One of the reasons I started this blog was to rant when the occasion warrants one. In watching the four NFL games this weekend, I couldn't neglect the inconsistency of the officiating crews working them. These are playoff games, folks, yet some of the men in striped shirts have performed horribly on the NFL's biggest stages.
Not all of them were lousy. I felt that Ed Hochuli's crew did a nice job in the Baltimore-Miami game, and the officiating in Arizona-Atlanta was fine. However, let's take a look at the officials from San Diego-Indianapolis. For starters, if I'm not mistaken, this is the same crew from the much-maligned Pittsburgh-Baltimore game where Santonio Holmes's controversial touchdown catch was the deciding score. Nobody will ever mistake the head official in that crew for a Rhodes scholar; in fact, he actually said San Diego took their FOURTH timeout of the second half in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Regardless, my beef comes with their officiating during the Chargers' drive in overtime. Their face-masking call down the stretch was a good one, but there were a pair of questionable defensive holding penalties that pretty much gave San Diego the game. Al Michaels and John Madden pointed out several times that the crew led the NFL in penalties called per game, and in seeing the holds, it's obvious why. One of the penalties against the Colts even came when a corner was within five yards of the line of scrimmage. It was a legal play, and the latest in a line of ticky-tack calls that shouldn't be deciding a playoff game.
Going to today's game, the refs in Minnesota are completely letting the two teams play. To a degree, I like this, but one play showed why it's not completely smart. Asante Samuel intercepted a Tarvaris Jackson pass and ran it down the sideline. Jackson tried to get in position for a touchdown-saving tackle, but was held, lifted up, and dropped on his back like a professional wrestler. As Samuel scampered into the end zone, I looked for a flag, but there were none to be found.
What does this say? For one, there needs to be some consistency among NFL crews. I don't care if it means shuffling members of crews around every few seasons for a balance between strict and lenient views. If it means players, coaches, and fans will know for sure what is and isn't a hold, I'm all for it.
Secondly, maybe the NFL needs to re-evaluate how crews are evaluated. Officials refereeing playoff games are supposed to be the best in the business, but does anyone want a playoff game decided over the question of, "Was that pass interference?" On the other side of the spectrum, who wants a game that looks more like "NFL Blitz" than "Madden," where players are knocking each other out of the game every other play?
My fears are that teams will ultimately adjust how they play the game based on who's wearing the black-and-white that week. We haven't gotten to that point yet, but we're closer to it now than we were five years ago. Let the players play, but keep the officials in control of the game, and keep the rulings consistent from week to week. Is that REALLY too much to ask?
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"A team cannot buy an excess timeout for a penalty. However, a fourth timeout is allowed without penalty for an injured player, who must be removed immediately. A fifth timeout or more is allowed for an injury and a 5-yard penalty is assessed if the clock was running."
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