Jan 22, 2012; San Francisco, CA, USA; NFL referee Ed Hochuli during the 2011 NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants at Candlestick Park. The Giants won 20-17 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-US PRESSWIRE

The start of preseason games is just around the corner, but it doesn’t sound like the NFL referees are going to be participating. The refs are still locked in a dispute with the league, and commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that he is comfortable with replacement refs and he doesn’t believe that the inexperience will result in more player injuries.

“That’s why we’ve been training them for the last two months and why they’re on the field now, is to make sure they’re prepared, they understand the rules,” Goodell said. “We are in discussions with them … But as you can see, we’re preparing for the season and we will have officials on the field.”

I personally think replacements are going to be a disaster, but Goodell doesn’t seem worried so I doubt he is in any rush to work something out. You can know the rules all you want, but that doesn’t mean you can effectively call an NFL game. I know the rules, and I even like to make the calls from my couch or from the stands, but at least I know that I wouldnt stand a chance. The speed in the league is like nothing these replacements have ever seen. It’s a different world fom college or semi-pro or wherever these guys are being pulled from.

Hopefully the season will start and we won’t even notice these guys, but I doubt it. Every time they botch a call, we will remember. At least when the actual refs blew a call we knew there was no one out there who could do a better job. Now every time a call goes against the Rams we have to deal with the fact that there’s a group of guys who could have gotten it right sitting at home watching just like us.

Dec 12, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) against the St. Louis Rams at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Rams 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Is it just me, or is there a different NFL player getting arrested every day? While there have been somewhere around 30 players who have gotten in trouble with the law over the last few months, I wanted to focus on one of the more recent offenders: Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Lynch was pulled over at about 4 a.m. on Saturday in California after he was spotted swerving through traffic and almost hitting two different cars.

I might be picking on Lynch a little by focusing on his issue, but as a Rams fan this could have way more of an impact on our season than any of the others. Lynch already served a three-game suspension back in 2009, so you have to think that Roger Goodell is going to lay the smack down on him this time as well. I think most people assume that Seattle is going to be better than the Rams in 2012 (whether they are correct or not is another story), but if Lynch is forced to miss some significant time then the Hawks could be in trouble.

I’ve always kind of liked Lynch, and I really wanted the Rams to go after him to back up SJ39 when he was on the market a few years ago. However, Seattle grabbed him instead and he has had a pretty nice run since he got the Pacific Northwest. Considering the questions they have at quarterback right now, they can’t afford to be without Lynch early in the season.

I don’t know what’s going to happen here, but I would imagine that Goodell isn’t pleased with so many of his players getting in trouble. If he chooses to make an example out of some of these guys, Lynch could find himself is even hotter water as a repeat offender. We’ll have to wait and see, but any decision could have a pretty serious impact on the 2012 NFC West.

July 21, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke arrives at the Atlanta Airport Marriott prior to the NFL owners meeting. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-US PRESSWIRE

The NFL owners meetings aren’t usually one of my highlights of the spring, but a couple of interesting changes came out of the gathering on Tuesday. According to sources, the owners have agreed to move the trade deadline from Week 6 to Week 8 and they have also decided to change the injured reserve rule to allow each team the option to place one player on IR for only part of the season instead of the move ending the player’s year.

I have to say that I’m a big fan of both of these changes, and I don’t see any reason why the players would object. The trade deadline isn’t ever a huge deal in the NFL like it is in some other sports, but moving it back two weeks could make it more interesting as teams get more desperate later in the season. I could see a few more moves resulting from the two-week delay, but I do think that high-profile trades due to injury could have a better chance of increasing.

The IR rule is outstanding. Being able to use a roster spot of a star player who will miss a good chunk of the season without losing him for the year will be a very interesting adjustment. According to those familiar with the specifics, “a player who is on the roster for Week One and then gets hurt during the season can be placed on injured reserve and designated for return, and then can return to practice six weeks later and play in a game eight weeks later.”

Neither one of these changes are earth-shattering by any means, but I do think they are a big deal and will have an impact on the game. The IR rule should especially factor in right away, and I wouldn’t be shocked if moving the trade deadline back created some buzz as well during Week 8. Good work, owners.