Randy Moss Thinks the Lack of Full-Time Referees Is Hurting the NFL

NFL ratings have dropped by double digits this year, and it's not exactly clear why. Our nation's loudest rich guys have blamed it on everything from the league never going the fuck away (Mark Cuban) to Colin Kaepernick taking a weekly knee during the National Anthem (Donald Trump). In fact, the suits at the top of the NFL have blamed it on "unprecedented interest in the presidential election," which, if true, means that the numbers should jump back up to normal starting this week. And, if they don't, well it's time to find a new scapegoat.

Other factors may include a lack of marketable stars, too many commercials, cord cutting, an increased awareness by the public of the long-term impact of major injuries, and whatever your personal take is that I forgot to list.

Randy Moss would rather talk about the league's low ratings than officiating. And, during ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown, as captured by SB Nation, the future Hall of Fame wideout appeared to link the two, possibly doing so inadvertently (it's tough without more context). Moss said that a big problem with the league is that there are no full-time refs, and because of that the officials on the field at the sport's highest level suck compared to what they should be. Said Moss, when asked if refs should be punished for their screw-ups:

It's somewhat unclear if Moss was just annoyed that they're talking about refs on the show again, or if he was linking bad calls to the drop in TV viewers. Even if it wasn't intentional, he still appears to have hit on a very similar argument to the one put forth by new Monday Night play-by-play guy Sean McDonough. A couple of weeks ago—during an October broadcast of a Jets-Cardinals game—McDonough said "If we’re looking for reasons why TV ratings for the NFL are down all over the place, this doesn’t help. The way this game has been officiated is not something anybody wants to watch."

Unless there's an influx of new refs, or a surge in penalties, we're not sure about this. But then again, what the hell do we know?! Your guess is as valid as any at this point. So keep throwing theories out there. Or, if you do have the answer for the ratings decline, please make sure to @ the NFL's official Twitter account immediately.

And as for the refs, as Matt Hasselbeck says right after Moss, yeah, make them full-time too.