Football Zebras.com

Week 17: Lions at Packers

1st Quarter | 13:00 remaining | Lions 7-0 | Lions kickoff | video

Updated below to include similar play from Chargers–Raiders.

Tough break for the Packers, as Patrick Lee muffs the Lions kickoff in the end zone. Lee remained in the end zone, but the ball rolled out to the 1-yard line. Lee pulled the ball back into the end zone for an apparent touchback.

Referee Walt Anderson had a lengthy conference with line judge Mike Spanier and headlinesman Ed Camp. Camp can be seen very clearly articulating the case for a safety, which is how it was ultimately ruled on the field.

On any play involving a touchback or safety, the ruling pivots on how the ball enters the end zone. If the kicking team puts the ball into the end zone, it is a touchback. When the ball is muffed, even though the direction of the ball changed, the force behind the ball still came from the kick. Once Lee pulled the ball backwards, it was Lee that forced the ball into the end zone, regardless of the fact that Lee was standing in the end zone.

Had Lee left the ball on the 1-yard line and kneeled, the ball would have been dead at the 1-yard line. It was close, but the kneel came after the ball returned to the end zone.

Also a consideration on the play (and confirmed by replay) is if the entire ball exited the end zone. If a point of the ball was still touching the goal line, Lee would have had a touchback.

Good, tough call in real time by the three officials on the play.

Week 17: Chargers at Raiders

4th Quarter | 9:32 remaining | Chargers 31-26 | Raiders kickoff @ 50

Chargers kick returner Richard Goodman allowed a kickoff to hit the ground and roll towards the end zone. He needed to get the loose ball, as either team could recover. Goodman scooped up the ball at the 1-yard line, retreated into his end zone, and barely got the entire ball out of the end zone.

Referee Clete Blakeman announced the ball was out of the end zone and down at the ½-yard line.

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.

read more »

We noted the players who were fined for on-field conduct in Week 1. Hidden in this list are some of the league’s evaluations of its officials. If a fine is issued for a play where no flag was thrown, this is graded as a missed call. Also, in the case of certain personal fouls, fines are generally automatic, unless a videotape review by the league that finds the offense doesn’t merit a fine. This could arguably be deemed a missed call by the officials as well.

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.

It is a rule that rarely comes into play. In fact it is discussed far more often than it actually happens in the game. But the time the so-called Tuck Rule was applied in a snowy Raiders–Patriots game was enough to get fans of all stripes to unite in cause to demand the repeal.

What many perceived as a fumble recovery by the Raiders, sealing the fate of the Patriots, was overturned by a replay review. The fumble by Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was now a harmless incomplete pass; the Patriots had new life to tie the score and then win in overtime.

The Tuck Rule gave Brady an advantage, because as he reconsidered throwing a pass, he had not yet tucked the ball back to his body, and thus, was by the letter of the rule, still engaging in a forward pass.

At the time, director of officiating Mike Pereira — whose title was later elevated to vice-president of officiating — defended the rule because it gave objective criteria to referees to determine when a quarterback, who withdraws from a pass attempt during a throwing motion, becomes a runner again. Tucking the ball back towards the body is an objective criteria, but the rulebook (Rule 3, Section 21, Article 2) considers the end of the tucking motion, and not the start of, as the conclusion of the throwing motion:

Note 2: When [an offensive] player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body.

Fast forward to this past weekend, when the Tuck Rule again reversed a fumble recovery for the defense. The Ravens dominated the game, so the missed opportunity was inconsequential to the result.

Pereira now works as a rules analyst for Fox Sports, and he has reconsidered his position on the Tuck Rule:

This was clearly a correct reversal, but is it time to look at this rule because Cassel was not attempting to pass the ball when it came loose.

I think it’s time to change this rule. A pass should only be ruled incomplete if the ball comes loose in the actual act of passing the ball. If it comes loose in the tucking motion, then it should be a fumble.

I would support a rule change, although it took me a long time to get to this point. I’m sure it’s no consolation to the many Raiders fans around the country.

Pereira is not just any opinion, however. Even though he no longer holds a position with the league, the NFL’s Competition Committee will likely take note of Pereira’s shift and suggest a change to the rule. Pereira’s influence has seemed to increase as a now-independent auditor of the league’s officiating.

And, maybe people will stop bothering referee Walt Coleman about the correct call he made on that day.

Pereira also summarized other calls made during the wild card games, which you can compare to our analysis (part 1 | part 2).

Saints at Seahawks

Walt Coleman is the referee, heading up Terry McAulay’s crew.

First half. No replay reviews. Saints have 4 penalties for 18 yards, Seahawks 3/14, no penalties declined.

Hasselblock in the back? Credit: NFL/NBC Sports

4th Quarter, 3:38 remaining. On the amazing touchdown run by Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, did quarterback Matt Hasselbeck throw an illegal block in the back? No penalty was called, likely because the officials determined the Saints defender wasn’t knocked over (he, instead, dove for Lynch) or otherwise disadvantaged (video, after Lynch passes the 30-yard line).

4th Quarter, 1:34 remaining. In spite of help from behind, Saints running back DeShawn Wynn failed on his two-point conversion attempt (video, forward to 9:01). With a boost from a lineman Jermon Bushrod to keep Wynn on his feet, if the conversion scored, it would have been nullified by an assisting-the-runner penalty. From the rulebook, Rule 12, Section 1, Article 5:

No offensive player may … lift a runner to his feet or pull him in any direction at any time.

