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The NFL Network welcomed the new vice-president of officiating, Carl Johnson, in the return of its “Official Review” segment. A spokesperson for the network explained that the transition of Johnson in the new position caused the segment to be placed on hold until he could put the “Official Review” on his list of weekly chores.

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.

Week 4: Broncos at Titans

The Titans have had several instances of fines and allegations of dirty play to answer to this season. Now Law & Order: NFL has its latest incident where the defense pleads its case to the court of public opinion.

THE CASE

Sen’Derrick Marks, the Titans defensive tackle who was flagged for a low-hit on Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton, argues the case that he wasn’t fined for the hit, therefore it should not have been a penalty. If that logic was totally without foundation, his next allegation was even more bankrupt.

Marks suggests that the fine should revert to the official who threw the so-called erroneous flag, as reported by The Tennesseean:

I guess if I haven’t gotten fined for it then it was a bad call. But I already knew that. I’ll accept the referee taking a fine for me. That would work for me. I think if referee makes a bad call, then I think the refs should get fined for it. … I know where I hit [Orton] at. After I watched film it proved I didn’t hit him too low.

Marks alleges (with coach Jeff Fisher and beat writer Jim Wyatt backing up the defense) that his hit was to the thigh, and that an official should evaluate that accurately at full speed. However, the league already has expressed its enforcement orders, as we reported last year, to the referees in its Game-Related Discipline manual:

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.

All players receive a copy of this manual.

THE VERDICT

The NFL on Friday fined Marks $5,000 for the hit, according to Lindsay Jones at the Denver Post, rendering Marks’s argument moot. Also, since referees are scored as being 98% accurate in their calls, it was likely that Marks did not have a chance to plead his case, even if the penalty was one of the remaining 2%.

But, Marks may be fined again for contempt of officials in his defense.

We noted last year about the frequency of incidents that then-Cowboys lineman Flozel Adams was fined for. While the league opted not to suspend Adams, he was on notice for most of the season.

Now Titans defensive back Cortland Finnegan finds himself in similar territory, having racked up his third fine in as many weeks. The league, in its standard warning, said that “increased disciplinary action” could follow future infractions.

Week 4: Titans at Broncos

Titans defensive coordinator found "one" penalty he disagreed with. Credit: NFL/CBS Sports(

(Updated Monday at the end of the article)

Titans defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil was adamant in his displeasure over a call announced by referee Clete Blakeman in the first quarter against the Broncos. Problem is, he flipped a middle-fingered salute which was caught live by CBS cameras. (The referees did not see the gesture, so there was no penalty. If they had, it only would have resulted in a 1½-yard half-distance penalty being marked off.)

Announcer Kevin Harlan amusingly brushed it off as Cecil’s “Hawaiian peace sign,” but it might now be more associated with Nashville, as Titans owner Bud Adams gave a two-barreled salute to the Bills sideline last season. Adams, who is held to a higher standard by the league as an owner, was fined a quarter-million dollars for his birdies.

Pro Football Talk pointed out that the fine for Cecil could run into the six figure level, judging from Adams’ fine and a fine against Jets coach Rex Ryan. The flippy digit from Ryan came during a non-football event, and it still cost him $50,000. Being that Cecil did his during a broadcast event, and because he allegedly has a league conduct violation from a DUI arrest, the fine will likely be at least doubled. (Update: Cecil was fined $20,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct against a game official in December 2009.) Adams’ fine came early Monday morning after his Sunday afternoon game, and so swift judgment is expected here, too.

All for a neutral zone infraction which really made no difference, as the Broncos easily scored on the next play on first and goal.

(Update 10/4: As we guessed, the NFL was quick to administer a fine in this situation. According to Jim Wyatt at the Tennesseean, Cecil was fined $40,000, less than Ryan was fined by the NFL for conduct at a non-NFL event.)

Week 11: Titans at Texans

The NFL, prior to Thanksgiving, addressed a mini-controversy regarding a high-five gesture exchanged between Titans quarterback Vince Young and referee Jerome Boger (picture). Frankly, it was much ado about nothing, so I didn’t take time to post this until after the holiday.

There are several times where players have exchange pleasantries with the officials, and this does not compromise the objectivity of calling a fair game. In fact, we should see more of that to offset all of the arguing over calls.

The league has a perfectly logical explanation as to why it appeared that the two exchanged a high five, although I disagree with the “appearance of an inappropriate action” in their statement:

The signal for a dead ball (NFL rulebook)

It was not Jerome Boger’s intent to exchange a high five with the player. It began with the referee making the proper administrative signal and resulted in the appearance of an inappropriate action.

