Calls
Quick calls: Week 1
Liveblog coverage of opening weekend calls.
Keep checking here for rolling coverage throughout the day on Sunday. If you see anything confusing, unusual, or controversial, please let us know.
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Never forget
Today, the NFL will pause in reflection of the 15 year anniversary of our nation’s great tragedy and the day when true heroes were made. President Obama and Vice President Biden, as well as President George W. Bush will be a part of the ceremonies at today’s games. Players will all wear a decal on their helmet.
Raiders at Saints
After the forward fumble recovered by the Saints (see separate entry), the clock appeared to have run when it should not have. The play ended at 7:20 of the fourth quarter and while TV was showing replays, there was an announcement by referee John Parry. Presumably this was to clarify that the Saints were allowed to gain the yardage on the fumble, and were able to get the spot of the recovery.
Because there is an in-bounds recovery and no change of possession, the clock runs.
However, there might have been the further discussion over whether the forward fumble is a forward pass, and that may have been a time-consuming factor. In that case, the clock must stop for a crew conference. Again, with no live shots of the field on TV, it is hard to tell exactly what was happening at field level.
Between plays there should be not much more than 40 seconds, and the timeout by the Saints was granted after about 75 seconds ran off the clock. This amounts to more than 30 seconds being attributed to “crew time,” or time lost from the clock under the crew’s control. Incidentally, any official that observes crew time being consumed may make the official’s timeout signal.
We have contacted the league for clarification and will update when we get a response.
h/t hank on the Behind the Football Stripes forum
Lions at Colts (video)
On the final kickoff with 4 seconds remaining, the Colts attempted numerous laterals, a common practice to keep their chances of winning alive. After five laterals, the ball ended up in Indianapolis’s end zone. Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton then threw a forward pass to Dante Moncrief in the end zone, which forced officials to whistle the play dead. The illegal forward pass occurred in the end zone, resulting in a safety and two points for the Lions.
Without the penalty, the play would have been a safety, as the Colts had a backward pass out of bounds in the end zone, which is also a safety. (Not to get too technical, but a backward pass out of bounds is also a 5-yard foul when there is less than 1 minute in the half, and a 10-second runoff.)
Obviously, the Lions would not extend the half, but it is an option since the safety was a result of a foul.
Lions at Colts
Lions defensive lineman Devin Taylor was assessed a leaping foul on the extra-point kick on the Colts go-ahead touchdown.
Because Taylor was behind the line of scrimmage and the second level (linemen directly behind those on the line), he was legally allowed to line up across from the center. Players on the line must leave a gap over center for player-safety purposes. Taylor exploited his position by being able to jump through that gap to block the field goal. However, a player who is not on the line may not run up, jump, and land on a player — teammates included. Since Taylor’s feet made contact with the center, this is a leaping foul.
If Taylor makes it cleanly over the line without contact, it is not a foul.
Contrast this to the leverage foul called in the Bills-Ravens game.
Update: A leaping foul was also called on a Cardinals extra-point attempt in the Sunday night game on linebacker Jamie Collins of the Patriots (video).
Dolphins at Seahawks
On the penultimate play of the game, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill was scrambling near the sideline when the ball was knocked from his possession. Even though a Seahawks player appeared to recover the ball, the officials correctly ruled that Tannehill had touched the ball while he was out of bounds. The ball is dead at that point, and possession is retained by the offense (in this case, the Dolphins). Referee John Hussey explained that since it was a forward fumble, the ball is brought back to the spot of the fumble. Although he did not announce it, Hussey also correctly wound the clock on the ready-for-play whistle. This is correct because the ball is brought back to the spot of the fumble, which was in the field of play. The clock subsequently ran out before the Dolphins were able to run another play.
Bills at Ravens
The Ravens were marked short of a first down as the clock wound down to the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter. Even though the two-minute warning had intervened, the Ravens challenged the previous play prior to the first snap after the two-minute warning.
