NFL says "oops" about missed penalties in championships
 

Missed Penalties in the NFL Championship Games

Head of Officiating Acknowledges Mistakes Were Made

Jan 27, 2010 Don Millirones

Two fifteen yard roughing the passer penalties would have benefited both of the teams which eventually lost. The outcome of the games might have been effected.

The Vice-President of NFL Officiating, Mike Pereira, acknowledged to the public in his Official Review segment on the NFL networks Total Access television show that aired on Wednesday the 27th that there were missed roughing the passer calls in both of the conference championship games played on January 24th, 2010. One of the plays resulted in an injury to one of the NFL's superstars.
Bullitt Slams Into Sanchez

In the first game, the visiting New York Jets were trailing the Indianapolis Colts by 3 points in the 3rd quarter of play. With seven minutes and nineteen seconds remaining in the quarter, Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez takes the snap and hands off the ball to his running back, Thomas Jones. The play results in five yards as Jones runs around the right end of the offensive line and is tackled. However, a flag is on the field.


Wayne Hunter, the Jets offensive tackle, is penalized for holding. The referees failed to notice that after Sanchez handed off the ball that blitzing Colts safety Melvin Bullitt continued at full speed for several steps and drove his shoulder into Sanchez's torso knocking him to the ground. The head coach of the Jets, Rex Ryan, lost his cool and went on an expletive laden tirade on the sideline when roughing the passer was not called. The Jets eventually punted on the drive.
Favre Hit High and Low

In the second game, the visiting Minnesota Vikings were tied at 21 points with the New Orleans Saints with two minutes and six seconds remaining in the third quarter. Vikings quarterback Brett Favre takes the snap, drops back under pressure, and throws the ball. It is intercepted by the formidable Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma and he is tackled after a short return. Favre remained laying on the field for several moments before limping to the sideline.

Replays showed that Saints defensive end Bobby McCray came in low behind Favre and dove at the back of his knees in violation of NFL regulations designed to protect the passer after star quarterbacks such as New England's Tom Brady and Cincinnati's Carson Palmer were injured on similar plays. In addition to the shot at the back of the knees on Favre, Saints defensive tackle Remi Ayodele simultaneously comes in high and lands on the quarterback as he is crumpling to the ground. The penalty would have given the ball back to the Vikings. With Favre needing his ankle taped, it might have resulted in backup Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson taking the field for a few snaps.
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Conspicuously absent from the Official Review segment was any discussion of the defensive pass interference call in the overtime period of the Viking and Saints game where Vikings linebacker Ben Leber was penalized for 12 yards while covering Saints tight end David Thomas. Replays showed that there was no contact and Leber was upset on the field about the call. Whether the ball was catchable is also up for debate; Pereira did tell Brian Billick in a Fox Sports interview that the ball was clearly, in his mind, catchable. The penalty put the Saints into field goal range and they won the game four plays later on the foot of their Placekicker Garrett Hartley.

Lets not bring this up again. I already knew the refs had their heads so far up their asses that they would be picking shit from their teeth for a month.

Favre Hit High and Low



Yea, I was wondering about that one as well.

Them dumb mother****ers.

The shot at Favre's knees was a bigtime missed call. It did make up for the very weak call earlier in the drive when the NO LB made a textbook hit on Favre as he was throwing the ball.

The problem as I see it is, there's not really anything the NFL can do about it anymore. There are so many friggen rules that the refs have no prayer of getting all of the calls right.

Frankly, that's a big reason why I've lost a little bit of my enthusiasm for the NFL lately. It's just no fun when the refs have such a huge part in the game.

B bu bu bu bu bu bu but good teams are supposed to be able to overcome bad calls/douches that don't realize how even NFL teams are

How did it make up for it? He wasn't ****ing intercepted on the other hit. The interception he threw to Vilma would have been overturned if they had made the right call. JFC!

Or the NFL could hire full time refs.

Yep,human error is a part of the game they will never be able to take away.

I completely agree with you. The refs didn't know Favre was going to throw a pick on that play.


