Zebra Blog

The calls under “Official Review” by league vice-president of officiating Mike Pereira (video, part 1 and part 2):

• The oft-talked-about play of the week (video), where a down-by-contact ruling for the Redskins was overruled as a fumble and recovery for the Saints in overtime. Pereira points out that the ball is moving and being separated from the receiver, and therefore is a fumble. (A ball can move, as long as it remains in a hand or arm, as described in elegant prose to us.)
• Regarding the Flozell Adams hit on Justin Tuck (Cowboys–Giants) after the expiration of the first half, we have something for our offseason clip-and-save file:

It really doesn’t seems right that that play shouldn’t result in a 15-yard penalty on the opening kick of the third quarter, and I think that is something we’ll have to take a look at [in the offseason]. … It will be interesting to see how the Competition Committee addresses it. … I already promised [Giants head coach] Tom Coughlin on the Monday after the game that I would present it to the committee, and I’m sure it will be one of the things they look at early.

• An incomplete pass by the Buccaneers against the Panthers was reviewed and overturned by referee Don Carey and replay official Lloyd McPeters. Periera did not see indisputable visual evidence, andacknowledged that replay officials are graded on their performance for playoff assignments.
• In the same game, a rush by Maurice Jones-Drew of the Panthers was reviewed to see if it was a touchdown. It was ruled short by the line judge, and replay did not have indisputable visual evidence to overturn.

Pereira did not come near addressing any plays from the 49ers–Seahawks game, which the Niners organization alleges “several paragraphs” worth of disputed calls.

Week 13: Cowboys at Giants

On the final play of the second quarter, the Cowboys were short on a 57-yard field goal attempt. While the Giants tried to advance the missed kick, the play was whistled dead. After the play was clearly over, Cowboys lineman Flozell Adams dealt a cheap shot to Justin Tuck (update: video). As Adams racked up four fines in the first three weeks of the season for flagrant personal fouls—including a leg whip that injured Tuck in Week 2—Adams likely faces a fine of repeat-offender magnitude and possibly suspension.

The personal foul was called on Adams, which was declined. Unfortunately the Fox Sports supposed “star” production team (another argument for another day, perhaps) was heading to commercial when announcer Joe Buck declared over unrelated video that a fight broke out. Without any visual, the network went to commercial, leaving the studio commentators on the other coast to explain what happened, with a short follow-up at the start of the third quarter.

It was explained, secondhandedly, that Bill Leavy announced the penalty on Adams was declined. While, as a technical matter, the penalty was vacated due to the end of the half, the Giants did not decline the penalty. (We reported as the Lions celebrated a comeback during an untimed down, if there had been any excessive celebration penalty, it would not be marked off because of the conclusion of the quarter.) Fox analyst Troy Aikman questioned why the Giants were even allowed to decline the penalty, even though the rules state that a team can decline any opponent’s penalty, as long as there are not offsetting penalties (ejections cannot be declined, even though the penalty that caused the ejection can be).

Since the field goal was no good, and the Giants were to assume possession on the next play if the clock did not read 0:00, the ability to extend the second quarter by a down was not available to the Giants. From the Rulebook, 4–8–2(c):

If there is a foul by the offense, there shall be no extension of the period. If the foul occurs on the last play of the half, a score by the offense is not counted. However, the period may be extended for an untimed down, upon the request of the defense, if the offensive team’s foul is for: …

(4) a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct foul committed prior to an interception of a forward pass or the recovery of a backward pass or fumble; or

(5) a foul by the kicking team prior to a player of the receiving team securing possession of the ball during a down in which there is a safety kick, a scrimmage kick, or a free kick.

Since Adams hit came in the action following the play, it is essentially unpenalized. If, hypothetically, a player goes after an opponent while the teams are heading for the locker rooms (perhaps a difference of five to ten seconds), that penalty is not part of the “continuing action” of the play. In addition to be a possible disqualification, Paragraph D of the same rule–section–article:

If there is a personal foul or unsportsmanlike conduct foul that (1) is not in the continuing action immediately after the end of a down and (2) occurs between the end of the second period and the beginning of the third period (or between the end of the fourth period and the beginning of an overtime period), the penalty shall be enforced on the ensuing kickoff.

