We have the regular officials back on the field again this week (officiating assignments). If you see something in one of this afternoon’s games, add it to the comments section of this post or tweet us @footballzebras. We will update this post with the calls that we see.
Bengals at Jaguars
Ed Hochuli’s crew is introduced to the CBS audience (video).
Dolphins at Cardinals
Nice move by umpire Bruce Stritesky, on this long fumble return (video). It gets very dangerous for the referee and umpire when the defense has the ball and is running the other way. Everything suddenly goes in reverse and all the players are improvising. Nice moves by Stritesky in officiating the play and keeping himself safe.
Redskins at Buccaneers
3rd Qtr 0:20 – Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III lateraled to wide receiver Brandon Banks, who lateraled back to Griffin, who then completed a pass to tight end Niles Paul. Tampa Bay challenged, claiming that Banks’ lateral was forward, making Griffin’s forward pass illegal. Replay showed that the the Banks lateral was sideways, and did not go forward nor backward, so the play was upheld. A sideways pass is considered a lateral, and not a forward pass. Good call on the field, and confirmed by the replay challenge.
Dolphins at Cardinals (video)
4th Qtr 7:24 – Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb is intercepted by Dolphins cornerback Sean Smith in the end zone for a touchback. The play was reviewed to confirm that Smith had both feet in bounds, and that he maintained possession to the ground. Upon review, one even though the ball had clearly hit the ground while in his hands, and hand came off the ball momentarily, Smith did maintain possession in one hand, and the ball did not move in his hand when it hit the ground. This was a tough call to make correctly on the field, but review confirmed that it was the correct ruling.
Dolphins at Cardinals
4th Qtr 8:25 – Dolphins wide receiver Legedu Naanee caught a pass, then fumbled. Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson recovered the fumble, and the booth called for a review. The ruling on the field was upheld, with referee Scott Green explaining that Naanee had “turned upfield, then lost possession”. Looks like a good call, as Nanee had established possession with both feet down, and had made a “football move.”
Saints at Packers
5:10 of the third quarter. Excellent work by the officials digging to the bottom of the pile after a Packers fumble. That was the proper way to handle a fumble scrum as opposed to this.
Saints at Packers
I really feel for the Packers, because they cannot seem to catch a break no matter who officiates. A completion by the Saints was challenged by the Packers, and referee Jeff Triplette ruled that “the call stands.” That means he did not have enough indisputable visual evidence to overturn, rather than confirming that the catch was made. It did seem pretty clear, though, that the ball touched the ground while the receiver attempted to gain control.
Saints at Packers
Here is that touchdown where there is suspected offensive pass interference. That is either the back judge or side judge’s call. (video)
Saints at Packers
9:43 second quarter. Great teamwork by line judge Jeff Bergman and field judge Barry Anderson to rule no catch by the Packers’ Jordy Nelson.
Saints at Packers
As you watch the game today, keep an ear tuned for line judge Jeff Bergman’s whistle. He is one of the few remaining officials to be using the old-school metal whistle.
Saints at Packers
New refs, similar non-call on offensive pass interference that works against the Packers. Saints wide receiver Marques Colston clearly pushed Packers free safety Morgan Burnett prior to reeling in a touchdown pass.
Officials continue to receive a hero’s welcome.
49ers at Jets (video)
Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes caught a pass from quarterback Mark Sanchez, but landed awkwardly, untouched, and gave up the ball due to his injury, which resulted in a fumble recovery and touchdown by 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers. While a runner can declare himself down without being touched, giving up the ball before the whistle does result in a fumble. This is the second such type of play this season, and perhaps should be considered for a rule change by the competition committee in the offseason.
49ers at Jets
Tony Corrente’s crew ruled a legal forward pass for Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, despite the fact he was apparently beyond the line of scrimmage. The rule is that any body part must be on or behind the line of scrimmage at the point of release of the pass. Very close, and the 49ers did not challenge. It looks inconclusive to call legal/illegal from the replay, so whichever call was made on the field would’ve stood. However, at real speed, I would have called it illegal.
Seahawks at Rams
The Rams ran a trick play out of a field goal formation, as the holder, punter Johnny Hekker, threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Danny Amendola. A flag was thrown for illegal substitution, but it was picked up after a conference by the officials, who ruled that Amendola had come far enough into the field of play. This is per Rule 5, Section 2, Article 5:
[An offensive substitute] must move onto the field of play … as far as the inside of the field numerals prior to the snap.
Tuesday, Jan. 15 on The John Murphy Show, WGR 550/Buffalo (
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Isn’t also a fouls to have a player run “off” with the out going subs and then just staying in bounds?
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A player must go inside the yardage numerals when reporting in, but a player who played the previous down may line up outside of the numerals, provided they did not already walk off. If, say, a WR participates on 3rd down, walks off, but then walks back on for 4th down, he does not have to report inside the yardage numerals if a defender is matched up with him. A special teamer who was not in the 3rd down play or an unmatched in-out-in player (like the WR in the previous example) are both illegal substitutes if they do not go inside the yardage numerals.