Football Zebras.com

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.

Robinson avoids sure suspension for bell-ringer; fined $40K for repeat offense

Week 2: Eagles at Falcons

After delivering a headhunting hit to Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin, Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson was looking to send a message.

The NFL also sent a message that it is afraid to enforce harsh sanctions for hits that sometimes cause careers to end, diminish the quality of former players’ lives, and even shorten their life expectancy. The league talks tough — threatening suspension for flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits — then shrinks back when action is required and demanded. Robinson, whose salary and bonuses average $9.5 million a year, was fined $40,000, or less than a half of one percent. In terms of a 60-minute game, Robinson makes $40,000 in 4 minutes and 15 seconds — whether he’s on the field or not.

The NFL’s press release admits they low-balled the number:

Robinson is a repeat offender of player safety rules. He was fined $25,000 for a 2010 violation of player safety rules … The minimum amount in the 2011 Fine Schedule for a second violation of the rules on hits against defenseless players is $40,000.

Robinson’s hit last year on Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson (which Jackson does not remember due to the violence of the hit to his head) resulted in a heavy fine ($50,000, which was lowered to $25,000 on appeal) and was one of three such hits that spurred a midseason enforcement memo to all players. That same day, all of the teams played a DVD from the league (video) explaining the helmet-to-helmet hits would be met with equally harsh discipline from the league office.

The memo’s blustery language warned of flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits being a first-time-suspendable offense, but the new enforcement has yet to result in a benching. Robinson, who said Sunday, “I feel strongly that there will not be any further repercussion,” has now become emboldened to go out against the Buccaneers next Sunday and lay down the lumber on another defenseless receiver.

Rough play is part of the game, but is it a part of the game to cause a player to be unable to recall being hit? Is it an acceptable part of the game today, only to be followed by a story 20 years later of a former player who commits suicide because of the accumulated “acceptable” damage to his brain? When you read that story in 2031, you probably would think to yourself, “oh, that’s terrible,” and then continue on with your day.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Or, this way:

On Aug. 12, 1978, Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley, for the last time in his life, set his feet under his own power on the 10-yard line at the Oakland Coliseum. Raiders defensive back Jack Tatum administered a signature hit which sent Stingley limp to the turf, unable to move. With a compressed spinal cord and two broken vertebrae, Stingley was paralyzed from the neck down. He died in 2007 due to complications by quadriplegia.

And no one talks about a single touchdown Stingley caught or his statistics. It is the injury that defines his career. When Tatum died, headlines for his obituary made mention of the play. It was the hit that defined a career.

Is this the legacy that Robinson desires? Isn’t this an injury that the NFL would like to prevent?

The message sent by the NFL’s memo was loud and clear. The message sent by not fining Robinson was deafening.

It really was a non-issue, but the Bills interception (video) of the final Hail Mary pass from Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell was decisive. Game over.

However, referee Mike Carey received a buzz on his pager indicating that there would be a replay review of the final play. Carey was already off the field when he was summoned back to the replay equipment.

Carey announced to whomever was left that the interception would stand. In a pool report, he explained that there was no review to begin with:

Q: Describe what happened after the call on the field of an interception?

Carey: It was ruled an interception. We came into the locker room after delaying to see if it was going to be reviewed. I got a beep in the locker room, a buzz in the locker room, that said review. Went back out, put the headset on. They weren’t set up. But it was an erroneous transmission, and they had already confirmed the ruling on the field.

Q: What was an erroneous transmission?

Carey: The [pager] beep that I got.

Q: Could you go over the process at the end if the booth thinks a review is necessary?

Carey: On all instant replay reviews, the referee goes in and reviews the play — if there’s a review. I got a buzz that said review it. When I got out there they said it had already been confirmed. There was no need for a review. It was an erroneous transmission to my buzzer for review.

Q: Lastly, describe what is required to determine that there is simultaneous possession on a pass like that, a receiver needs to … ?

Carey: He needs to maintain possession when he goes to the ground. If he doesn’t maintain possession then it’s either incomplete or an interception.

Week 15: Jets at Steelers

A failure in basic officiating crew mechanics is rare in the NFL. While there is room for argument on a judgment call or a missed call, errors in mechanics are inexcusable.

In the second quarter on a first-and-10 play from the Jets 35, Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall gained nine yards. Line judge John Hussey clearly spotted the ball at the 26, way short of the line to gain (video). The CBS yellow-line graphic is estimated by a technician outside of the stadium, so it cannot be counted on for accuracy. However, we don’t need the benefit of the first-down graphic; we can clearly see that the Steelers had to advance to the 25.

(A similar instance happened in Week 14 between the Redskins and Buccaneers, but ultimately it appears that there was confusion, not an incorrect call. We hope to have a post up on that soon.)

There are two first down markers: the 10-yard chain and a reference (or “auxilary”) marker placed on the first down line on the sideline opposite the chain. The chain is the official demarcation of a first down, and we can clearly see that both stakes are placed exactly on the 35- and 25-yard lines. That is what makes this even more troubling, because it is certainly easier to judge a first-down line that is on, rather than between, the five-yard intervals.

Although not seen in the video, referee Pete Morelli would have signaled first down after the run. Only then would the chain crew advance to mark a new set of downs. However, head linesman George Hayward has a responsibility for the chain crew, and in this case, should have been the first to step in to correct the error. Hussey, as line judge, and opposite the head linesman, should have been the second one to call out the error. In addition, umpire Ruben Fowler, while hovering over the ball to maintain the spot until the next play, should have noticed that the ball did not advance to the 25-yard stripe, when the previous down was dead on the 35-yard line.

The spot of the ball in relation to the first-down marker can be challenged in replay, but the Jets would have had to use one of their challenges.

The Steelers completed the drive with a touchdown. Following the erroneous first down, the Steelers had an incomplete pass and were sacked, which, not counting a different play selection based on the down, would have brought up a 4th-and-8.

An odd side effect of the phantom first down: fantasy football. Mendenhall rushed for exactly 100 yards, including the one yard the statisticians had to give him in order to credit him with the first down.

Week 15: Packers at Patriots

Referee Ed Hochuli won’t have the benefit of his informative public-address announcements to defend a flag in the second quarter of the Sunday night game.

Mike Reiss of ESPNBoston.com reports a helmet-to-helmet hit by Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty on Packers tight end Andrew Quarless was penalized 20 to 30 seconds after the play because Hochuli received visual confirmation from a scoreboard replay.

The scoreboard video can never be used by officials to make any ruling. Ever.

I have to see the video of the call myself, but it may not be relevant if Hochuli saw a penalizable action on the scoreboard. As the head referee, Hochuli doesn’t call downfield penalties, because his coverage area is the quarterback. However, Hochuli would make the ultimate call in a case where the covering officials are “tied” in their decision.

That said, the appearance of the use of the scoreboard video is troubling. This is likely to stoke the rumor mill, so I expect the league to make a statement on this by midweek, even if it is a one-sentence (or one-word) answer.

Also likely is that Patriots coach Bill Belichick will fry the video board director who rolled a replay that oddly may have disadvantaged the home team.

Belichick also addressed the highly litigious Hochuli crew: “Look these guys call the most penalties of any crew in the league. … We knew it was going to be a [tightly officiated] game, and it was. I’ve got to do a better job preparing the team.”

Jets trainer Sal Alosi, who was suspended for the remainder of the 2010 season and postseason for tripping an opponent, has confirmed conspiracy theories that there was a deliberate attempt to ensnare a member of the Dolphins’ punt coverage.

Alosi admitted to the Jets, after his original discipline was announced, that he aligned inactive Jets players in a 5-yard sideline flank intending on creating an obstacle along the sideline. There is no specific “rule” against it, other than it is unsportsmanlike conduct.

However, there are sideline restrictions in place, but officials are unable to patrol sideline activity, unless it involves the boundary line or some obvious interference from the sidelines. I can recall attending an NFL game on a windy day where the referee directed stadium security to call the sideline because of an allegation that a large door was opened when the visiting team had the ball. The referee wasn’t monitoring the situation, but directed stadium personnel to take charge.

Nonetheless, the NFL issued a reminder to all 32 teams that sideline interference harms the integrity of the game, as if that needed to be said. However, there is one new point of enforcement in the league’s memo:

To assist with the enforcement of this rule, effective immediately, all game officials are being instructed not to engage in any prolonged discussion with any coach outside of the permitted zone while play is in progress.

Because this is a midseason change of mechanics, this automatically places it on the Competition Committee’s agenda for the offseason. We will put it on ours, as well.

The entirety of the NFL’s statement is after the jump.

read more »

The Jets, in consultation with the NFL, assessed a watered-down punishment on Sal Alosi, a trainer who tripped Dolphins special-teams player Nolan Carroll. According to the team, he has been suspended for the remainder of the season, including the postseason, and fined $25,000. He was not fired. The lower amount of his fine, compared to Titans coordinator Chuck Cecil, is likely due to his lower comparative salary. (Alosi is a strength and conditioning coach, not one of the field tacticians.)

