As a 40+ year fan of the CFL and vocal critic of CFL refs, I have to admit that the officiating has significantly improved over the last 3-4 years. There used to be 5-6 times per game where I would just shake my head and say "WHAT??!!". Far rarer these days. The NFL is still the gold standard, but the CFL is getying close. Perfect? No. And it never will be. But getting pretty darn good.
@Diggler67 meanwhile, very first halftime of the season and the panel's already publicly criticising the refs and command centre for failing to call the hit to the head on Maier...
@khird
Thank you for bringing that up!
I thought that was a great non-call. In my opinion, it was a glancing incidental contact, not at all worthy of a penalty. And aren't the replay offcials supposed to overrule egregious non-calls?
Having said this, I do agree with Milt that there is supposed to be zero tolerance for contact with the QB's head. So, I would "get it" if the replay officials overruled the non-call.
What's your opinion?
@Diggler67 I'd have preferred it's a bright line rule. You hit him in the head, whether or not you mean to, you're flagged. If I were to make an exception, it wouldn't be for glancing contact, but for if the QB ducks.
Here I don't even think it was that light of a hit - Maier's head got snapped almost ninety degrees left from the contact, and rotation is thought to be a bigger risk than linear motion.
@khird
I dont think I saw the play you're talking about, but I agree with you. People sometimes mix that up. No passing play, no roughing the passer as he wasn't a passer.
@Diggler67 during the preseason there was a call - I can't remember which game, unfortunately - where the call on the field was RTP for a low hit, and it was challenged and upheld. That was an error, in my opinion, because on the play in question, the quarterback had been flushed from the pocket. At that point he's legally a runner, not a passer - and you can't have roughing the passer without a passer! It's perfectly okay to make a shoestring tackle on a runner, even if he is the quarterback. It's RTP, not RTQB.