Packers/seahawks related........Did anyone read the story this week about the replacement ref who called that Golden Tate hail mary Touchdown? The guilt of making that call and the flak afterwards forced him to be committed to a mental hospital under suicide watch. I've heard of refs admitting blown calls but that's nuts. Only Packer fans havent forgotten about that. Pretty sure no one else cared after two weeks.
Packers/seahawks related........Did anyone read the story this week about the replacement ref who called that Golden Tate hail mary Touchdown? The guilt of making that call and the flak afterwards forced him to be committed to a mental hospital under suicide watch. I've heard of refs admitting blown calls but that's nuts. Only Packer fans havent forgotten about that. Pretty sure no one else cared after two weeks.
Well damn. Looked it up and sure enough you're right. In and out of a mental facility, severe depression, suicidal thoughts, out of work and his marriage is over. That's horrible. Wasn't his fault the NFL put him in a position he had no business in.
I would say he could move to Seattle as he's probably popular there. Then again Seattle isn't exactly known for being a place to cure depression...
As the 2012 Russell Wilson pass that would soon be known as the "Fail Mary" floated through the Seattle air, Lance Easley was still an anonymous NFL replacement referee.
In his regular life, he was a vice president with Bank of America, a family man, a devout Christian and someone who for decades in California spent his free time refereeing high school football, small college basketball, whatever he could.
Today, everything is different.
It's more than two years since Easley made one of the most infamous calls in NFL history. It left him under siege from the media, both traditional and social. Players and coaches blasted him. Late-night comics mocked him. Irate fans and gamblers hammered him with crank calls and death threats. The controversy extended all the way to the presidential campaign trail with both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney addressing it.
Today, Easley says, the man he was is gone. Perhaps only his faith remains the same. Today, everything else is up for grabs. Today, it's all a struggle.
"Right now I'm just trying to keep my life together," Easley told Yahoo Sports in a series of interviews just as the focus on the Fail Mary returns with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks meeting Sunday for the NFC championship. "It's really difficult."
Easley, 55, says he is suffering from severe depression. It's an illness he periodically struggled with during his life but flared up significantly in the past year as he has tried, unsuccessfully, to put that night in Seattle, and the overwhelming pressure that followed, behind him.
He was diagnosed last year, he said, with post-traumatic stress disorder. He managed the original onslaught of attention only to see his life spin out of control in the past year. Crippling panic attacks felt as if his heart was exploding. A fear of leaving the house left him rattled. Depression proved debilitating, making him suddenly ineffective at work.
"It's almost like a funeral," Easley said. "In the days around it you have a lot of support and you make it through. But as time goes by, you still have to process [the loss of a loved one]."
He sought treatment, both aggressive counseling and doctor-prescribed drugs. It didn't always help. There were suicidal thoughts.
"I felt like I didn't want to be here anymore," Easley said. "I never acted on it. It was horrible to have those thoughts. I hated having those thoughts."
In July 2014, Easley could hardly function. His doctors felt unable to control the situation and wanted to be able to watch him more closely as they changed his medicines. Under their advice, he said, he entered the Vista del Mar Hospital, an acute psychiatric facility in Ventura, Calif.
A week later he transferred to the Balance Treatment Center, a mental health rehab center in Calabasas, Calif., where he stayed through August. Upon release, he went through near daily counseling on an outpatient basis. He relapsed in November, he said, and returned to Balance Treatment for three more weeks and is now an outpatient again.
Since June, per doctor's orders, he's been on medical leave with Bank of America. His 30-year career is now stalled out. His finances are a predictable mess. In September he says he separated from his wife of 28 years.
He no longer feels comfortable in his home community on the Central Coast and is spending much of his time in Los Angeles. There have been days he, a guy whose life once consisted of racing around from one activity to the next – work, family, church, games – didn't want to see anyone or do anything.
He hasn't refereed anything of late, blackballed, he said, from all but high school work for crossing the union line. Even then he's not sure he could handle the pressure.
It's the saddest twist for a comically inept NFL play, a blooper for many fans. What most can only sort of remember, Lance Easley can't forget.
Lee has spent the last two seasons working with Geno Smith on Rex Ryan's Jets staff. He was also the Bills QB coach in 2012, where he oversaw Ryan Fitzpatrick's eventual release from Buffalo. It's an underwhelming hire at a position that is the biggest question mark going into 2015. Lee is said to have a favorable view of E.J. Manuel.
Bills hired former Bears OC Aaron Kromer as the team's offensive line coach.
Quote:
Kromer is notorious for his tearful apology after leaking a story that disparaged Jay Cutler in December. He was the only member of the Bears' coaching staff to be fired when Marc Trestman was released following the season.
Jets hired Mike Caldwell as Assistant Head Coach.
Quote:
Caldwell is following Todd Bowles to New York. The assistant head coach title is one that's rarely used in the NFL. Caldwell's biggest impact will be on the defensive side after serving as Arizona's LB coach the last two years. Kacy Rodgers is expected to be the Jets' defensive coordinator.
Last edited by burner xxx; 01-17-2015 at 07:54 PM.
Bills making poor coordinator hires. It's going to get ugly for Bills fans. Be ready to watch your offense score 7 points a game.
How so? We're going to an offense that really suits our big and physical offensive linemen. It's going to be ground and pound. With the defense we have, that is the perfect game plan. We hired a great head coach, and he is filling out his assistants with some really strong positional coaches. I couldn't be happier with the way the last few weeks have gone. It was looking pretty bleak when Marrone opted out, but we are in much better shape than we were. It's amazing how things have turned out for us.
How so? We're going to an offense that really suits our big and physical offensive linemen. It's going to be ground and pound. With the defense we have, that is the perfect game plan. We hired a great head coach, and he is filling out his assistants with some really strong positional coaches. I couldn't be happier with the way the last few weeks have gone. It was looking pretty bleak when Marrone opted out, but we are in much better shape than we were. It's amazing how things have turned out for us.
Ground and pound doesn't win in today's NFL..you need a QB and a good one at that...
But you did hire the perfect coach to score 7-13 pts a game
Trent Richardson didn't make the trip to New England due to personal reasons and will once again be inactive tomorrow. Giving up a first round pick for Richardson in a panic after losing Vick Ballard will end up as one of the worst moves in recent history. Imagine this team with someone like Jeremy Hill or Kelvin Benjamin. Richardson's $3.18 million salary for next season is fully guaranteed.
Trent Richardson didn't make the trip to New England due to personal reasons and will once again be inactive tomorrow. Giving up a first round pick for Richardson in a panic after losing Vick Ballard will end up as one of the worst moves in recent history. Imagine this team with someone like Jeremy Hill or Kelvin Benjamin. Richardson's $3.18 million salary for next season is fully guaranteed.
Richardson is a joke. Unless you like 1 yard rushes every time he touches the ball
Ground and pound doesn't win in today's NFL..you need a QB and a good one at that...
But you did hire the perfect coach to score 7-13 pts a game
Ground and pound worked for the Cowboys but to be fair Tony Romo is at his best when he's allowed to throw 20- times a game and isn't asked to carry the offense most of the time.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Wasn't his fault the NFL put him in a position he had no business in. 
Linear Mode
