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Saints at Panthers | 1st quarter | 3:05 remaining | video. Panthers receiver Steve Smith scored a touchdown and was immediately plowed over by Saints safety Roman Harper. You don’t need to drag out the Pythagorean theorem to see that Harper’s angle on the play only has him meeting Smith in the end zone, and not before. Should this hit have resulted in an ejection? | 2nd quarter | 5:32 remaining | video. Saints running back Mark Ingram was flagged for taunting on his touchdown run, which will likely lighten his pocket with a $7,500 fine this week.

 Titans at Steelers | 3rd quarter | 2:01 remaining | video. Well, this is embarrassing! A recovery of an onside kickoff by Titans special teamer Alterraun Verner has line judge Byron Boston pointing one way and first-year field judge David Meslow pointing the other way. Meslow quickly recanted his possession arrow to indicate Titans ball. Walt Anderson was the referee.

Eagles at Bills | 4th quarter | 1:23 remaining | video. The only reason this gets mentioned is that a pre-snap penalty rarely makes a highlight reel. A neutral zone infraction by Eagles defensive lineman Juqua Parker is the football equivalent of a bottom-of-the-ninth, tie-game, bases-loaded balk.

Image credit: NFL/CBS Sports

Total through Week 3: 19 fines, $235,000.

• Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour, $7,500 for unnecessary roughness and $7,500 for facemask foul.
• Patriots safety Patrick Chung, $7,500 for unnecessary roughness.
• Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, $15,000 for leading with helmet on a tackle. The hit resulted in a fumble returned for a touchdown, which should have been nullified by penalty.
• Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey, $7,500 for unnecessary roughness.
• 49ers tackle Anthony Davis, $25,000, two leg whip penalties.
• Bears safety Brandon Meriweather, $20,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit (as a repeat offender).
• Eagles defensive end Jason Babin, $15,000 for a hit to the quarterback’s neck.
• Redskins special teamer Niles Paul, $20,000 for hit on a defenseless receiver.

This week: 9 fines, $125,000

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.

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.

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.

Entering Week 2, let us know in the comments or @footballzebras if you see anything in this week’s games that seems to be the wrong call. Referee assignments after the jump.

Quick calls

• Browns at Colts | 2nd quarter | :38 remaining. A touchdown run by Peyton Hillis was reviewed and reversed. In a new rule (apparently the first time invoked), a reversal in the final minute of the half that also changes the status of the clock (not running to running), will result in a 10-second runoff. In this case the original ruling (touchdown, clock stopped) was reversed (short in the field of play, clock should be running), the 10 seconds were docked from the game clock. Either team may use one of their timeouts to avoid the 10-second runoff.
• Jaguars at Jets | 1st quarter | 10:33 remaining | video. Referee Scott Green, umpire Bruce Stritesky, and line judge Tom Barnes conference to determine a safety call. If any part of the ball is in the end zone on a sack, it is a safety (contrary to the interpretation by the NFL Network commentators on their highlight video). As it was a scoring play — yes, for safeties, too — it was subjected to video review and upheld. Good call and good mechanics on the field.
  3rd quarter | 2:14 remaining | video at 2:03. An interception return by Jets safety Antonio Cromartie was initially ruled a touchdown, but overturned on replay. Referee Scott Green said that Cromartie crossed the plane of the goal airborne with the ball outside of the corner pylon, making the ball dead ½ yard from the end zone. (Video link of the play itself on NFL.com is “no longer available.”)
• Bears at Saints | 4th quarter | 12:12 remaining | video. A touchdown by Saints running back Darren Sproles was not even reviewed, even though it was obvious that he stepped out before crossing the goal line. Walt Coleman is the referee, and his replay official is Bill Spyksma.
• Raiders at Bills | 4th quarter | 14:15 remaining | video. A 15-yard penalty was assessed on the Raiders bench for a challenge by coach Hue Jackson on a 1-yard touchdown run by Bills running back Fred Jackson. This year, all scoring plays are the exclusive discretion of the replay assistant for requesting a replay review, and challenging a play that cannot be challenged is a penalty. (The challenge is not shown in the video link.)
• Eagles at Falcons | 3rd quarter | 6:41 remaining. Last year the NFL said that flagrant helmet-to-helmet hits would result in suspensions. Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson lowered the boom on Eagles receiver Jeremy Maclin. Robinson leveled a similar hit in 2010 against the Eagles, which resulted in a $50,000 fine, which was lowered to $25,000 on appeal. For such a repeat offense, even in a subsequent season, this could be the litmus test to see if the league is serious about these hits.