We are placing this in our clip and save file for our end-of-season Competition Committee mock agenda.

This morning, Adam Schefter reported on ESPN that the Competition Committee is looking to recommend that umpires wear protective headgear. The umpire position on the officiating crew, positioned in the middle of the field near the line of scrimmage on the defensive side, is the one most frequently subject to hard hits.

The issue of protecting the umpire was on the agenda at the owners meeting earlier this month in Boston. The Competition Committee makes recommended changes in the offseason on matters of safety and fair play, subject to league approval.

Of course, with all of the attention paid to the umpire position, just today we witnessed a back judge in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In the annual league meeting held in Boston, commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the media on various topics. Of interest here, he was asked about the influence that star quarterbacks might have on the officials. (We will get to his response shortly.)

We did not specifically address the star-treatment aspect here, as there is an entire conspiracy movement well documented on the Internet that the officials are out to “get” certain teams or protect certain players.

The conspiracy movement gained some steam over the past week with two hairline judgment calls in the Week 4 Ravens–Patriots game. The league won’t weigh in on whether the calls were bad, because it does not want to affect future judgment calls. In fact, the league’s Game-Related Discipline manual distributed to the players specifically addresses such judgment calls:

The Competition Committee emphasizes that whenever a game official is confronted with a potential unnecessary-roughness situation and is in doubt about calling a foul, he should lean toward safety and not hesitate to throw the flag.

Some have seized upon the effort of Tom Brady to draw a 15-yard penalty against the defense, and this week’s “Official Review” segment on NFL Total Access has the video of the play in question. After mostly evading a hit from Terrell Suggs, Brady turns to referee Ron Winter and gestures for a penalty flag. Winter, who is already reaching for the flag, nods to Brady and throws the flag. To those believing there is a conspiracy, this looked like Winter acquiesced to Brady’s plea, rather than—having already decided to penalize—merely acknowledged Brady’s request. (Much like if a quarterback unsuccessfully lobbies for the call, the referee would likely shake his head “no.”)

Not surprisingly, the commissioner yesterday dismissed claims of impropriety:

I don’t think they influence the officials. I take a different position. I think it’s really to some extent a coaching matter. The players should be playing. They should be focused on doing their job. And the officials need to do their job. If it interfered with the officials doing their job, then I would have more of a concern. I don’t think it influences the officials. I don’t think it’s been a problem that has been raised to me that it’s a conflict or in any way difficult for our officials to manage on the field.

Without getting into tremendous detail, the Week 2 edition of “Official Review” (two-part video that aired on NFL Net and NFL.com) covered the same topics we covered this week. The assessments we gave on the calls were entirely backed up by the league’s vice president of officiating, Mike Pereira. The calls under Official Review:

• The call of interference with a fair catch on the Titans
• The interception caught off of a foot by the Giants, overturned on replay, but the return nullified.
• The catch possession through to the ground was discussed as it pertained to the Texans and Panthers touchdowns being upheld. Also, the Dolphins had an interception overturned on Monday Night Football on similar grounds (video highlight at 1:05).

The segment also covered the noncontroversial call on the last play of the Bengals–Packers game. With the clock about to expire, referee Ed Hochuli ruled that the game was over prior to the snap. He then corrected the call that there was one second left on the clock, but since the Packers were not set in their stance at the snap, it was a false-start penalty. Of course, a false start with the clock running under two minutes also includes a 10-second runoff, which then consumed the one second. It was only a matter of clean bookkeeping, as the game ended without a play being run under both circumstances.

Pereira did express regret that the catch/ground issue has been so misconstrued and misunderstood only two weeks into the season. Whether this results in a Competition Committee review (as he alluded to with the Titans interference play) remains to be seen.

