Out of one side of his mouth, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell preaches about protecting the (NFL) shield at all costs.

Out of the other side of his mouth, Goodell allows these traveling circus clowns disguised as NFL replacement officials, to continue to make a mockery of the game.

With the real NFL officials locked out, NFL games are left in the hands of lower level collegiate officials who every week continue to bring attention to themselves by their myriad of mistakes.

If Goodell continues to allow this to happen, he is not only putting the players’ health at risk, you have to add the coaches to the list of victims.

Seriously, some of these coaches are going to stroke out on the sidelines. Did you see the confrontation New England Coach Bill Belichick had as he tried to stop line judge Esteban Garza from leaving the field after Baltimore kicked what we believe was the winning field goal as time expired Sunday night?

Belichick actually grabbed Garza by his arm. Belichick’s face was flush with anger and rage.

The rage carried into the Pats’ locker room where linebacker Brandon Spikes tweeted, “Can someone please tell these (expletive) zebras that Foot Locker called and they’re needed back at work!!!!’’

With each week, the comedy of errors is increasing.

Brian Stropolo is a replacement official that is sitting out while the league has his case under review.

What did Stropolo do to incur the wrath of the NFL?

All you had to do was check out his Facebook page and see that Stropolo is a card-carrying New Orleans Saints fan. He has since taken down the evidence.

Stropolo also violated league policy by publicly revealing his Sunday game assignment.

Is that the best the NFL can get? In one game, officials gave the two-minute warning not once, but twice.

Eagles running back LeSean McCoy reportedly said on a radio show that one replacement official approached him, telling McCoy about his NFL fantasy team.

In Sunday’s Titans game, the officials made a 12-yard mistake that benefitted the Titans on the eventual game-winning drive. But in a game that produced a combined 1,020 yards, what’s a mere 12 yards?

Evidence is mounting that these guys aren’t getting the job done. The two sides met Sunday and no progress was reported. Meanwhile, the NFL sits on its mound of money and ignores the seriousness of the problem.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker injured his shoulder on a play that was first ruled an interception and fumble. Locker ran downfield to help tackle the opponent. It was later ruled an incomplete pass after a review.

What if he had broken his shoulder because of a blown call? It’s going to happen -- to someone, somewhere.

You can’t blame the replacement officials. The NFL placed them in a no-win situation. They are trying their best, but the inconsistency between crews is confusing the coaches, players and fans.

Goodell is quick to fine and suspend players and coaches for breaking the rules. But he is evidently willing to allow injustices to threaten the integrity of the game.

It has been forecast that Goodell’s legacy will be cleaning up the game by disciplining players. That may be replaced by he’s the one that killed the golden goose just to prove a point.

Contact Sports Columnist Joe Biddle at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .