The ruling on the previous play was that the receiver gave himself up by going to the ground. That cannot be challenged. So there is no challenge allowed by Arizona. It is first down, New York.

From the video, it appeared as if the initial ruling was made by headlinesman Jerry Bergman. (Back judge Tony Steratore is shown in a replay covering the play as a fumble, but he did not throw his beanbag marker that would indicate he was ruling it that way.)

From the NFL Rulebook, Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1:

An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended:

(e) when a runner is out of bounds, or declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, and making no effort to advance

A player need not slide, as what was commented on some broadcast outlets, in order to qualify for declaring himself down under Item (e), because the criteria for a slide is contained in Item (d).

The fact that Cruz stayed to the ground for a brief period allows this interpretation of declaring himself down to be made. But was he down long enough?

Take another example where a player on the receiving team catches an onside kick. He secures the catch and immediately flops to the ground. Play is over immediately, because the receiver declared himself down. In the case of Cruz’s open-field catch, he must demonstrate an intention to change his status from runner to declared down. In Cruz’s case, we would expect to see him down longer than the hypothetical onside-kick receiver who is never considered a runner.

It is an issue of perception, just like when a player’s forward progress is stopped. Once the official makes that snap judgment that the player is giving himself up, there is no swallowing of the whistle, even if contrary evidence is provided.

Giants at Cardinals

Victor Cruz’s catch has become its own post.

Jerome Boger’s crew had a simultaneous timeout call from the Giants’ sideline and a coach’s challenge from the Cardinals sideline. (Fox Sports put the tape of the two coaches split screen—it would take a slo-mo replay to determine who was first.) The crew granted both requests, rather than returning the Giants timeout on account of the replay. Fox Sports sideline vagabond Tony Siragusa was able to get a very unusual in-game comment from umpire Carl Paganelli that the on-field ruling was the timeout call came first.

While the split screen only showed the coaches, there were also players on the Giants defensive line calling timeout as well. It is unclear if the officials called the timeout based on a player’s or the coach’s signal.

Steelers at Texans

The Texans had two touchdowns nullified. First, a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown (video) had an obvious penalty for illegal block in the back. Clete Blakeman had the full explanation, including the fact that the half ends on the play without the quarter being extended. Then, in the fourth quarter, an interception return for a touchdown was wiped out by a late hit on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger by Texans J.J. Watt.

Saints at Jaguars

The EverBank Field grounds crew made a glaring error when painting the lines on the field, but ultimately one that would confuse viewers, not the officiating crew.

Each 10-yard increment (with the exception of the 50-yard line) is marked with an arrow pointing towards the nearest goal line. It is essentially for the benefit of television viewers to be able to discern which side of the field is on the screen.

However, the grounds crew placed a fourth of all the arrows pointing the wrong way. On the same yard line, the arrows on either side of the field pointed to opposite ends.

Great googily moogily!

Photo courtesy of Fox Sports Florida.

Since this is essentially news about the officials, we are listing these calls and non-calls from Week 1.

• As noted in this site’s discipline report, Giants safety Kenny Phillips was fined $10,000 for an unspecified play against the Redskins. Ron Winter’s crew missed a blow to the head by Phillips.
• Carl Cheffers’ crew penalized Cardinals cornerback Richard Marshall for unnecessary roughness on a shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Marshall revealed on Twitter (@TheMarshall31) that he would not be fined by the league office. The incorrect penalty, however, was costly, as it nullified the Cardinals interception on the play, and was followed by a Jaguars touchdown two plays later. There is no video of the play, but since the referee has coverage of the quarterback, it is likely that Cheffers, himself, threw the erroneous flag.
• Texans safety Danieal Manning was flagged for his hit on Colts receiver Pierre Garçon. The penalty was for a hit on a defenseless receiver, however an analysis by the Houston Chronicle (with video below) showed the hit was legal as Garçon’s head contacted Manning’s thigh. Manning was not fined. Walt Coleman’s crew officiated the game.

Video credit NFL/CBS Sports with commentary from Houston Chronicle.

Tonight’s game in Philadelphia had to be postponed due to a coastal winter storm that is forecasted to bring blizzard conditions to the area. It is the first Tuesday game since Oct. 1, 1946, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, when the Giants played the now-defunct Boston Yanks.

Oddly, this game was originally scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m., when conditions were not bad for Philadelphia, but the game had already been moved to primetime under the flexible scheduling provision for Sunday Night Football. By 8:00, the conditions are expected to be far too dangerous for the public.

