Seahawks' Richard Sherman Shares His Fix For NFL Officiating
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- Richard Sherman of the Seattle Seahawks penned an essay about his outlook and new rule suggestions for NFL officiating.
"I have some ideas that would make life easier on officials and make for a better game experience—and they don't include the new measures introduced this week by the NFL," said Sherman.
He acknowledges that a certain amount of human error is acceptable. But, believes the first thing the league needs to do to improve officiating is narrow the margin for error by simplifying the rulebook, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Below are Sherman's suggestions and explanations for new rules:
No. 1: Simplify the rules.
No. 2: Add an eighth official, and make this position a full-time job that requires a complex understanding of probably the most complicated rulebook in sports. Adding an eighth official would allow for two officials to be 20 yards off the ball, and two to be on the sidelines.
No. 3: Reconfigure the positions. The most important calls in football, in my opinion, are offensive and defensive pass interference. If you go by yardage alone, they're the most impactful penalties, and yet the officials who call most of these fouls are standing only 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, often looking through the backs of defensive players.
No. 4: Improve communication between players and officials. My only complaint about the actual job the officials are doing is the occasional lack of explanation for questionable calls. When they can't or won't explain themselves, it becomes difficult to play because you don't know what you're doing wrong.
You can read his entire article here.