On the review, the spot was modified in the Ravens’ favor, however it was not enough to gain the first down. Even though the Ravens gained field position, the challenge actually is considered to have failed. The Ravens also lost a timeout on the failed challenge.
Bills at Ravens
Bills defensive lineman Jerel Worthy attempted to block a Ravens field goal by placing his hands on his opposing lineman to gain a height advantage. It is a leverage foul for a player on the line to use an opponent or a teammate to assist a block attempt. This excludes any incidental contact and focuses on the dangerous tactic of bearing down on a player who, in many cases, is coming out of his stance at the snap.
This is different than a leaping foul (see Lions vs. Colts), in which a player off of the line runs forward, jumps, and lands on a player. Leverage and leaping are actions contained under the unsportsmanlike conduct fouls. The Ravens opted to take the field goal off the board, assess the 15-yard penalty, and get an automatic first down.
Leaping and leverage are not part of the unsportsmanlike calls subject to the yellow-card/red-card disqualification rule.
Giants at Cowboys (video)
Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant caught a touchdown pass that was subject to a replay review. When Bryant contacts the ground in the end zone, he momentarily loses control of the ball.
No need to stop me. I know you’ve heard this before.
Bryant knows just as well as anyone that a player going to the ground has to “survive the ground” maintaining possession. Bryant did re-secure possession of the ball without the ball touching the ground. However, when the ball was out of his control, Bryant was on the sideline. Any ball that is not secured in a player’s possession is considered a loose ball, and any loose ball that touches an out-of-bounds player is now out of bounds. Without having the ball secured in bounds on the ground, the call is reversed to an incomplete pass.
Raiders at Saints (video)
Drew Brees finds Willie Snead for 57-yards. He fumbles the ball forward and his teammate Michael Thomas fall on the ball to set up first and goal. Since we were outside of the two-minute mark of the game, this forward fumble was legal. Field judge Jabir Walker and back judge Perry Paganelli on the call.
Giants at Cowboys
“Ron Torbert. One of the really good, young referees in the NFL.” —Joe Buck as Torbert enforces a penalty.
Bengals at Jets (video)
Good concentration by SJ73, Joe Larrew on this fingertip catch by A.J. Green.
Raiders at Saints (video)
Nice wheels by SJ Keith Washington on this 98-yard Brees to Cooks touchdown bomb.
Packers at Jaguars
It is legal for a runner to make contact with an opponent’s face mask as part of a stiff-arm maneuver. The runner, however, cannot grasp or twist the face mask, and must use an open hand to avoid having a penalty called.
Packers receiver Randall Cobb did grasp the face mask while trying to gain extra yardage, and a flag was thrown. As the play carried out of bounds, Cobb ran into friction on the Jaguars bench. Defensive end Malik Jackson, who was on the sidelines, was flagged for unnecessary roughness.
When there are live- and dead-ball fouls on a play, they combine and are assessed accordingly. Therefore, both calls offset, and the down is replayed because one of the fouls was a live-ball foul.
Bengals at Jets (video)
A 22-yard field goal by Jets kicker Nick Folk was blocked and went out of bounds in the end zone. As long as the defense does not make a play on the missed kick that has gone past the line of scrimmage, the defense gets the ball at the spot where the kick was placed, generally 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage. It happens infrequently, but if this spot is inside the 20-yard line (or a field goal attempt <30 yards), the defense gets the ball at the 20.
Browns at Eagles (video)
This is an embarrassing moment, but at least it got clarified quickly, and the proper call was made. A field goal attempt by Eagles kicker Caleb Sturgis was wide right. Back judge Greg Wilson was underneath the post that was nearest to the ball and signaled no good. Field judge John Jenkins was under the other upright and signaled it was good. The proper mechanic is for the two officials to confirm their calls before signaling, preferably with a yes/no as opposed to a good/no good which can be misheard. A nod or head shake can also help. Jenkins never looked at Wilson when he signaled, apparently thinking this was routine.
This can be a net positive. Getting a correctable mistake fixed when it doesn’t have a game impact is a motivation to improve and a reminder to not take the routine mechanics for granted.