I think NFL referees suck and have complete control over who wins and loses. A phantom holding call here/defensive holding there and tah-dah: hand picked winner.

Whats the alternative, really? Invalidate the games and reschedule for the weekend before the super bowl? I'm just glad they have the open transparency to review officiating performance and admit mistakes.

I dont care if they are part-time full-time, whatever. As long as we have human refs in a laughably complex game, you get mistakes. Blown calls are just as much a part of the game as the field goal and the forward pass. (Frankly I'm not convinced AT ALL that "full time" would make a difference, these are guys who have officiated at all levels their entire lives)

It's really bad that they missed calls on QB's when an official watches the QB the entire time and things like touching the QB's helmet get called.

Losers whine. Hold on to the ****in' ball.
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Maybe we should simplify the rules
you got offside
holding
pass interference
unnecessary roughness ( can cover alot)
illegal formation

so what else do we need

This.

Maybe the refs need to undergo further eye examination before they are hired.

Well, other sports have them and they aren't much better than the NFL ones.

I don't understand how refs can be that bad at officiating unless they have serious eye problems.

the saints didnt cover the spread....
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Maybe if the Vikings wouldn't have fumbled six times they would have won anyway.

What's the answer??? BCS!!! LOL

Of course they're going to say oops. What else are they going to say now that the game is over? Are they going to let Minnesota go to the Super Bowl?

FTR I hate bad officiating as much as the next person, but they don't get any help whatsoever. They aren't allowed to review themselves unless someone tells them to. And even that's not allowed on penalties.

I bet you there have been NUMEROUS calls a ref has made, and seriously doubted himself.

A guy I knew used to be a Minor League umpire (AA). He was working home plate. Guy steps up and pops one out right by the foul post. But the sun is RIGHT THERE, and he loses the ball. He can't tell if its fair or foul, but it doesn't matter, its HIS call. So he called it foul, and the crowd just RIPS into him. He felt like crap. He wanted to make the right call, but he couldn't.

The NFL just wants a feel good story since Haiti and NO was perfect for the ratings at the SB. It was complete bullshit and it really changed my feelings towards the NFL. I dont even care about it anymore. Politics rigg games just like the pats and Bradys forward motion screwing the Raiders(whom i still hate). Remember it was 9-11 that year when the pats went. **** the NFL even though ill still watch the Chiefs. GO BOISE STATE!!!

I would have TOTALLY thought that about 2001 if the Giants would have won. Patriots are just a name; I'm sure there weren't very many NYers who enjoyed seeing a team from Boston win.

There may be something to it with the whole earthquake thing. If I was going to guess, though, I'd say its just the whole idea that the Saints have sucked for SO LONG, that now that they're good they wanted to roll with it.

But I also think that with how dynamic a sport football is it'd be REALLY hard to rig. If it were baseball... maybe.

Flag football for the quarterback. That should do it!

With today's technology there should be rules enacted to do a "replay" of obvious plays that should have been a penalty. Late hits, low hits and a few others. The Coaching staff have quick access to replays now and should advise the HC to throw a "penalty missed replay" flag.

I'm still of the opinion that all officials are briefed on what team should get favorable calls so the outcome of the game is as the NFL wants it. I wouldn't even be surprised to find out that each SB participant is selected in the off season meetings based on the money put up by the owners.

No hitting players Mecca likes.
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He probably would have just thrown another one the next play anyway. And for the record, yea it would have nullified another reeruned throw he made. Stupid ass throw penalty or not. See a pattern here?

I swear people act like they had a ton of money riding on the game. Regardless of what happened up to the end of the game, Favre had the ball in his hands, had time on the clock and needed to get them 5-8 yards for a decent FG attempt and he blew it in the biggest way possible.

They fumbled 6 times, the refs didn't cause that.

Get over it, it wasn't KC.

I won't be convinced the NFL gives a shit until they have full-time referees...

I still don't know why anyone thinks making them full time is going to make them any better. I won't think they care until they start fining them or firing them.

You can't play the "probably" game. The fact is that it didn't make up for his other throw and refs screwed up. Whats so hard to accept from that?