Had there been a score, it would have been a re-try from the 12-yard line.

Final. Not a busy night at all for replay official Earnie Frantz. No challenges, no replays for the entire game, and nothing that he missed in the last two minutes that was worthy of a review. Easy money.

Jets at Colts

Gene Steratore is the referee.

1st Quarter, 13:29. No challenges in Game 1 of the doubleheader; first challenge in the first two minutes of the second one. Colts coach Jim Caldwell challenged whether Jets punt returner Santonio Holmes was the first player to touch a punted ball. Holmes was oddly hovering over the rolling ball, because if he touched it, even accidentally, it would have made a live ball, which the Colts would have recovered. Steratore upheld the play on the field that the ball was first touched by the Colts.

2nd Quarter, 8:21 remaining. A punt to the goal line appeared to be saved from a sure touchback by the Jets, but field judge Terry Brown, side judge Michael Banks, and back judge Greg Steed conferenced at length at the goal line before ruling touchback. Replay showed that the Jets coverage player put his right hand on the goal line, making the ball “in” the end zone by extension.

End of first half. Other than the replay called in the opening minutes of the first quarter, no other replays were called for. Jets have been penalized 3 times for 15 yards; the Colts have not been penalized.

4th Quarter, :40 remaining. A catch by Jets receiver Braylon Edwards with a fumble and self-recovery was reviewed. Steratore said that Edwards completed the catch with the third foot down, followed then by the fumble.

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

The NFL is experimenting with a new clock operation system in the first preseason game in the new Meadowlands Stadium. During tonight’s Giants–Jets game (Jets are the designated home team), the new Precision Time System devices will be worn by four officials on their belts to start and stop the clock.

As reported by Sean Leahy of the USA Today, the vice president of officiating, Carl Johnson, said, “If we have the potential to time our games with more precision, then we will pursue all avenues, including experimenting with alternate methods to accomplish that goal.”

Walt Coleman will be tonight’s referee.

Update: During the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, the play clock became inoperative. From what we can tell, the 25-second clock is not operated by the PTS system.

Week 6: Browns at Steelers

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is questioning whether a first down measurement sustained a drive that resulted in a Steelers field goal against the Browns (video, forward to 1:31). The hometown paper’s headline screams the Steelers got three unearned points as a result of the measurement.

Walt Coleman measures this as a first down, as the television angle appears to place it short. (Credit: NFL/CBS Sports)

The camera angle certainly does not make the call look correct. But, I think deference goes to the man standing right over the ball. The camera is not square-on, so there is no reference to the sideline to see how obtuse the angle is.

Referee Walt Coleman told a pool reporter after the game that the point of the ball clearly penetrated the inside plane of the stake. Coleman then explained the principle of visual perception:

It can be deceptive because there’s a little bit of a distance, probably in the neighborhood of five or six inches between the actual point of the football and where the stake actually sets on the ground. If you shot at an angle maybe from back behind the ball it might look like it’s short. If you shot at angle from the other side, it might actually look like it’s further in advance of the stake than what it actually is.

While the Browns defense did not allow the Steelers to gain another yard before kicking a field goal, the points are hardly unearned. Bad call or not (and this certainly cannot be a bad call), the Browns defense did allow the Steelers to get in position on a 12-play, 52-yard drive.

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.

Week 2: Texans at Titans

I knew once I saw the video of Jacoby Jones’s touchdown catch for the Texans that this would need explaining. It did not take long before and comment came in linking it to the Raiders’ overturned touchdown last week. (By the way, I vow that this is the last time that we will mention the Raider reversal—it has been thoroughly beaten to death.)

If you haven’t seen the play from the Texans game, here’s the video.

As we wrote last week, if a receiver is going to the ground, the receiver must maintain possession through to the ground. In the case of the Raiders touchdown, receiver Louis Murphy caught the ball, got two feet down, his butt landed in the end zone and then his torso landed. At that point the ball squirted out and touched the turf. By the rules, that is an incomplete pass, as the receiver did not maintain possession down to the ground.

As for the Texans touchdown, Jacoby Jones caught the ball falling to the ground. He bounced off of Cortland Finnegan of the Titans on his way to the ground. Finnegan then pulled Jones back down to the turf where Jones dropped the ball on the ground. The Raider Nation was looking for vindication: surely, this will be overturned on review.

Except the fact that the two plays are not the same.

When Jones lands on the opponent, he has gone to the ground, because the next thing that happens is that he gets pulled back up by Finnegan. Since Jones landed once, there is no requirement for him to land again on the ground. (Keep in mind, this is completely separate than the down-by-contact rule which says that the ball carrier is not down if he is on top of an opponent.) Had Finnegan not slightly lifted Jones, there might have been a case for a reversal.

In the Raiders situation, Murphy goes to the ground, first by his rear, and then continues downward. His rear contacting the ground is not enough (again, we are not applying the down-by-contact rules), as he was still going down to the ground.

I will admit it was a borderline call, but ultimately the right call. It was upheld on replay. Walt Coleman was the referee, Bill Spyksma was the replay official; as best I can tell, back judge Steve Freeman was covering on the play.