NFL Replacement Referees Put Huge Microscope on Real Officials

If there was any good that came from the officiating debacle that gift wrapped a win for the Seattle Seahawks in Monday night's matchup with the Green Bay Packers, it's that it may finally have been the straw that broke the camel's back and spurred a resolution to the labor impasse.

That's the word that's making the rounds on Wednesday morning.

According to a tweet by Will Brinson of CBS Sports, ESPN's Chris Mortensen is reporting that an "agreement in principle exists" that would get the NFL's regular officiating crews back on the field and end the nightmare that is the NFL with replacement officials.

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According to @mortreport on sports center, an "agreement in principle is at hand" for regular refs and NFL.

— Will Brinson (@willbrinson) September 26, 2012"

This has yet to be confirmed.

Until a deal has been signed, sealed and delivered, I wouldn't count on anything. It's highly unlikely that something will be done in time to get the regular officials back on the field for Week 4 given Thursday night's game, but it appears that there may finally be a light at this very long and very dark tunnel.

The regular officiating crews will have trouble seeing the light as they'll be under a huge microscope.

The innumerable blown calls, bad spots, phantom penalties and overall incompetence shown by the replacement officials (which came to a head with Monday night's Hail Mary touchdown that wasn't) has left a bad taste in the mouths of fans and the media. It's only natural that they will scrutinize the regular officials like crazy once they return, in part to justify their own indignation at how badly the replacements fared.

Mind you, the officials we've all been pining for aren't perfect either.

It wasn't that long ago (2008) that Ed Hochuli, one of the most highly regarded referees in the National Football League, inadvertently blew a whistle in a game between the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos that, as Peter King of Sports Illustrated pointed out, basically cost San Diego the game.

Granted, these sorts of gaffes are the exception with the regular officials rather than the rule that they've become with the replacements. But Hochuli and his colleagues had better shake off the cobwebs quickly, because any mistakes they make, no matter how minor, are going to be magnified tenfold by fans and sportswriters still recovering from the blunders of their scab predecessors.

Don't get me wrong, I hope with every fiber of my being as a football fan that these reports are true. Hopefully by Week 5 we'll have our beloved zebras back.

They'd better be ready to rock though, because America will be watching.

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