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Ravens at Chiefs

Mike Carey is the referee.

1st Quarter, 6:26 remaining. The Chiefs challenged the spot of the ball in relation to the first-down marker. Since Ravens running back Ray Rice landed with his hand first, he was not considered down until another part of his body contacted the ground. Ravens got the first down, which was upheld by replay.

3rd Quarter, :21 remaining. A ruling of a sack-fumble by Ravens cornerback Lardarius Webb on Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel was challenged by the Chiefs. Under the controversial so-called tuck rule, Cassel was found to be still in the act of passing, so Webb knocking the ball out of Cassel’s hand should have resulted in an incomplete pass, rather than a fumble. Carey reversed the on-field ruling to an incomplete pass, marking the first replay reversal of the playoffs an the end of the eleventh quarter of this weekend games.

Packers at Eagles

Pete Morelli is the referee.

4th Quarter, 4:08 remaining. On a two-point conversion attempt, a huge administrative error was averted. A pass to Eagles receiver Brent Celek was completed for two points, however he stepped out of bounds prior to catching the pass (video). A penalty was assessed because a player who steps out of bounds cannot be the first player to touch a pass (illegal-touching-of-a-pass penalty). Celek caught the ball after he returned to (and re-established himself in) the field of play, however Morelli ruled that the conversion try was over. This would be correct if illegal touching is a loss-of-down penalty.

Before the ensuing kickoff, Eagles coach Andy Reid protested that his team should get another chance at the conversion try. One unidentified member of the officiating crew corrected the call, that the five-yard penalty must be assessed and the conversion try attempted from the 7-yard line. The point was moot as the Eagles failed on the second try, but thankfully the error was corrected in a timely fashion, even if slightly delayed.

4th Quarter, 1:06 remaining. Celek was injured on an incomplete pass later in the quarter. When an injury occurs in the final two minutes of the game, a team is charged a timeout. However, since the Eagles had already used all three timeouts, they were granted a fourth, free of penalty. According to Rule 4, Section 5, Article 4:

(d) No yardage penalty will be assessed for the first excess team timeout.

4th Quarter, :33 remaining. Tramon Williams intercepted Eagles quarterback Michael Vick in the end zone to seal the victory, but it could have reversed fortunes back to the Eagles. Williams left the end zone without being ruled down by contact, so the play continued to be live (video). If he had spiked or otherwise let go of the ball, it would have been considered a fumble. Fortunately for Williams, he went to the ground at the 4-yard line to end the play.

The officiating crews for the Wild Card games on Jan. 8 and 9 have been announced by the NFL. Kickoff times are Eastern. (See our previous post on the process of qualification.)

Saints at Seahawks (Saturday, 4:30 p.m.)

• R — #65 Walt Coleman (22nd year, 16th year as referee)
• U — #121 Paul King (2nd year)
• HL — #98 Greg Bradley (2nd year)
• LJ — #84 Mark Steinkerchner (17th year)
• FJ — #43 Terry Brown (5th year)
• SJ — #72 Michael Banks (9th year)
• BJ — #12 Greg Steed (8th year)
• Alternates — #56 Allen Baynes (SJ), #2 Billy Smith (BJ)

Coleman will head Terry McAulay’s crew, likely because McAulay is scheduled to officiate a conference championship game. (This will not be confirmed by the league for another two weeks.)

McAulay’s crew officated the NFL Kickoff game when the Saints played the Vikings. Coleman was the referee for a Saints game in Week 7 and was in Seattle for a Seahawks game three weeks ago.

Steed officiated in last year’s Super Bowl. King and Bradley are officiating in their first year of postseason eligibility.

Zebra Blog coverage: $55K fines, but 0 yards, assessed for Ravens’ face-altering, concussing hits | Head ref tells ‘SNF’ crew it was helmet hit, but, please, there is no Steeler conspiracy

Jets at Colts (Saturday, 8 p.m.)

• R — #114 Gene Steratore (8th year, 5th year as referee)
• U — #40 Butch Hannah (12th year)
• HL — #91 Jerry Bergman (9th year)
• LJ — #107 Ron Marinucci (14th year)
• FJ — #88 Scott Steenson (20th year)
• SJ — #116 Mike Weatherford (9th year)
• BJ — #133 Steve Freeman (10th year)
• Alternates — #102 Bruice Stritesky (U), #109 Dyrol Prioleau (FJ)

Steratore’s crew officiated a Colts game in Week 11. Steratore was also referee for a wild card game in 2009.

