Should Referees Be Held Accountable?

The short answer: yes.

But let's dive a bit into this.

Referees are as integral a part of football as the players themselves. Their job is to make sure that the players are safe and that the rules are followed accordingly. Seems simple enough.

Lately, officiating looks to be getting a little out of hand at both the collegiate and professional level. Missed calls on specific players and teams are piling up. This is causing players to get hurt and teams a chance to win the game. Referees are very well deciding the fate of careers.

Let's get one thing straight here refs: you are NOT infallible. You are human and you make mistakes. If someone calls you out, own up to it. Don't cower behind a fine.

We are looking here at two specific cases. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and the Florida State Seminoles have been the victims of recent officiating woes. From missed calls to wrong calls, both parties have been on the receiving end of terrible officiating in the last two seasons.

Cam Newton has been in the league since 2011 and took the Panthers to the Super Bowl last year, winning the MVP along the way. Newton's game relies on his mobility. He is known for getting outside of the pocket and running for first downs. While this is not what a typical quarterback does, it looks to be the type of quarterback the NFL is trending towards.

Since Newton was draft in 2011, there have been eight quarterbacks selected with over 500 rushing yards. Three of them have over 1,000 yards. So why are quarterbacks like Newton not being protected like the rest of the league?

NFL Countdown displayed a graphic yesterday showing that Cam Newton has been hit 59 times since the beginning of the 2015 season. Not one flag was thrown for a late hit. Meanwhile, Tom Brady was hit 55 times, resulting in five flags for roughing the passer. Drew Brees was hit 44 times with nine flags thrown his way.

In week four of 2015, the Panthers faced the rival Saints when Cam Newton took a nasty blow. Everyone and their mother thought that a penalty flag would be thrown for roughing the passer. No such flag was thrown. Newton told reporters after the game that he argued for the flag, but head referee Ed Hochuli told him "you're not old enough to get that flag."

Not old enough? Newton was in his fourth year as a starter and had taken the Panthers to the playoffs that previous two years.

Now Newton is getting busted up left and right by defenders and nothing is being done about it. Newton told reporters that he intended to speak with Commissioner Goodell about the matter. Newton reported that their conversation went well. Only game time will tell if any changes have been made.

As for the Florida State Seminoles, this past weekend was most definitely some backlash from the referees who were called out for a blatant flag on something that did not happen during the game. Running back Dalvin Cook was off on his third run of 40+ yards and the referees threw a flag on Fullback Freddie Stevenson for a block below the waist.

A look back at the play shows that Stevenson's block was clearly AT the waist of the Clemson defender. After the game, Head Coach Jimbo Fisher was irate about the officiating during the game. He was slapped with a $20,000 fine for his actions.

The head referee was Jeff Heaser. He has officiated four Florida State football games since becoming the head of an officiating crew in 2014. He and his crew officiated the losses to Clemson in 2015 and 2016, the 2016 loss to North Carolina, and the 2014 win over Boston College.

Interestingly enough, Heaser also officiated the 2015 ACC Championship. If you don't remember, North Carolina came within a score of tying Clemson in the final two minutes. The Tar Heels scored with 1:13 left in the 4th and recovered their own onsides kick to have a chance to tie at 45 all. Then disaster struck: a flag.

The officials called North Carolina for offsides during the kick, giving Clemson the ball. If you go back and look at that play, no one was close to offsides.

This confirms my belief: the ACC is rigging their games to make sure they can get a team in the College Football Playoff. This officiating crew has been at the center of it all. If you call them out, they will make your life hell.

It is time people. Make refs accountable for their actions. Make sure that if they have a game where the refs screw up the final play, they can overturn the game. If it's in the middle of the game, fine the refs.