Philadelphia hosted the 1948 NFL Championship game at Shibe Park between the Eagles and the Chicago Cardinals in a heavy snowstorm. Despite the league office considering a postponement, commissioner Bert Bell allowed the game to be played (video from E-footage.com).

The decision to postpone the 2010 game is the right one from a public-safety standpoint. As incredibly awesome as the sight might have been of a heavy snowstorm, it is not worth jeopardizing the safety of the fans, game personnel and emergency services. In the end, it is just a football game.

Rule 17 of the NFL rulebook outlines the procedures that the NFL took in making a decision today:

Article 4. The NFL affirms the position that in most circumstances all regular-season and postseason games should be played to their conclusion. If, in the opinion of appropriate League authorities, it is impossible to begin or continue a game due to an emergency, or a game is deemed to be imminently threatened by any such emergency (e.g., severely inclement weather, lightning, flooding, power failure), the following procedures (Articles 5 through 11) will serve as guidelines for the Commissioner and/or his duly appointed representatives. The Commissioner has the authority to review the circumstances of each emergency and to adjust the following procedures in whatever manner he deems appropriate. If, in the Commissioner’s opinion, it is reasonable to project that the resumption of an interrupted game would not change its ultimate result or adversely affect any other inter-team competitive issue, he is empowered to terminate the game.

Article 5. The League employees vested with the authority to define emergencies under these procedures are the Commissioner, designated representatives from his League office staff, and the game Referee. In those instances where neither the Commissioner nor his designated representative is in attendance at a game, the Referee will have sole authority; provided, however, that if a Referee delays the beginning of or interrupts a game for a significant period of time due to an emergency, he must make every effort to contact the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designated representative for consultation. In all cases of significant delay, the League authorities will consult with the management of the participating clubs and will attempt to obtain appropriate information from outside sources, if applicable (e.g., weather bureau, police).

Article 6. If, because of an emergency, a regular-season or postseason game is not started at its scheduled time and cannot be played at any later time that same day, the game nevertheless must be played on a subsequent date to be determined by the Commissioner.

Johnson offers up a double-dip format — one cablecast and one online-only version,  much like his predecessor, Mike Pereira — however the calls under review are limited to three, instead of the usual four. We should see the normal weekly output soon. (The “Competition Committee” segment that aired in replacement of “Official Review” may return on an occasional basis.)

The calls under review (video 1 | video 2):

• In the Saints–Cardinals game, Cardinals quarterback Max Hall fumbled the ball near the goal line, which was returned for the touchdown by teammate Levi Brown. Since Hall’s helmet came off during the play, there was a question as to whether the play is dead under the new rule that  play ends when the ball carrier loses his helmet. Johnson pointed out that since Hall was not the ball carrier when his helmet came off, the play remains live.
• On an Eagles punt, a special teams player for the 49ers was blocked into a loose ball by an Eagles player. Ordinarily, a player from the receiving team that first touches a ball renders that a live ball for either team to recover. Johnson explained that a receiving team player who is not making a play on the ball or actively engaged in blocking with another player is considered “passive” and therefore the fact that he is blocked into the ball doesn’t suddenly make the ball live. This is rarely called this way but is correct. This prevents a kicking team player from driving  an opponent into the ball when the opposing player is not part of the play. Two exceptions: this does not protect a player who inadvertently brushes into a wildly bouncing ball, nor does it protect an actively blocking player who is overpowered and “shoved” into the path of the ball. The standard is the same for determining fair-catch interference, which was discussed in a 2009 “Official Review” segment, oddly, in Week 5.
• A costly celebration penalty was levied against the Cowboys, as the penalty set up good field position for the game-winning touchdown drive by the Titans.

Johnson’s analysis is good, however I found some of his explanation of the Cardinals fumble to be too wordy. For example, Johnson said there were many things to consider on the play, such as the restrictions on fourth down fumbles and fumbles after the two-minute warning. Since neither of them applied, these would not have been under consideration, but, rather, served as a primer for unrelated fumble rules.

Johnson’s presentation skills were generally above average for a television “rookie,” as he made it seem a lot easier than it looks, and considering this segment is not his primary duty. I think with a few segments under his belt, he will develop a little more personality to add some of the flavor Pereira added to the presentation.

Seahawks coach Jim Mora is petitioning the league on 17 plays in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals, as reported by Danny O’Neil of The Seattle Times. While it is routine that coaches submit questionable calls to the league office, Mora said it was “probably three times as many as I have in any game.”

Mora would not elaborate on all of the plays, but apparently some disputed pass interference calls are part of the mix. Mora did note, however, that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was gasping for air after a forearm was planted on his neck after being sacked. There was no roughness penalty called on the play.

