Football Zebras.com

SUNDAY, OCT. 2

• Panthers at Bears:  Terry McAulay
• Bills at Browns: Gene Steratore
• Titans at Browns: Pete Morelli
• Lions at Cowboys: John Parry
• Redskins at Rams: Walt Coleman
• 49ers at Eagles: Alberto Riverón
• Vikings at Chiefs: Bill Leavy
• Saints at Jaguars: Ed Hochuli
• Steelers at Texans: Clete Blakeman
• Falcons at Seahawks: Walt Anderson
• Giants at Cardinals: Jerome Boger
• Dolphins at Chargers: Jeff Triplette
• Broncos at Packers: Scott Green
• Patriots at Raiders: Tony Corrente
• Jets at Ravens: Mike Carey

MONDAY, OCT. 3

• Colts at Buccaneers: Ron Winter

Off: Carl Cheffers

Most assignments confirmed through Football-refs.com.

Each week, we keep track of the fines assessed by the NFL for on-field incidents. Total through Week 2: 11 fines, $170,000.

•  Titans tight end Daniel Graham, $5,000, throwing ball into stands.
• Titans defensive end Jason Jones, $15,000, facemask-to-helmet hit.
• Falcons safety William Moore, $7,500, helmet-to-helmet hit.
• Browns defensive lineman Phil Taylor, $7,500, late hit on quarterback (appealing fine).
• Browns wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, undisclosed, excessive celebration penalty.
• Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown, $7,500, low block (appealing fine).
• Steelers linebacker James Farrior, $15,000, late hit on quarterback.

For Massaquoi, the NFL’s 2011 Schedule of Fines lists taunting as a minimum $7,500 for a first offense. To keep the meter functioning properly, we will use this amount until verification is found.

This week: 8 fines, $65,000 (estimated).

Giants at Eagles. In case you haven’t heard from the voluminous coverage of his remarks, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick thinks he does not get the late-hit penalties that are assessed when it happens to other quarterbacks. He kinda, sorta took it back. Former head of officiating Mike Pereira called it “a bunch of bull” and said that, during his tenure in the NFL league offices, the Eagles were the team that complained the most. (Least: “any team coached by [Bill] Parcells”; although Pereiera didn’t work for the NFL when Parcells coached the Giants.)

Redskins at Cowboys. A colorful officiating critique (audio) from Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall on a facemask penalty:

I told the ref he’s going to fucking lose his job. … I told the ref, “That might have been the worst call of the game.” He’s going to get some demerit points for that call because that was no facemask.

Apparently there is an epidemic of disconcerting signals that is breaking out.

It is illegal for a defensive player to simulate or override the quarterback’s snap count. Rarely is the disconcerting signals penalty called (one instance from 2010 against the Colts [video] is all we can recall), but when it is, it is a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct foul.

• Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said that Broncos defensive lineman Kevin Vickerson simulated the snap count on two plays from the 1-yard line. Vickerson was a teammate of Hasselbeck’s with the Titans and the Seahawks.
• On the Monday night game, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo had to play improvized sandlot football on at least four plays — one leading to an interception (video) — because center Phil Costa allegedly heard the Redskins defense mimicking the snap count. A reel of the errant snaps (video) was posted at NFL.com; on the third play in the clip package you can hear a “hut, hut”  as Romo was looking to his right, so he clearly wasn’t calling for the ball at that point.

Look for the league to issue a warning memo to all 32 teams regarding disconcerting signals this week.

Week 3: Packers at Bears

4th quarter | 1:09 remaining | video.

The Packers and Bears have played each other 183 times, dating back to 1921. Surely this series has seen it all.

No one saw that Bears returner Johnny Knox actually caught the punt rather than Devin Hester, who simulated a catch, faking out the entire Packers coverage team. While everyone was rubbing their eyes at what they couldn’t believe they didn’t see, referee Mike Carey was marching the play back on a holding call that also appeared to be a mystery.

This “phantom” call is not easy to see. In fact, the Fox graphic nearly obscured the hold entirely from the only angle that showed it. Clearly, though, Bears linebacker Corey Graham tangled with the Packers “gunner” Jarrett Bush. In the highlighted area of the picture, you can see Bush’s left shoulder is dipping downward as a result of contact from Graham.

Tough, but correct, call on such an otherwise beautifully executed play — one that we probably won’t see again for several years.

Fair-catch signal. I replayed the video and cannot see if Hester made a fair-catch signal. He apparently did not, because the play would have been dead as soon as Knox caught the ball. From Rule 10, Section 2, Article 3 of the NFL Rulebook:

(a) If a player of the receiving team makes a valid fair-catch signal, and the ball is not touched by a player of the kicking team, [and]…

(3) If the ball is caught or recovered by a teammate who did not make a valid fair-catch signal, the ball is dead immediately, but it is not a fair catch.

Photo credit: NFL/Fox Sports

A previous version of this post had the wrong player identified as the Packers gunner.

Week 3: Redskins at Cowboys

1st quarter | 2:09 remaining | video. It was like threading a needle, but the Redskins very carefully recovered a Cowboys fumble near the sideline. Good collaborative call from line judge Adrian Hill (#29) and field judge Craig Wrolstad on the initial call. It wasn’t until the fourth replay angle that we could see that the Redskins players were not out of bounds when touching the ball.