However, as pointed out at Pro Football Talk, there is something more sinister afoot. While the video shows Alosi tripping Carroll on a sideline punt-coverage route, Alosi is flanked by five other Jets staff members. Keeping in mind that punt coverage players tend to go out of bounds frequently (either on their own or aided by the opponent), this obstruction has all of the hallmarks of being deliberatly disruptive to the game.

Of course, the excuse of the coaching staff is that they are in the designated bench area of the sidelines, and that no one is standing on the off-limits, six-foot-wide white boundary line. However, a player who is headed out of bounds can step around a single person who is standing in the mandatory bench location. When five yards of sideline are being “covered,” there is little that a player can do to avoid a collision or entanglement.

On the field, it is illegal to create a wedge when blocking on a kick return. This is defined as at least three players forming a “wall” to block the full-speed defenders headed towards the ball carrier. The Competition Committee found this to be dangerous, and the NFL outlawed the formation (by making it a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty) in 2009. What happened on the Jets sideline, while not a true wedge, created up a situation where collision was inevitable.

So, yes, the team staff was where they were allowed to be, however their actions show that they had an alleged inclination for tampering with the integrity of the game.

Updated 12/14. A previous version of this post stated that the NFL suspended and fined Alosi, when it was the team’s action in consultation with the league office.

Week 13: Steelers at Ravens

Two Ravens players who had hits that were not penalized were fined by the league Monday night.

• Haloti Ngata was fined $15,000 for a hit that Picassoed the face of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and should make sneezing a challenge (video of Big Ben’s crooked nose here).
• Jameel McClain was fined $40,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on tight end Heath Miller (video). Miller suffered a concussion and is now under the league’s strict concussion policies before being cleared to play.

The fines, which are usually Wednesday–Friday business, came out less than 24 hours after the game ended. The speed of justice in this case, without a doubt, was to keep the Steelers from complaining about the league’s vandetta against the team. Or, at least to quell the discussion of the “conspiracy.”

Terry McAulay’s crew officiated the Sunday Night Football game.

Week 13: Bears at Lions

As a follow-up to the Ndamukong Suh penalty, referee Ed Hochuli (whose weekday and offseason job is a trial lawyer) explained his call following Sunday’s game, as he saw it:

Q: The personal foul on Suh, exactly what did you call and why?

Hochuli: I felt it was an unnecessary non-football act—a blow to the back of the runner’s helmet in the process of him going down.

Q: Did it have anything to do with the fact he was a quarterback?

Hochuli: Well, the quarterbacks receive more protection, but in that situation, no. In that situation, it was I felt an unnecessary blow, a non-football act as the runner was going to the ground.

Q: If the contact had been in the shoulder or not in the head, would it still have been a penalty?

Hochuli: I really would have to see it. I can’t speculate on something else that I didn’t see. But as I saw it, he hit him in the back of the helmet.

Q: Can you describe why that it is an unnecessary [act]?

Hochuli: When you tackle people, you come in, and you wrap up and come with your arms and things like that. I felt he delivered a blow to the back [of the] runner that happened to be the quarterback. That is why I was down there following it. He’s my responsibility.

As reported in the Detroit Free-Press, Suh had a very responsible answer to the controversy, especially considering Suh is a rookie:

I don’t judge calls. It’s not my job. My job is to go out there and play, get the ball out. It was a great opportunity to attack the ball. It just happened. Whatever. I was going for the ball, so that’s all that matters.

Week 13: Steelers at Ravens

A third quarter hit on Steelers receiver Heath Miller by Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain sounded pretty bad (video and audio), and the Steelers’ faithful were waiting for the penalty. There was none.

Overruled by the main office. This was according to Sports Illustrated/Sunday Night Football reporter Peter King via Twitter. While it doesn’t change the call on the field, McClain could be short a pile of money this week. Al Michaels said during the game on NBC that the vice-president of officiating, Carl Johnson, made that statement.

What appears was called by the officials (without benefit of replay) was that since Miller was falling to the ground, Miller’s helmet came in the path of McClain’s. The replay also shows McClain putting his hands out, albeit weakly, which may have helped his case.

Still, it’s a defenseless receiver, and therefore a penalty. It is not the same as a runner who, under his own power, lowers his helmet and, for lack of a better word, “induces” the helmet-to-helmet contact.

Terry McAulay’s crew was officiating.

And, while most of the defense, the coach, and the owner complained this week that 120 officials have it in for one team, I am sure there will be a lot more discussion this week in the ‘Burgh.