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Green Bay Packers robbed by replacement refs



PHOTOS: Worst calls by NFL replacement refs



If it wasn't enough that the officials on the field didn't know what constitutes a simultaneous catch (It's covered in Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5), the failsafe of the video-replay booth also let down the Packers by reinforcing the call.

"It was awful," Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters about the call after the game. "Just look at the replay. The fact it was reviewed ... it was awful. That's all I'm going to say about it."

VIDEO: Watch the final play everyone is talking about

To make matters worse, Tate got into position for his phantom 24-yard "catch" with a blatant push-off against Sam Shields, the Packers' best cover corner of the night.

The Packers should be 2-1 for their effort on Monday night. They fought hard to come back from a 7-0 halftime hole and outplayed Seattle in the second half, and made the plays in the end that playoff teams do to preserve victories in tight games.

Instead, the Seahawks know they just got a gift to be 2-1. Sure, they fought hard, and Wilson and Tate did their best to lift their team. But based on the actual rules of NFL football, it just wasn't good enough to win.

The league doesn't miss a beat when it comes to fining coaches they put in the position to be angered and frustrated by officials who aren't equipped to handle their jobs. Even though Packers coach Mike McCarthy was a class act in bringing his team back out for the extra point to officially end the game, we kind of wish he hadn't.

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There's a reason that the NFL and its owners had to strike an 11th-hour deal to end the players' lockout last year. The players are the product that generates the revenue.

But as the referees' lockout continues this year, the players still play, the coaches still coach and the fans still go to games.

There's no reason to prompt the owners into action unless the players and coaches take a stand that they won't stand for this ersatz professional football. They have a short window to play the game they love, and in a parity-filled league, every win or loss can be the subtle difference between not making the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl—just ask last season's 9-7 New York Giants.

The game in Seattle might end up costing the Packers the NFC North title or worse, a postseason berth of any kind. Likewise, the Seahawks getting an extra win won't make a team such as the 49ers, who soundly and squarely beat the Packers in Green Bay, happy.

What more does the league need to change its stance than for one of its most popular franchises to unjustly lose in front of a national prime-time audience?

It's sad, because beyond the black eye of the referees' lockout, it's been a great, wild start to the 2012 season. It's time for the NFL to invest in quality control and go back to leaving the unpredictability to the players and coaches.

Predictably, some of Rodgers' teammates had a harsher response to what happened in Seattle.

Offensive lineman T.J. Lang (@TJLang70) didn't hold back at all on Twitter: "Got f&*$ed by the refs... Embarrassing. Thanks nfl"

The longer the league allows this to go on, you can bet more teams like the Packers will be left with uneasy feelings about what should have been.

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