UNNECESSARY REF-NESS

A preseason filled with officiating goofs and gaffes included this dandy from Fed Ex Field: Officials reviewed a play, returned to midfield and told the waiting crowd: "We're going to look at this one more time."

Get used such nuttiness as the NFL opens the season with replacement officials. Negotiations are at a standstill between the league and the officials' union. The NFL has said it will use the replacements "as much ... as necessary" beyond Week 1.

Cris Collinsworth, the longtime receiver turned NBC analyst, said weak or timid officiating could get so bad it's dangerous.

"The easiest way for (officials) to disappear is to keep the flag in their pocket,'' he said. "I think that even the players are starting to get a little sense of that right now -- that maybe they can push the envelope just a little bit more."