NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans botched plenty on their own in Miami, and simply didn’t play well enough to start the Mike Vrabel era with a win.
Generally, I want to steer clear of officiating complaints, as I am a believer that things even out. But they weren’t even and didn’t even out for Tennessee in Week 1.
Brian Orakpo said the way the NFL is now officiated has changed the way he plays.
“You used to err on more aggressive, but the one time you err on more aggressive you get called and it just ruins that possession and that is an automatic first down, tack another 15 and you not only put the team in a bind, you put the defense in a bind because now you have to play some more plays,” he said.
“It’s just a tough scenario, man. The NFL is getting tougher and tougher to judge each and every year. I wonder how long this league is going to last, honestly."
Orakpo said he loves the player safety but says the frequent calls hurt drives, possession, momentum.
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“You hit a quarterback too low, I know you are trying to protect the legs, but if you go too low they call a flag, tack on 15 yards, first down. You hit a guy real high… tack on 15, first down, It’s just hard. It’s extremely hard. I totally understand what the refs are doing, the NFL, the bind they are in for player safety. I’m all for player safety… It’s just a tough situation we’re in right now.”
Coming soon, I’ll break down the questionable calls against the Titans from Miami and share some of what Mike Vrabel had to say about them.
He’s still waiting, by the way, for the NFL to get back to him about officiating questions he had from the Titans’ Week 3 preseason game in Pittsburgh.
That was 16 days ago.
The non-response doesn’t lend much to the league’s image in terms of helping member clubs gain clarity so they can make changes to better abide by the guidelines.
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