Gene Frenette: Fixing NFL officiating issues will be never-ending problem

No matter how advanced the technology for review is or if the NFL adds an eighth official to every crew, the angst from fans over the performance of referees is never going to end.

Unfortunately, things are only getting worse for several reasons, not the least of which was the NFL trying to overcompensate in its reaction to the non-pass interference call that proved costly to the New Orleans Saints in last year’s NFC championship game against the Los Angeles Rams.

The only question in the mind of Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis was whether cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, who admitted he expected to get flagged, would be penalized for a helmet-to-helmet hit or pass interference. No flag was ever thrown.

Once again, officiating was back in the spotlight after Detroit Lions defensive end Trey Flowers was flagged twice on phantom illegal use of hands calls against tackle David Baktiari in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s 23-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Replays showed Flowers’ hand in Baktiari's neck area but never making contact with his face mask.

The first call allowed Green Bay to score a touchdown instead of punting on fourth-and-21, and the second allowed the Packers to burn more clock before kicking the game-winning field goal.

It’s nothing new that many NFL games feature controversial calls. But two flags on Flowers looked bad because, in both instances, the official was mistaken about what he thought he saw. The fact it happened on prime-time national TV only reignited what has been a public relations nightmare for the NFL.

We’re only in mid-October, and the officiating criticism is already near a boiling point. Not only are 18.2 penalties per game being enforced, up from 16.1 last year (according to NFLPenalties.com), but the new league rule allowing for pass interference calls and non-calls to be reviewed has produced one reversal in 25 challenges since Week 3. In the Dallas Cowboys-New York Jets game, a potential game-tying drive by Dallas featured a flag being thrown on six consecutive plays.

Whether it’s the NFL having an inadequate review mechanism, too much inexperience with officiating turnover that has seen 22 zebras retire since 2017, or not having a sky camera to assist in replay, the league must come up with a better system. Otherwise, we may soon be talking about a Super Bowl outcome-altering call all next offseason.

I’m not sure having full-time officials is the answer, but in the meantime, all these blown calls and flag-infested games are turning the NFL into the No Fun League. ...

If South Carolina wins Saturday against Florida, then coach Will Muschamp pulls off the rare double of beating Georgia and the Gators in back-to-back weeks. Who was the last team and coach to accomplish that feat? Answer at the bottom. ...

Tre Herndon replacing departed cornerback Jalen Ramsey means the Jaguars are now the only team in the NFL to have a secondary that features three undrafted starters, which also includes CB A.J. Bouye and safety Jarrod Wilson. Twenty-eight of 32 NFL teams have no more than one undrafted starter in their secondary. ...

For those wondering when the Jaguars might be competing against Ramsey, the team isn’t scheduled to play the Los Angeles Rams until 2021 on the road, then again in 2025 at TIAA Bank Field, by which time No. 20 may well be playing for a different team. ...

Rams coach Sean McVay said he expects Ramsey, who missed the last three games with a back injury, to play Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons and elite receiver Julio Jones. So apparently that miracle spring water the Rams provided Ramsey really works. ...

A lot of trade rumors are floating around about Baltimore Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst, their 2018 first-round pick from The Bolles School. But with pass-catching tight end Mark Andrews having foot and shoulder issues, the Ravens may be reluctant to part with a valuable TE insurance policy. Hurst is getting a lot of practice reps but remains frustrated over his minimal playing time. ....

Whatever advantage punter Logan Cooke (45.4 net average) gives the Jaguars in field position, it’s negated by the fact the defense isn’t getting any turnovers to give quarterback Gardner Minshew a short field to work with. The Jaguars’ average starting position is their own 23, compared to the 30-yard-line for the opposition. Only two Jaguars’ drives this season have started on the opponents’ side of the field, compared to eight for the other guys. ...

How about these impressive stats from two games last week: Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson led his team to 35 first downs against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the San Francisco 49ers' defense, run by former Jaguars linebacker coach Robert Saleh, forced the Rams into going 0-for-13 on third and fourth downs. ...

Former Miami Marlins executive David Samson put out a tweet last week criticizing Washington Nationals closer Daniel Hudson over skipping Game 1 of the NLCS to be with his wife for the birth of their third daughter, calling it “inexcusable.” The only thing inexcusable was ridiculing a man for choosing to be with his wife giving birth over a baseball game. ...

Once again, the New York Yankees are proving an old baseball axiom that it’s hard to simply mash your way to a World Series title. Going into Friday, the Houston Astros are one win away from the American League pennant because their pitching has neutered the Yankees’ lineup for three straight games. New York is 1-for-16 and has zero RBI with runners in scoring position, and the only hit was an infield single by Brett Gardner. ...

Former Jacksonville University baseball coach Terry Alexander may not be present at the JU Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday night for a good reason: The hitting coach for the Chinatrust Brothers in Taiwan was eliminated Friday from the Chinese Professional Baseball League playoffs.

JU still isn’t sure if Alexander, the winningest coach in any Dolphins sport with a 730-628-2 record over 23 seasons (1991-2013), can get a flight back to Jacksonville from 8,500 miles away in time to make the ceremony. His wife, Miriam, and JU coach Chris Hayes will accept on his behalf if Alexander is unable to attend. ...

My condolences go out to the family of former Florida State athletic director Bob Goin, who passed away a week ago from a heart attack. The 83-year-old Goin was a no-nonsense administrator, both at FSU and Cincinnati, and one of the most insightful people about the inner workings of college sports. I treasured my conversations with Goin because he didn’t sugar-coat anything and never cared about political correctness. ...

Trivia answer: The last coach and team to defeat Georgia and Florida in back-to-back weeks was Tennessee’s Butch Jones in 2016. The Volunteers defeated the Gators 38-28 in Knoxville on Sept. 24 and won 34-31 over the Bulldogs in Athens the following Saturday. ...

Pigskin forecast: Jaguars over Cincinnati Bengals by 11 (back remedies); Indianapolis Colts over Houston Texans by 1 (bye week); Tennessee Titans over LA Chargers by 1 (quarterback change); Florida over South Carolina by 7 (hangover remedies); Wake Forest over Florida State by 3 (GoFundMe buyouts). Last week: 3 right, 2 CC Sabathia exits.

gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540