Divisional Round referee assignments present Eagles with less-than-ideal scenario

[Procus]

https://insidetheiggles.com/divisional-round-referee-assignments-present-eagles-less-than-ideal-scenario

Divisional Round referee assignments present Eagles with less-than-ideal scenario

Oh no! Not this guy again!

By Geoffrey Knox

One down... Three to go... That's the Philadelphia Eagles' mindset and that of every fan and media member who follows them closely. Three more wins in succession would deliver the City of Brotherly Love its second Vince Lombardi Trophy. Much is on the line for one of the best Birds teams we have assembled, and strategy for everyone from the players and coaches to the platforms that cover them are analyzing every competitive angle.

Who's playing and who isn't? Where is the game? What happened the last time these two met? What's the weather going to be like? How healthy are both rosters?

Here's one... Who's the referee? Well, those pulling for the Birds probably aren't going to be thrilled with the choice.

Shawn Smith is officiating the Eagles vs. Rams game which isn't the best news for Philadelphia.

Alex Kemp... Shawn Smith... Those are two names we cringe when hearing. Whenever they are the crew chiefs for Eagles games, bad things tend to happen. The latter's crew is assigned to Philly's Divisional Round on Sunday which, shall we say, isn't ideal.

We're among the contingent that believes blaming the refs for wins and losses is bush league in some respects. We can understand skepticism though. Have you seen how bad the officiating has been in the NFL this season?

Philly has played three games since 2023 with Smith as the official. They're 0-3 in those games, including Week 16's strange loss to the Washington Commanders. You remember Smith, don't you? He also wrongfully ejected C.J. Gardner-Johnson during that game. No one has forgotten about that.

The man officiating the contest has less to do with the game's outcome than the guys playing, but it helps. We've seen bad calls in Eagles games lead to stalled drives AND points for the other team though. That's what we take objection with,

All we ask for is a fair shake for our Birds. We don't think that's an unreasonable request. If another team is better on that day, so be it, but let that be the reasons for wins and losses, not some slanted or biased view from an official.

We aren't saying Shawn Smith is biased. All we're saying is weird things transpire when he is around. We'll certainly be watching him closely this Sunday.

[time2rock]

Hopefully we just take care of business and don’t put the game in the hands of the refs.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

8 hours ago, time2rock said:

Hopefully we just take care of business and don’t put the game in the hands of the refs.  

Spot on bud! If we handle business and we do what we should do then the officials shouldn’t be able to have the impact they may want to have.

[PoconoDon]

If the officiating crew is prone to mistakes, make sure their robot overlords in NY are fully charged and scrutinizing their calls.

#OverturnThem