Do the NFL Replacement Referees Favor Home Teams?

It is safe to say that the NFL replacement referees have been absolutely horrendous through Week 2 of the 2012 NFL season, but a startling development may make matters even worse—the NFL replacement officials may be incidentally favoring home teams. 

In Week 2 of the 2012 NFL season, home teams compiled a jaw-dropping 14-2 record, which is beginning to spark some controversy around the country. As broadcaster Chad Andrus astutely pointed out on Twitter, this is an alarming developing trend: 

"

Show me one week ever where home teams went 14-2 in the NFL. Replacement refs are intimidated by crowds.

— Chad Andrus (@chadandrus) September 18, 2012"

The statistic is most alarming, but it may just be an anomaly at this point. In Week 1 home teams only went 9-7, and it is not that ridiculous for home teams to play great with 40,000 or more people cheering them on. 

Still, the record is something worth examining, and you better believe it is something the locked-out referees will bring up in negotiations. 

The locked-out officials are comfortable in front of the massive NFL crowds that populate every game each week (unless they're officiating in Jacksonville or San Diego), so home-field advantage does not usually extend to officiating as well. 

Conversely, the replacement referees currently calling the NFL games are mostly from smaller-college divisions that draw crowds comparable to high school contests. 

If the scabs were even from Division I college football, this may be a non-issue, but that simply is not the case. 

To suggest that the replacement officials are intimidated by the massive scale of an NFL contest would not be outrageous, but implying they are intimidated enough to let it impact the integrity of the game is another issue entirely. 

If anything, the replacement officials are likely intimidated by the players themselves, as each week of the 2012 season has seen more fights and scuffles break out as the replacements slowly lose control of the game. 

The integrity of the NFL is being hampered by the replacements because of the lack of knowledge, experience and consistency displayed by the entire group. Regardless of what the NFL wants to say, the group as a whole is simply not getting the job done properly. 

What extent home crowds play into this mediocre performance by officials is hard to say, but the 14-2 record is staggering. If this starts to become a trend, then the NFL will have to quickly wrap up negotiations with the normal officials and get them back on the field as soon as possible. 

Quite possibly the most disheartening aspect of this whole issue is that it does not matter at all. We won't stop watching or buying tickets, and the NFL knows this. We as observers, analysts and fans will have to suffer for the duration of the public spat between officials and the league, regardless of the length of the process. 

For now, the 14-2 record of home teams in Week 2 is a non-issue. It could happen for the next five weeks of the season, and neither side could budge in negotiations. 

Let's just hope for the sake of the game we adore in worship, that Week 2 was just a freak occurrence.

Follow @Chris_Roling