Replacement Referees

After last night's Seahawks/Packers game, it is impossible not to comment on the impact that the replacement referees are having on the integrity of the NFL. The NFL brand and reputation has been tarnished by the referee lockout. The picture below represents the culmination of miscues that have occurred over the last 3 weeks.

During the last 3 weeks, we have seen legendary coaches such as Bill Belichick lose their cool and chase down officials after games. In that same Patriots/Ravens game, John Harbaugh had a run in with a referee while trying to call a timeout. John Fox and Jack Del Rio have been heavily fined for venting their frustrations on the replacement refs during a Monday night matchup in Atlanta (read more). There was the Kyle Shanahan incident where he was livid with a referee's mistake of calling for a 10 second run off at the end of the Bengals/Redskins game (read more). There has always been NFL rules prohibiting verbal or physical abuse of game officials but the current situation has gotten out of control. A lot of it has to do with the lack of respect for these referees by the coaches and players.

There have many other miscues throughout the first 3 weeks of the 2012 NFL season. Here is a replacement referee list of miscues:

1. Seattle granted an extra timeout against the Cardinals.
2. The 49ers were granted challenges without having any timeouts in the Vikings game.
3. A 15 yard unneccesary roughness penalty ended up being a 29 yard penalty in OT of the Titans/Lions game.
4. Refs called for a 10-second runoff after a Redskins false start penalty. The clock had already been stopped previously by a spike. This resulted in Kyle Shanahan's unsportmanlike conduct and the refs then walked off too many penalty yards.
5,. Darrius Heyward-Bey was knocked out and sent to the hospital with a helmet to helmet hit and no flag was thrown.

Feel free to comment and add any more miscues that you have seen. We will add them to the list


Final Thoughts:
The NFL is looking more like the WWE these days with Roger Goodell playing the role of Vince McMahan. However, even a WWE referee knows he must avoid the spotlight and let the grapplers shine.  

Free NFL Picks Week 3

The experts have made their picks for week 3 of the 2012 season.

http://www.pylonpicks.com/picks/2012_week3.html

Consensus is with the Lions, Cowboys and Cardinals.

The system pick was also the Cowboys.

The Bucs are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 meetings against the Cowboys.

Thursday Night Matchup - Giants at Panthers

The New York Giants come into Thursday Night's game shorthanded. Wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Domenik Hixon are out. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw is also out. Andre Brown is expected to start. Right tackle David Diehl is also out. A tough spot for Eli Manning and the Giants on the road and a short week. All 4 experts like Cam Newton and the Panthers in this one. Check out the free O/U selection: http://www.pylonpicks.com/articles/2012_ouweek3.htm

Week 3 Matchups are Available

Don't forget that there is a Thursday Night football game this week. To see game matchup information between the Giants and Panthers, click here: http://www.pylonpicks.com/matchups/2012/2012_week3_game1.htm The Giants are a 1 point favorite in this matchup and the O/U is 51 points

Week 2 Most Targeted Players

Get on the waiver wire and pickup Rams WR Danny Amendola. He was targeted 16 tomes in week2 and had 15 receptions.

Player	Team	Targets	Receptions
V. Cruz	NYG	17	11
D. Amendola	Stl	16	15
D. Bowe	KC	15	8
H. Nicks	NYG	15	10
D. Pitta	Bal	15	8
D. Sproles	NO	14	13
P. Harvin	Min	13	12
B. Lloyd	NE	13	8
J. Graham	NO	13	7
C. Johnson	Det	12	8
A. Green	Cin	12	7
B. Hartline	Mia	12	9
W. Welker	NE	11	5
B. Celek	Phi	11	8
S. Holmes	NYJ	11	3
D. Avery	Ind	10	9
M. Bennett	NYG	10	5
V. Jackson	TB	10	5
R. Rice	Bal	10	6
M. Austin	Dal	10	5
J. Witten	Dal	10	4

To see full list visit: http://www.pylonpicks.com/articles/2012_week2_targets.html

Underdog Pick for Week 2

Baltimore Ravens (+2.5) at Philadelphia Eagles
John Harbaugh returns to Philadelphia where he coached for 9 years. Harbaugh was the only coach Reid kept when Reid took over as head coach of the Eagles.


I had the Ravens favored in this game by a field goal. I was very shocked to even see the Eagles favored in this one, especially after the Ravens beatdown on Monday Night and the Eagles struggles in Cleveland. Michael Vick was constantly pressured last weekend in Cleveland and was scrambling for his life all day. He got picked off 4 times and only completed 51% of his passes against a decent Browns defense. I expect more of the same from the Ravens defense this Sunday. The Ravens have always been stout against the run too, so I don't expect McCoy to have much of an impact. Desean Jackson and J Maclin are banged up but expected to start for the Eagles.

Take the Ravens plus the Points in this one.

Computer Pick Week 2

Our computer crunched all the betting statistics for week 2 and made a prediction based on trends that favored a particular team. The computer analyzed several angles in this week's matchup between the Titans and Chargers.

http://www.pylonpicks.com/articles/2012_systemweek2.htm

Pilfo's Parlay Week 2

Pilfo's Parlay for Week 2 was a winner.

St. Louis +3 / Seattle +3 / Atlanta -3


You can read more here:
http://www.pylonpicks.com/articles/2012_week2pilfoparlay.htm

Pylonpicks.com web site redesign

The Pylonpicks.com web site underwent some design changes this week.
NFL Team statistics have been added as well as fantasy football draft rankings for each position.