John Madden

John Madden’s retirement from broadcasting was short-lived. No, he’s not returning to the airwaves, but will work with the league in a consultant role.

The league announced today that Madden, the former CBS/Fox/ABC/NBC color commentator and Raiders coach, was appointed as an unpaid adviser with the league. In a statement released, Madden will have four duties in his position:

• advise Commissioner Roger Goodell “on matters pertaining to the game, including competitive issues, coaching and personnel development, technological innovations, player safety, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
• discuss with a league executive about “multiple league-related issues”
• chair the Coaches Subcommittee of the Competition Committee
• participate in meetings of the General Managers Advisory Committee as well as conference calls with the commissioner’s office about issues from the previous week’s games.

While some have criticized Madden’s ability to convey complicated or obscure rules to the viewing public, his career focus on football is undeniably valuable. Factoring in his time since he was drafted by the Eagles in the 21st round (yes, 21st, and injured in training camp before playing) and his nine-year college coaching career, Madden has been drawing a football check for 50 years. While he always pines for the smashmouth era of football, he has adapted to the changes and new innovations that have come in that half-century.

From the press release, it sounds like Madden can essentially get involved in pretty much anything he wants. Or, Commissioner Gordon—er, Goodell—will just illuminate the secret Fatman distress signal as needed.

After only two full quarters in the new Cowboys Stadium, a punt banged into the overhead video screen, despite its 90-foot clearance. The NFL spent less than a week to make the ruling clear on how such anomalies are handled.

From the NFL:

After consulting with the Competition Committee and NFL staff, the commissioner said the following will be in effect for all remaining preseason, regular season, and postseason games of the 2009 season:

1. If a ball in play strikes a video board, guide wire, sky cam, or any other object, the ball will be dead immediately, and the down will be replayed at the previous spot.
2. If there is not an on-field ruling that the ball struck an object, the Replay Assistant is empowered to initiate a booth review, including if the event occurs prior to the two-minute warning. If, prior to the two-minute warning, no booth review is initiated by the Replay Assistant, a coach’s challenge is permitted under the customary procedures for such a challenge.
3. In the event the down is replayed:

(a) The game clock will be reset to the time remaining when the snap occurred.

(b) All penalties will be disregarded, except for personal fouls which will be administered prior to replaying the down.

The press release goes on to state that this rule change is limited to the 2009 season, because Rule 3, Section 1 of the playing rules requires interim changes to be reviewed by the Competition Committee for permanency.

Preseason Week 2: Titans at Cowboys

Jeff Fisher, in his capacity as competition committee chair, is calling a teleconference of the committee regarding an unusual circumstance in a game he coached, Friday’s Titans-Cowboys game.

A punt by backup Titans punter A.J. Trapasso hit the overhead video screen (video at 1:10). Initially, none of the referees saw the ball deflect off of the video screen, so Fisher called for a replay review. (This is not a reviewable call, but the officiating crew determined without review that the ball came in contact with the video screen.)

Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times is reporting that the rule is that the play is nullified and replayed. However, the game officials had the clock reset as if the play never happened — something not typical when a penalty nullifies the play.

“We haven’t talked at all about time being put on the clock,” [NFL director of officiating, Mike Pereira]  said. “The only thing we’ve talked about really is the do-over of the play. We’ve never talked about resetting the clock back to where it was. That’s obviously something we’re going to have to talk about. And that may be what we arrive at.

“I would say that it’s a big enough issue that we’re going to have to address it with the competition committee here probably sometime this week to figure out what direction we want to go.”

This was the first game played in the new Cowboys Stadium, and according to Farmer’s report, punters from both teams were able to hit the scoreboard several times. This may not be the last time this happens in a game. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones states that he will not move the video screens, despite the fact that the stadium will do so for an uncoming U2 concert.

The NFL homepage ran an Associated Press story quoting the Rich McKay, Falcons president and Competition Committee co-chairman. As it does almost every year, according to the commissioner, the Competition Committee is looking into the competitive balance of the current sudden-death overtime format. The committee met in Indianapolis before the Scouting Combine and are currently adjourned until March.

