ZB Notebook 09-05-12

by | Sep 5, 2012 | American Football League, NFL Random Thoughts

We’re putting in something new this year. We’ve generally got a bunch of ideas for little things that would make for borderline stand-alone posts. Now on a (hopefully) weekly basis, we plan to empty our brains and paper scraps of those items in a “Zoneblitz Notebook.”

This will give us an opportunity to feature not only a few more of our own blurbs, but also a chance to feature other works from around the Internet that we find interesting. We’re still tinkering with the format, but in general we’ll pick two or three main topics and several other items with links to supporting source materials. If you run across something that might be an interesting addition to the notebook, please feel free to drop us a line or a link in the comments section below. In the meantime, here’s the first installment of the Zoneblitz Notebook.

Replacement refs overblown: It’s not all that often that I agree with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, whose team has been more or less irrelevant since he ran out Jimmy Johnson. But he’s right in his observations regarding the league’s referees, who will be locked out through at least the first week of the regular season.

He noted last week on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas (which was picked up by ProFootballTalk.com) that he isn’t terribly concerned about winning or losing games because of referees in part because the mistakes generally even out and that the permanent refs make mistakes too.

“As long as it’s consistent, then how it affects the games may not be as much,” Jones told the radio station, according to PFT.
I think the rancor surrounding replacement referees is a little blown out of proportion. Yes, the replacements looked goofy several times during the preseason. Sure, during the preseason, they made some embarrassing and obvious gaffes, particularly with respect to spotting the ball, calling pass interference penalties and other mess-ups.

But I think this is just an issue on which the NFL teams are going to have to suck it up. Both teams have to deal with them. In all likelihood, they won’t be around for long. And if they are, their performance is likely going to improve as they get accustomed to the game.

It’s not like the officiating from week to week with the permanent refs is spotless. And I also find it unlikely that the replacement refs are going to miss something so blatant that it is going to cause a major injury, as has been speculated in some places.

Don’t get me wrong, I hope permanent referees do ultimately get a deal done soon. The game is definitely smoother when they are in there. But if the lockout results in at least some of the permanent officials becoming full-time refs, then I think it’s a stance worth taking for the league.
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Passionate Coniglio keeps AFL alive

by | Aug 24, 2009 | American Football League, Hall of Fame

I consider myself fairly well read on the history of the National Football League. I’ve been watching games since I was six and have long been fascinated by the game and the league’s history pretty much ever since.

I think remembering and recognizing the great personalities and players that made the league what it has become today is important for fans and hope it is important to today’s players, who are benefiting from the work done by their older brethren.

That said, as the 50-year anniversary of the American Football League comes along, I have realized I’m not as well read on the NFL’s former rival league. Sure, I knew about the merger and about some of the personalities – Joe Namath, George Blanda, Len Dawson, et al.

And I’d guess I’m not alone. With the merger that followed and the years that have since passed, the AFL has sadly become a footnote in some fans’ minds.

But not everyone has forgotten. Angelo Coniglio has created a Web site, www.remembertheafl.com, aimed at celebrating the AFL’s history and its contributions to the league that resulted from the merger. He established an AFL Hall of Fame that recognizes more than 120 players, owners, and other contributors to the league’s success. And he’s passionate about informing and reminding today’s fans of the impact the AFL had on what the NFL has become today.

Mr. Coniglio agreed to answer some questions from Zoneblitz about his Web site and his memories of the AFL.

Zoneblitz: On your site you recognize something around 125 players, coaches, owners and other officials at the AFL Hall of Fame – describe how you got started on this project?

Coniglio: I remember the Buffalo Bills of the All-America Conference – a league that was scoffed at by the NFL, which did not accept the Bills when the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) folded. But the Cleveland Browns of that “inferior league” won the NFL championship in their first year in the league, and dominated it for years. When the AFL came along, I became a Bills and an AFL fan, and heard the same disparaging remarks about the AFL by the established league that they had made about the AAFC, and I figured they were just as wrong. (answer continued)
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