NFL Pushing For More Flexibility In Reviews After Steelers Game
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Last-Second Play In Steelers-Chargers Game
Causes NFL To Seek Flexibility In Reviews |
NFL VP/Officiating Mike Pereira is "pushing for more flexibility in reviews of disputed plays" following a last-second touchdown which was incorrectly disallowed in the Steelers' 11-10 win over the Chargers on Sunday, according to Scott Brown of the Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW. As the rule stands now, once the referee "watches video of a disputed call and confers with the replay assistant about it, he cannot contact the assistant once he returns to the playing field" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 11/18). Pereira added that league officials are "taking steps to convene the Competition Committee in a special meeting so they can modify rules interpretations and avoid a recurrence of the bizarre touchdown-or-no situation." Pereira admitted that referee Scott Green and his crew during Sunday's game "misinterpreted the rules in disallowing" the touchdown. Pereira "hopes the Competition Committee ... can alter the rules so the replay official, who buzzes officials once to review a play, may now be allowed to alert the referee a second time to ensure that they apply rules properly after such a review." Pereira declined to say if the officials working Sunday's game "have been or would be penalized" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 11/18). ESPN's Chris Mortensen said the Competition Committee will "try and clarify for referees -- have a discussion with the crew before you go into the replay booth, no discussions after the replay booth. That would have absolutely cleared this up." The committee also may clarify to refs it is "okay to go back and have a discussion with the replay official upstairs just to go over why you came to that decision in the first place” (“Monday Night Countdown,” ESPN, 11/17).
THE FIX WAS NOT IN: Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan said, “I know there was no chicanery involved (with the referees). It was just stupidity.” Denver Post columnist Woody Paige: "There was nothing fishy. It was just stupidity. The officials didn't know exactly how to call the play. ... They weren’t trying to cheat, they weren’t trying to … throw the game (or) that this is another example of officials that are doing something on the sly to make sure a team stays within a point spread" ("Around The Horn," ESPN, 11/17). ESPN’s Mike Greenberg, on Steelers/Chargers and officiating: “The notion that these officials ... had money on the Chargers is so ludicrous, I don’t even know where to begin.” But ESPN's Mike Golic said, "We kept saying the same thing about the NBA, and what do we have -- we have an official in jail because he was trying to fix games. So I’m not going to sit here and go down that same road … because you know what, it can happen” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN2, 11/18).
FURTHER IMPLICATIONS? In N.Y., Steve Serby notes while the NFL "couldn't care less about outraged Steelers bettors," the league "ought to care about the integrity of its playoff tiebreaker system and how it could directly impact the Steelers" and the AFC. Serby: "NFL, you admitted you got The Touchdown That Was Ultimately Ruled No Touchdown wrong. Now get it right." Meanwhile, if the NFL were to change the score retroactively, Nevada sportsbooks "have already paid off on the 11-10 score." MGM Mirage Race & Sports Dir Jay Rood: "We posted the result of the game at the conclusion of the game as determined by the officials at that point in time. ... There's no way to reverse the wagering aspect of it" (N.Y. POST, 11/18). But ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said of gamblers that lost money on the game, “Sadly, I think those constituencies have a right to be heard from. … A lot of that money was gambled legally in Las Vegas and other places in Nevada, and the NFL’s tacit agreement with gambling has been one of the things that has propped up the league and made it a great league for a long time” ("PTI," ESPN, 11/17).
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