I've had enough of the replacement referee issue in the NFL.

But not in the way you think.

I'm tired of hearing that "player safety" is put in jeopardy.

That is a bunch of bovine excrement.

The only people putting the players in any danger are the players themselves.

The fact that they don't respect the authority of the replacements is THEIR problem not the officials.

While they certainly are not up to the standard of the NFL, these officials should still be seen as the authority of the field.

The players and coaches have let their competitive zeal blind them to this fact.

In addition, as it always is, the combatants will push the envelope because they know the replacements aren't quite up to snuff to catch the things they get busted for usually.

That's not the replacements' faults. They didn't cause the impasse and they didn't hit anybody late or hit somebody else while leading with their helmets.

Player safety is in the hands of the players themselves and, to a lesser extent, the coaches.

Period.

As for the quality of officiating...again don't blame the replacements. These guys never claimed to be NFL officials until the league brought them in.

The bad officiating is the fault of the "real" officials and the NFL for letting it get this far.