I'm not looking past the Broncos, no way. But, with the Jets on the horizon I recalled a conversation I had with my friend last year that I'd like to share with you now. My friend happens to be an official at the high school and college level. I was "venting" to him one day that it seemed like the Jets got more "officiating" calls than any team I had ever seen going back to the Vinny Testaverde non-touchdown, the Chambers touchdown that was ruled a non-catch and on and on. I said I thought the officials gave the Jets enough close calls to mean 2 extra wins a year. I fully expected my friend to say something like "that's expected from a Dolphins fan." Instead, he agreed saying that other officials he had talked with mentioned the same thing, but also included the Giants as another benefactor of the NFL officials. He said the NFL would love nothing more than the Jets and Giants having success and that he wouldn't doubt that the NFL would give those teams "the benefit of the doubt" (his words) on close calls. That seemed strange to me that others, especially officials, would notice the same thing.
Now I'm not usually a person who would mention officiating, but the bottom line is I think it's gone way down the last few years and I'm surprised that the NFL isn't doing more to improve the quality of officiating. It means so much to the players and to the fans.
