, such as the wrong penalty yardage.

Obviously, even the game supervisors are being overworked.

Check out the full story at National Football Post.