Darnell Dockett, the player administering the offending forearm, was quick to respond on his Twitter feed, which we have detwitterfied for your reading enjoyment:

Dear Coach Mora: It’s football. Shit happens, and if you ever played the game you’d understand. Really, I would [not] try to hurt Matt. He’s a good guy.

Dockett was too fast to toss the four-letter word in there, but did not realize that he forgot the critical word not (which is followed by “*wouldnt” in his next tweet). We will know by Friday if the league feels that a fine happens, too.

Update, 11/21/09: Dockett was fined $7,500 for the hit.

• Backtracking to Week 9, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was fined $20,000 for arguing a call with referee Ed Hochuli. Cutler was flagged for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Much like Chad Ochocinco’s $1 facetious bribe the same day, this is the standard first-offense fine for “verbal or other non-physical offense against [an] official.”
• Also in the Bears–Cardinals game, the Bears defensive lineman Tommie Harris, who was ejected on the third play of the game for what Hochuli described as “slugging” another player, was fined $7,500 (video at 0:19).  Because the Bears played a Thursday night game, the fines were not announced until after their Week 10 game.
• Finally, in a case of swift justice, Titans owner Bud Adams was fined $250,000 for obscene gestures launched from his luxury box towards the Bills sideline—or $125,000 for each finger. The incident happened at the end of Sunday’s game, with the fine being announced Monday morning. There was little dispute in the matter, as his double-barrelled salute was uploaded to YouTube.

The Packers clearly had a successful 2-point conversion late in the game. One replay was aired prior to the kickoff that showed it was close but, undeniably, was a complete pass.

As soon as the replay cleared the screen, whistles were heard to initiate a booth review of the play. This hearkens back to comments by Mike Pereira, head of officials, on his assessment of the Cardinals’ final play in Super Bowl XLIII:

You learn and … next time it happens, at this point of the game, this big of a play, let’s go ahead and [call for a replay review].

Pereira said that the replay guidelines would be revised to reflect this. I am calling it the “critical juncture review,” or the replay to satisfy the conspiracy theorists.

The replay official was Ken Baker and the referee was Ron Winter.

It seems the Arizona Cardinals cannot finish a game without a controversial call on the last play of the game. In the first outing following the controversial game-ending fumble in Super Bowl XLIII, the Cardinals found themselves, again, in a last-second desperation call.

With eight seconds left in the 49ers–Cardinals game (video highlight at 2:10), the Cardinals needed 54 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Kurt Warner was sacked with three seconds; the ball was fumbled and rolled out of bounds as time expired.

An interesting development arose, as the players (most visibly kicker Joe Nedney) entered onto the field with three seconds left with a live, loose ball. The play, according to the gamebook, did not end until the ball went out of bounds. Therefore, there were more than 11 players on the field.

49ers bench enters the field during a live ball with 2 seconds remaining. Credit: NFL/Fox Sports

Nedney, although near the ball, did not interfere with the play. Because the fumble was after the two-minute warning, only Warner (the fumbler) could legally recover for the Cardinals. So there was clearly no way the Cardinals had a chance to recover. But, by the letter of the rules, it is an illegal substitution, which would have been a 5-yard penalty and an untimed down for the Cardinals. A replay review could have been initiated, as the number of personnel is a reviewable call. It could not be challenged since there was less than two minutes.

Flashback: Browns at Chiefs, Week 1, 2002

This may appear to be overreaching, as players believed the play to be over and did not interfere with the play. But, that did not factor in an unsportsmanlike conduct call in the 2002 Browns–Chiefs opening day game. When Chiefs quarterback Trent Green was swarmed under with the clock showing 0:00, it appeared that the game was over. Dwayne Rudd of the Browns removed his helmet in celebration, not realizing that Green lateraled the ball to lineman John Tait, who was tackled at the 25-yard line.

Although Rudd thought the play was over, and did not have any affect on the play, he was nonetheless flagged for removing his helmet, which extended the quarter by an untimed down for the Chiefs’ game-winning field goal.

Today’s game was officiated by Don Carey’s crew (his first as referee); Lloyd McPeters was the replay official.

No video to show, but the Associated Press reported that Cardinals offensive lineman Elton Brown bumped referee Mike Carey near the end of the first half of the final preseason game. He was ejected for the contact.

According to the story and his coach, the bump was inadvertant, however the ruling is not debatable. The league office should report any sanctions against Brown this week.

Update, Wed. 9/9/09: In an unrelated move, Brown was released by the Cardinals today.