Louisville is 2-7, a couple of the worse losses coming by 35 points at home to 3-3 Georgia Tech on Oct. 5, and getting blown out 77-16 by Clemson, and losing 54-23 to Syracuse on Nov. 9.The worse Louisville gets, the moreBlack Deion Jones Jersey incredible Jackson looks. In all four of Bobby Petrino’s previous seasons in this stint at Louisville, the Cardinals have gone 8-5 or better — and for at least parts of three of those, he had Jackson as his quarterback. Jackson caught fire and took the starting job in 2015, won the 2016 Heisman Trophy after lighting the college football world on fire while scoring 51 touchdowns, and was a finalist behind Baker Mayfield in 2017. As the Georgia Tech game was unfolding, it was clearer than ever just how much Jackson meant to Petrino’s Louisville all along.Same with the Syracuse game, too: Throughout Jackson’s career, college football fans remarked on how many Louisville flaws the QB was masking. Well, now there’s no mask. During Jackson’s time, the Cardinals’ offensive line was always bad, and the defense frequently struggled. Jackson’s wide receivers often dropped passes. He often had to try to win shootouts while avoiding constant pressure.Offensively, the 2017 Cardinals ranked 81st in standard-downs sack rate, allowing 29 Jackson sacks. Entering the game against Georgia Tech, the Cardinals were down to 97th in that same category. The offensive line then allowed two sacks and seven quarterback hurries against the Yellow Jackets.Louisville’s wide receivers have combined for just five touchdowns all season — last year the Cardinals had 29 Black Grady Jarrett Jersey , with Dez Fitzpatrick catching nine. Defensively, the Cardinals rank 103rd in S&P+, and the unit is giving up 40.8 points per game. Oh yeah, and: In Jackson’s final season, Louisville finished at 87th in S&P+ on defense, but the Cardinals still won eight games. And now the offense that had to carry all the load during Jackson’s two full years as a starter is no longer capable of carrying anything. It ranks near the bottom in every major S&P+ category:(Note: These S&P+ numbers are from before the Cuse game)Against Syracuse, Petrino tried three different quarterbacks in Jawon Pass, Malik Cunningham, and Sean McCormack, who saw his first career game action in the process. McCormack threw a pick on his very first throw, Pass had a fumble, interception, and another fumble on three consecutive possessions, and Cunningham had just one passing attempt. This pretty much sums it up the night: Almost everyone expected Louisville’s offense would regress without Jackson, but Petrino actually hoped it would get better. From ACC Media Days in July:And Louisville’s offensive future didn’t look this grim, especially due to the personnel Petrino had returning: But actual improvement was always going to be nearly impossible minus Jackson.As far as Petrino’s future in Louisville, that’s a bit unclear at the moment.One bad season, along with the $14.1 million buyout in Petrino’s contract Black Logan Paulsen Jersey , makes it probably unlikely he’ll be fired after this year, but it wouldn’t be all that shocking if he was. He’s officially on the hot seat now, though — that seat is close to catching on fire right about now. Petrino himself has owned up to some of the mistakes he’s made this season, but as Card Chronicle points out, patience in Louisville with Petrino is wearing a little thin: Retroactive Heisman Trophies don’t exist, but if they did, Jackson would deserve another one.You don’t replace a player like Jackson, and you can’t expect Petrino to do that. Instead, he needs to figure out how to win games without Jackson at quarterback — something he hasn’t been able to do at all so far this season. One NFL fan is enraged by a penalty flag he sees fly on TV. He turns to the woman next to him and asks, "Where do they get these guys?"Replay then proves the call was correct, and the fan just shrugs as the woman replies: "Guess they know what they are doing."Those officials come from a pipeline established by the NFL that seeks to identify people with the right skill set, temperament and judgment to handle a thankless job week after week.Often, the league puts a high premium on experience, even when some officials no longer seem to have the agility to keep up with the incredible speed of the game. Among current referees, Walt Coleman is in his 30th year as an NFL official, Walt Anderson has begun his 23rd and Tony Corrente is in his 24th. Overall, there are 19 officials in the 20th or more season of their NFL careers, and an additional 33 with at least 15 years on the job.As explained by recently retired referee Gene Steratore http://www.authenticsatlantafalcons.com/cheap-andy-levitre-jersey , now with CBS as an analyst, "The officials learn from all the time they spend on the field about angles and getting the best view on a play."He points to the new rule banning any hit initiated with the lowering of the head and use of the helmet, whether by a defender or offensive player. Noting it is a "necessary rule change to protect the safety of the players," Steratore understands there's an adjustment period for those players and the officials before reaching a full understanding of what should draw a flag."Sure there's a learning curve for them," he says, "but then a trigger will show right before that contact, and it will become clear if it is a penalty. I think that will come in a fast period of time."It did. One such penalty was called in Week 1, on Kansas City safety Ron Parker.The NFL, which has seven new officials this season, has a distinct pipeline for talent. It's not entirely unlike the flow for players in that many referees, umpires, linesman and judges come from the college ranks. But the in-depth process can begin well before the highest college levels."We look at officials at the high school level," says Al Riveron, the NFL's officiating director. "After a few years in high school, they might move to the lower college ranks and then to the Power Five conferences. We have a staff of 72 scouts and supervisors and our full-time officials who look at you. We first home in on their skills, and we are thinking long term if we have an interest in you. At some point, you could be ready (for the pros)."To aid in the process, the league created the Officiating Development Program. Candidates must receive medical clearance Black Austin Hooper Jersey , pass a background check, take a psychological assessment and complete an in-person interview with a panel of NFL staffers.If they are accepted into the program, they study position-specific film with veteran NFL officials and current officiating supervisors. They get familiar with NFL rules that often are different from colleges. For example, clock stoppages to move the chains on first downs, or one foot in bounds on receptions.Then the prospective officials attend an NFL preseason officiating clinic, participate in minicamps and training camps, and some work an NFL preseason game. They could get some experience in the Senior Bowl, East-West Shrine Game or NFLPA bowl game, as well.When they are assessed for potential employment, the categories are:—Ready for the highest level. The official gets a spot on an NFL crew when an opening comes.—Great work, but room to improve. The league likes what it sees in the official but determines he or she is not quite ready for the NFL. That officials remains in the program.—Not the right fit. The league does not see this official working in the NFL.There are 39 officials in the program this year.The NFL always is looking for outlets through which to develop game officials. The CFL and Arena League have been options, and they could have another when the Alliance of American Footballs starts up the week after the Super Bowl."We're keeping a big eye on the Alliance," Riveron says enthusiastically. "The more officials get to see live snaps, the greater that is."