One reason the NFL’s not worried about the Replacement Refs is that the entertainment factor of the game’s at an all time high – scoring. This from the NFL:
SCORING AT ALL-TIME HIGH AS NFL ENTERS WEEK 3
After a record-setting Kickoff Weekend, offenses continued to put up points in Week 2. A total of 1,556 points have been scored this year, the most through the first two weeks of any NFL season in history.
As the NFL enters Week 3, six teams – Arizona, Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, San Diego and San Francisco – find themselves undefeated at 2-0. Of those six, three – Arizona, Philadelphia and San Diego – did not make the playoffs last year. But that’s the unpredictability of the NFL. In each of the past 16 seasons, at least five clubs made the playoffs that were not in the postseason the previous year. Will that streak continue in 2012?
And that record just beats the one set in 2011 of 1,502 points. This helps sell tickets and gives the NFL a reason to keep Replacement Refs on the field.