Steenson and Freeman were on Jeff Triplette’s crew during the regular season and replace  Bob Waggoner at field judge and Dino Paganelli at back judge.

Zebra Blog coverage: Steelers get second chance after replay erases TD, but turnover never happened | Ravens coach fined $15K for ref bump | Lions victimized by ‘process of catch’ rule, but they wasn’t robbed

Ravens at Chiefs (Sunday, 1 p.m.)

• R — #94 Mike Carey (21st year, 16th year as referee)
• U — #49 Rich Hall (7th year)
• HL — #8 Dana McKenzie (3rd year)
• LJ — #47 Tim Podraza (3rd year)
• FJ — #82 Buddy Horton (12th year)
• SJ — #15 Rick Patterson (15th year)
• BJ — #6 Dirk Dornan (17th year)
• Alternates — #115 Tony Michalek (U), #30 Todd Prukop (BJ)

Carey’s crew officiated a Week 10 game with the Chiefs.

Patterson officiated on Walt Coleman’s crew during the regular season, replacing side judge Laird Hayes.

Packers at Eagles (Sunday, 4:30 p.m.)

• R — #135 Pete Morelli (14th year, 8th year as referee)
• U — #71  Ruben Fowler (5th year)
• HL — #36 Tony Veteri (19th year)
• LJ — #35 John Hussey (9th year)
• FJ — #89 Jon Lucivansky (2nd year)
• SJ — #39 Don Carlsen (22nd year)
• BJ — #75 Rob Vernatchi (7th year)
• Alternates —#45 Jeff Seeman (LJ), #119 Greg Wilson (BJ)

Morelli’s crew officiated a Week 12 game with the Packers. In 2009, Morelli was the referee for the NFC Conference Championship game and Vernatchi — who switched to back judge this year — officiated Super Bowl XLIV as a field judge. (Seeman, an alternate, also served as line judge in Super Bowl XLIV.)

Veteri was on Clete Blakeman’s crew during the regular season, replacing head linesman George Hayward.

Lucivansky is officiating in his first year of postseason eligibility.

Zebra Blog coverage: Morelli crew gives Steelers 9-yd 1st down | Hochuli, Triplette, Corrente flag most; Green, Morelli, Riverón under 11 per game

Did a referee drop a call like the ball in Times Square? Let us know in the comments. Referee assignments are listed after the jump.

Quick Updates

• Cowboys at Eagles. Cowboys coach Jason Garrett attempted to challenge the spot of the ball in relation to a first down. Referee Tony Corrente disallowed the challenge. Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira said that was a mistake by Corrente.
• Rams at Seahawks. The Seahawks got the advantage of a favorable first-down call when referee Jerome Boger signaled the first down before the head linesman placed the ball apparently short of the line to gain (video). It could have been challenged by the Rams, but was not.
• Bears at Packers. Before this morphs into a what-Mike-Pereira-said post, a holding call that was missed in a Bears’ goal-to-go situation was pointed out by Pereira in his “Online O.T.” segment. Pereira, with more visual gadgets at his disposal, gives an informative overview of crew mechanics for covering receivers on pass plays, and explains that the covering official was likely screened by the the Packers safety (video).

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We haven’t been reviewing the “Official Review” segments on the NFL Network this season since its debut under Carl Johnson. Johnson, the new vice-president of officiating, has not appeared on the network’s signature program NFL Total Access on a weekly basis, like his predecessor, Mike Pereira. In addition, the segment has less plays and less-controversial plays under review than last year.

We happened to catch this week’s “Official Review,” so here’s the recap:

• From the Tuesday night game against the Eagles, Vikings receiver Sidney Rice scored a touchdown that was overturned on replay. Rice did not secure the ball through the process of the catch, and the ball touched the ground, rendering it incomplete (video).
• From the Giants–Packers game, there is more of a process review, rather than analysis of a call. On the fumble by Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, it was apparent from the replay that all players who touched the ball were in bounds (video). Johnson briefly notes the need for a player to re-establish himself in the field of play, which could have been explained at greater length for an audience, rather than repeating the same points.

Johnson is improving his presentation skills slightly since his first appearance, but he appears to have enough material to cover one-third of the segment, requiring him to repeat some of the more basic points in his presentation. Hopefully by next year, the network can coach Johnson to not divulge everything up front, allowing the host to ask follow-up questions to pad out the segment.