As Vince Young took a knee on the game’s final play, Jerome Boger jogged in with his right arm in the air to signify the play was over. That is the proper administrative signal for the referee.

As Young turned around, he saw Boger approaching the line of scrimmage with his arm raised. As Boger moved toward the line of scrimmage, he started to bring his arm down. However, before he lowered his arm, Young, moving towards the referee, raised his own arm and the two exchanged what appeared to be a quick high five.

Perhaps Boger should have penalized himself 15 yards for excessive celebration.

We reported here a few weeks ago about the silly ban by the NFL on the press tweeting or textcasting a game from the press box. Fair enough, they can do whatever they want, since it is a condition of the press credentials the league issues. Ban or no ban, we see the Wall Street Journal had a staff member blog the Titans–Jets game from 3,000 miles away with “minute-by-minute analysis.” Writer Peter Sanders even makes it clear, in a thinly-veiled snub to the league policy:

I will not be enjoying this game from the raucous bleachers (or even the press box) at Giants Stadium or in a Nashville sports bar. Instead, through the magic of the Internet and the lightning-fast signals of CBS Corp., I will be able to track this game from the comfort of my couch in sunny Los Angeles.

That should not diminish, however, your reading experience.

That said, I’m sure that the Wall Street Journal isn’t the first, nor last, major media outlet to blog or text a game live. However, the author’s point of blogging from the left coast, in spite of the ban, shows the absurdity on trying to keep the facts of the game exclusive to the established media partners. Coincidentally, the blogger is also writing from the largest city without a league presence.

For his involvement in a sideline fight during the game with the Texans, Titans defensive tackle Jason Jones received a $5,000 fine. (He was also ejected from the game.) This is surprisingly light, as the disqualified Jones was shown pumping up the crowd for support on his way to the locker room. This is tantamount to criticizing the referee’s call, as he is looking to be applauded for his unsportsmanlike behavior. That alone merits higher discipline, considering Santonio Holmes’ Super Bowl XLIII touchdown celebration was fined $10,000 for another unsportsmanlike gesture.

The lower fine might be a result of the video of the game not clearly showing a punch being thrown. However, Jones clearly thrust himself into the situation and escalated it. The league’s Schedule of Fines lists “Unnecessarily Entering Fight Area (active involvement)” as a minimum of $5,000 on first offense, less than the $10,000 for fighting which would be assessed for a punch.

Update 9/25/09: The league is reporting two Texans were also fined. Jacoby Jones was fined $5,000 for entering a fight area as well. Andre Johnson, who was also flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, was fined $7,500 for pulling a player to the ground by the facemask. Neither was ejected from the game.

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.

Pro Football Talk is reporting that the league office is backing up two borderline touchdown calls from the weekend: Dante Rosario’s catch for the Panthers and Jacoby Jones’s reception for the Titans.

According to league spokesman, Greg Aiello:

On Rosario, he completed the catch, turned up field and stretched the ball over the goal line for a touchdown before he goes to the ground. He didn’t use the ground to complete the catch.  In the Oakland play, Murphy goes straight to the ground.

On Jacoby Jones, he caught the ball, his knee hit the ground, and he maintained possession. Then the Titans player flipped him over the top and [Jones] hit the ground a second time and lost the ball.  But it was already a touchdown by virtue of maintaining possession the first time he hit the ground.

The assessment from the league fairly consistent with our previous discussions on the topic, albeit still controversial.

Week 2: Texans at Titans

Back to Nashville we go for a fluke of a play that resulted in an extraordinary penalty. By the rules, it is a correct call.

At the end of the third quarter, the Texans’ Jacoby Jones (who just had narrowly escaped a potential replay reversal on his touchdown a quarter earlier) signaled for a fair catch and muffed the catch (video at 3:00). Jason McCourty was right there to catch the ball right out of the air for the Titans. However, Jones had signaled for a fair catch, and since the ball did not hit the ground, he was still entitled to a fair catch. And since McCourty caught the ball off the rebound, he was flagged for interference with a fair catch, a whopping 15-yard penalty. (Obviously, most cases of fair-catch interference involve defenseless receivers having the lumber laid down on them, so that is the basis for the yardage.)

Later in the fourth quarter, a sideline fracas broke out, in which Jason Jones of the Titans was disqualified after throwing a punch.

Walt Coleman was the referee.