Not sure this story is sad, but it's enlightening and interesting

[White hat]

http://www.twincities.com/vikings/ci_22203954/green-bay-packers-replacement-ref-deals-life-after

A good read.

 

[gymrat10]

Not sure I understood at the time, but couldn't both the guy that called a TD (subject of this story and the most villified from the fallout) and the other ref with opposite signal (a guy by the way that has just remained anonymous) have come together and discussed BEFORE final call? Also, if there is so much outcry over this play, basically with so many saying he completely got it wrong, why did replay not overturn?

 

[GoMBKMonarchs]

Good question

It was an obvious call that was blown, and replay should have overturned it. But, replay couldn't do anything about the obvious offensive pass interference. There's no excuse for anyone's life being threatened. But, the embarrassment? He chose to jump up to a level he clearly (as well as most of the others) was not able to handle. This was a level of incompetence that most definitely should never have existed. The NFL screwed up by allowing this to ever happen. I feel bad for the man. But, when you put yourself in a position on Monday Night Football to make a call and you bungle it so badly, there are consequences as far as the view of your competency.

 

[gymrat10]

Badly bungled?

This is my point...if it was so obviously missed, why not overturned via replay? There must have been some portion of the play he saw and called correctly. He said he saw joint posession, and at a time even with replay both had the ball, so how can he be THAT wrong. My thought is if one of the regular refs had made this call, there would not have been this much fallout. The one thing that got him in the most trouble was the non-call on the PI, and if you read his quote, he makes the biggest mistake of all of following the flight of the ball. This to me is why he missed the interference. I think the moment was just too large, as I'm sure it would be for most of us that have not gotten to and experienced that level.

 

[White hat]

Re: Badly bungled?

The intricacies of replay are so weird that I'm just glad we don't have to deal with them in h.s. I was talking to an ACC referee about a play this year and found out that the spot of a foul is not reviewable, even when it has a fundamental bearing on the play, such as an obvious offensive foul that happens at the offense's goal line. On one side it's a safety, on the other, it's not. That's pretty important, but it's one of many things that are not reviewable.

No judgment call is reviewable and pass interference is always judgment.

Not sure the exact reason the TD was not reviewable, but it wasn't. I think because the determination of simultaneous possession is what gave the catch to Seattle, not whether the pass was complete due to the boundary or the ball hitting the ground.

I put in the thread title that I'm not sure the story is sad because, as said above, the guy put himself in that position and assumed the risk. But it is ridiculous that people have threatened him and made life hell. There are people out there who have done far worse to society than award a bad TD, and they aren't treated this way.

I thought the most telling part was Easley saying he didn't think he could look to the other official because the media would be all over them for it. That's the worst call he made right there -- failing to communicate because of fear of how it looks. We teach rookies in middle school games that if you're not sure what you saw, make eye contact with another official and see if you can come to an agreement before making a signal.

 

[GoMBKMonarchs]

Were replay officials part of the group locked out?

I believe it's a booth review inside 2 minutes in the NFL, so who actually reviewed the replay and were they also replacements?

 

[Hampton Roads 6]

Re: Badly bungled?


With so many teams throwing the ball a lot, in a way I'd like to see pass interference become reviewable, but that would make games go longer than they do now due to TOs, if they reviewed each one. and on almost every pass play, PI is an issue one way or the other. somtimes it's call and sometimes it's not.

my favorite PI call was when VT played USC at Fed Ex field in 2003, VT got called for PI and the VT DB never touched the USC receiver. that was one of those cases where it would have been good if it had been reviewable.