The review will likely lead to no change in the overtime rules. If there is a change, it would be nothing more than moving the overtime kickoff forward five yards.

Three reasons lead me to believe there is no change: (1) there is no formal proposal submitted for a specific rule change; (2) coaches still favor the system as it has existed since it was implemented in 1974; (3) Jeff Fisher, Titans head coach and the other committee co-chairman, is encouraging more study into any possible changes.

The one thing that keeps coming up is the idea that the coin flip determines the outcome. Of course, this discounts the role of the defense and the special teams—all important parts of a balanced team. However, I propose doing away with the coin flip and giving the option to the team that was last in the lead. In other words, if your team caused the tie, it is the same as if your team lost the coin flip. This also eliminates the possibility of a team tying in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, winning the toss, and scoring on the first possession of overtime.

In his second annual State of the League address, Commissioner Roger Goodell stated that the Competition Committee would be looking at a possible revision to the overtime rules. This idea has new traction after Peyton Manning watched the entire overtime period from the bench in the Colts’ Wild Card loss to the Chargers. However, the Eagles and Bengals kept each other from mounting more than a 30-yard drive in the extra session, ending that Week 11 game in a tie.

Commissioner Goodell, on a question about the coin flip determining the winner of the overtime:

I think every year we look back at our overtime rules. I would disagree very strongly … that the game is determined by a coin flip. The point of the game is to win it in regulation. There is a great coach over here, Tony Dungy, who said something to me earlier this year and I think it’s important — that once that coin is flipped and you’ve determined who gets the ball, you still have to get into scoring position. So, this game is about teamwork. It’s about offense, defense and special teams. You have to earn your way to get that opportunity and if you do, you win the game. So, there is a lot of debate about all overtime rules, including the college overtime rules. We’ll look at that. We’ll look at every alternative and we’ll try to come up with something that we think makes sense. We think the rule we have is a terrific rule and it’s served us well.

When asked about removing the option for a field goal on the first drive of overtime, Goodell responded:

It’s been considered before, and I’m sure it will be considered among the alternatives. There are other ways of addressing the field goal on the first drive, and I think it is something the Competition Committee needs to consider because what we’ve seen in our statistics is that historically about 30 percent of the games in overtime are decided with a team who wins the coin flip scoring on the first possession. That number has risen to about 47 percent, and I think that’s significant, and I think it’s something our committee needs to look at. When you couple that with the fact that our field goal kickers are much more accurate than they have been in the past, that is a danger. We have talked about different concepts, and the committee will discuss this. And I’ve had some discussions with some of the committee members individually. Should we move the kickoff so that the ball, theoretically at least, would be, the drive would start further back? If they drive down and they kick a long field goal, they deserve to win. So, that suggestion that you’re making has been discussed. We’ll discuss it among the other alternatives, and I’m sure they’ll come up with a recommendation by the end of March.

As we just marked the 50th anniversary of the first overtime game (let’s forget for a moment that  1955 preseason game between the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants), the overtime rules have been revised exactly once: to include overtime in the regular season in 1974. Usually, a high-profile case, such as the Colts–Chargers game, will bring this to the front of discussion, and time and time again, overtime is left just as it is.

If there is going to be a change, there are only two concessions that I would allow without hurting the integrity of the overtime system:

I wouldn’t mind seeing the coin toss replaced with the options given to the team last in the lead. In most cases, this would mean the team that caused the tie to kick off in overtime. It’s not the strongest, but it adds an on-field element to something that is completely random.

Second, the suggestion of moving the kickoff in overtime has some merit. The kicking game has changed tremendously since the implementation of regular-season overtime, that it has slightly tipped the balance in the fifth frame. This variation was dismissed wholeheartedly by the commissioner-emeritus Paul Tagliabue during his tenure, but seems to now be under consideration.

Other suggestions to win by six points or to equalize the number of possessions change “sudden death” dynamic into “extra innings.” Hopefully, there is no serious consideration of these options.