[Quesadilla Joe]

Did Falcons get away with illegal play to extinguish rally by Broncos?

While the NFL muzzles coaches and players from complaining about the joke of replacement officials, the truth must come out:

Atlanta cheated Monday to beat Denver in a prime example of how the sport's integrity and the league standings are being compromised by substandard officiating.

With the game's outcome in the balance, Atlanta gained a first down, squelched a furious rally by the Broncos and iced a 27-21 victory with a pass play where the Falcons were obviously guilty of offensive pass interference that went unpunished by inexperienced NFL refs. Commissioner Roger Goodell should cringe with embarrassment if he inspects the third-down play by Atlanta with 2 minutes, 35 seconds remaining and the Falcons on their own 25-yard line.

Atlanta receiver Roddy White committed offensive pass interference against Denver cornerback Champ Bailey on a classic, illegal pick play that resulted in a six-yard catch by Julio Jones, the beneficiary of the Falcons' disregard for the rules in a situation where replacement officials would naturally be hesitant to make a crucial call certain to be unpopular with the home crowd.

Needing five yards to keep the drive alive and avoid punting to give Denver quarterback Peyton Manning a chance at late-game heroics, the Falcons set two illegal picks to free Jones on an underneath route.

With Bailey at the line of scrimmage in press coverage, he gets shoved down the field by White. Before the snap, the Atlanta tight end points at Broncos safety Mike Adams, lining up a target to clear out even more space for a short, easy throw from quarterback Matt Ryan to Jones. It's tough to accuse Atlanta of breaking the rules, but it's a conclusion reached only after repeated viewings of the play in question and conversations with longtime NFL observers, given anonymity to avoid the wrath of the league office.

The failure of zebras who haven't earned their stripes cost Manning a shot to complete one of the greatest comebacks in the history of "Monday Night Football."

The league and its locked-out officials remain far apart in negotiations.

The NFL knows America loves the game too much to stop watching.

It's too bad the NFL doesn't love the game enough to care about making the correct calls.

http://www.denverpost.com/lunchspeci...tinguish-rally