Week 3: Giants at Eagles

The description of the “process of the catch” has been fixed in the rulebook, but that does not mean that the ruling has become any easier for spectators. The basic premise remains unchanged: catch the ball and do something after that point, such as run with the ball, change direction, or stretch the ball over the goal line. This used to be considered a “football move” in the rulebook, but the league moved away from that description after some high profile misinterpretations. Now, we are moving back towards that, but the catch rulings should come closer to what fans expect to be called consistently.

Giants receiver Victor Cruz had a leaping touchdown catch against the Eagles when he lost the ball in the end zone. It was ruled a touchdown and automatically subjected to a replay review. Jeff Triplette announced the verdict:

After reviewing the play, the ruling on the field is confirmed. The receiver caught the ball, stuck it over the goal line – the plane – before he lost possession. It is a touchdown.

The NFL released a statement that confirms the call was correct:

Cruz had firm grip and control of the ball, touched both feet to the ground, and fulfilled the time requirement to complete the catch.

At the point that Cruz completed the catch, he became a runner (a runner is an offensive player who is in possession of a live ball).

When Cruz, acting as a runner, extended the ball over the goal line, it was a touchdown at the instant the ball penetrated the plane of the goal line.  … When Cruz lost control of the ball, he was no longer attempting to catch a pass. He had already completed the catch and was a runner attempting to score a touchdown by extending the ball across the goal line.

If the same situation occurred in the middle of the field, and a receiver who had become a runner lost possession of the ball as he reached forward for a first down, it would be a fumble.

Week 3: Patriots at Bills

Not much information here, but when a referee gives a pool report to the media, we report it here. The Bills scored a late-fourth-quarter touchdown that was reversed on replay. As a result of the reversal, the status of the clock was also reversed from stopped (on the touchdown call)  to running (down inside the 1-yard line). Following the announcement of the reversal, the clock is to return to its running state.

Apparently there was confusion on the part of Patriots coach Bill Belichick, and referee Carl Cheffers explained the scenario to a pool reporter after the game.

Q: What was the explanation on the Patriots’ second charged timeout at the end of the game … after the replay [review]?

Cheffers: Coach Belichick wanted an explanation as to what was going to take place after the replay. Obviously, we had a reversal. We put the ball at the half-yard line. The clock was going to start. He wanted a confirmation of what was going to happen at that point. I went over there and explained to him that the ball was at the half. He asked me when the clock was going to start. I said as soon as I was done with the explanation with him that I was going to go out on the field and start the clock. He stayed down there. I didn’t understand exactly why he stayed down there. I went back over there and he said he wanted a timeout. So I gave him his second charged timeout.

Use the comments area or hit us on Twitter (@footballzebras) for any questionable calls in Week 3. We will be tied up today, so check back later for our quick takes.

Referee assignments are after the jump.

Quick calls

Things at Zebra Blog headquarters didn’t allow us for updates today. I got caught up on some of today’s action with some help by the detailed discussions over at Behind the Football Stripes.

• Jets at Raiders | 2nd quarter | :04 remaining | video. It’s never pretty when an official does something to merit a highlight clip on NFL.com. While attempting to spot the ball in the final seconds of the half, umpire Ruben Fowler lands on all-fours. The ball is spotted in time for the Raiders to stop the clock.
• Jaguars at Panthers | 2nd quarter | 1:28 remaining | video. When the Panthers lead 5-3 (yes!) in an ugly quagmire, Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart had a large gain called back because he was ruled down by contact. You know the conditions are really bad when a network cameraman is unable to see and just maintains a live shot 30 yards wide and pans side to side like it’s The Price Is Right. Somehow, referee Bill Leavy and replay official Charles Stewart were able to see indisputable visual evidence, but surely there was plenty of squinting.
• 49ers at Bengals | 3rd quarter | 6:39 remaining | video. A touchdown catch by 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree was nullified by penalty. Crabtree stepped out of bounds and was then the first to touch the pass, therefore it is an illegal touch penalty. The replay provided did not give a sufficient angle to determine. (It is one of the few penalties that is reviewable, as it is a call related to the sideline/endline.) Field judge Doug Rosenbaum had coverage on the end line; in the video his hat is seen on the endline to mark Crabtree stepping out of bounds.
  6:06 remaining | video. Two plays later, referee Jerome Boger announced a false start penalty on “the entire offensive line.”
• Packers at Bears | 2nd quarter | 2:44 remaining | video. Mike Carey halted the game because of a foreign object (reportedly a sprinkler part) sticking out of the turf, reminiscent of a recent restaurant chain commercial. Although it is hard to hear over Joe Buck’s prattling on like he’s some venue maintenance expert, Carey announced, “There is a dangerous situation down on the field; we will wait until it is repaired by the grounds crew.”

read more »

Every week, we will try to tally up the fines assessed by the NFL for on-field incidents.

Last week’s total: 7 fines, $92,500.

• Most notably, Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, fined $40,000, according to the NFL: “the minimum amount … for a second violation of the rules on hits against defenseless players” (our take: a vicious helmet-to-helmet hit).
• Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan, $7,500, unnecessary roughness. Morgan plans to appeal the fine, because he was trying to jump on a loose ball, and, as he says, “I couldn’t stop myself in mid-air.”
• Chargers defensive tackle Antonio Garay, $15,000, hit on a quarterback below the knee (photo of the play at the link).
• Seahawks defensive tackle Raheem Brock, $15,000, hit on a quarterback below the knee (video). He, too, has plans to appeal (@RaheemBrock).

This week: 4 fines, $77,500.