Week 2 was not a high point for the league's band of replacement officials. We saw a tonal shift in Sunday's games; and Monday night's messy affair between the Atlanta Falcons and Denver Broncos seemed to cap it all off.
Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy saw players exhibit a lack of respect for the refs -- veering toward intimidation -- in Sunday's win over the Baltimore Ravens.
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"During the game, they made like a bad call or something, the ref, and I see (Ravens linebacker) Ray Lewis like pump his chest up, trying to scare him," McCoy told CBS Philly. "Don't you know (the ref) started stuttering? I'm like 'What's this?!'"
Many of these men (and one woman) appear to have slipped into roles they aren't entirely comfortable with. Instead of catching up to the speed of the NFL, the replacements on Monday slowed the game to a crawl, had trouble calming skirmishes and stumbled in their attempt to keep control.
"They're like fans, kind of though," McCoy said. "I'll be honest, they're like fans. One of the refs was talking about his fantasy team, like 'McCoy, come on, I need you for my fantasy.' Ahhh, what?!"
Just an FYI: The NFL does not permit officials to participate in fantasy football. Real football has been challenging enough.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
