Tag: NFL Officiating

NFL referee Brad Allen’s crew doesn’t seem to know when time has run out

NFL official Brad Allen and his crew need a re-education on game clocks.

At the end of the first quarter of Thursday’s Titans-Colts game, Tennessee running back Derrick Henry ran into the teeth of the Indianapolis defensive line for no gain. Or, at least, that’s what happened on the field. Per the clock, time had run out on the Titans, and the play never should have stood.

But that was not satisfactory for official Brad Allen and his crew, who somehow let the play go off. The Colts’ defensive players noticed it, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman in the FOX Sports booth noticed it, but Allen and his crew? Not so much.

The NFL immediately put the play at the start of the second quarter in its official live box score, as if we didn’t all just see what happened.

As it turns out, this is the second time in two weeks that Allen’s crew missed out on the whole clock thing. Last Sunday, in Houston’s 27-25 win over Jacksonville, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson hit receiver Will Fuller for a 77-yard touchdown with 6:05 left in the third quarter.

The only problem with that, as Texans analyst John Harris pointed out, is that the game clock ran out several seconds before Watson took the snap.

There’s a good three-second tick after the game clock runs out before Watson gets the ball, and the play should have been a delay of game penalty on the Texans. Houston had third-and-6 from their own 23-yard line on a play that should not have counted, so it’s kind of important in what became a two-point game.

The CBS crew pointed this out right after the play, and Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone was seen ear-holing down judge Danny Short after the play, but to no avail.

Perhaps Allen and his crew should review this outstanding “How to Follow the American Football Game Clock For Dummies” article.

Former official Terry McAulay says officials messed up clock at end of Ravens vs. Steelers

The Baltimore Ravens had a wild finish to their game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8, and the officials had a part to play.

The Baltimore Ravens and NFL officials have not gotten along over the past few weeks. In Baltimore’s last two games, the Ravens have committed 21 penalties for 242 yards, and those are just the accepted penalties. Some of the flags that have gone against Baltimore have been completely understandable, but there have certainly been some phantom calls that set the Ravens back.

Against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8, Baltimore was once again under a sea of yellow hankies, drawing nine accepted penalties for 110 yards. One of the biggest plays where the Ravens got the short end of the stick wasn’t where a penalty was called, but instead, what could best be described as a clock error on the part of head official Brad Allen and his crew.

After a big completion to wide receiver Willie Snead to get the ball right outside of the Steelers’ 20-yard line with 18 seconds left, the Ravens were forced to rush to the line and spike the ball. However, there was an injured Steelers player (Cam Heyward) back by where the previous play happened. Instead of the officials stopping the clock when the player was recognized to be injured, they let the clock run all the way down to eight seconds, blowing things dead right when Baltimore was going to snap the ball. Ultimately, the error was never recognized or corrected and it cost the Ravens 10 valuable seconds during a potential game-winning drive in which they were moving the ball effectively.

There have been many varying opinions on how the situation should have been handled, but former official and current rules analyst for NBC Terry McAulay believes that there was a major gaffe committed by the officials. McAulay alleges the officials mismanaged the clock.

If the Ravens had ended up snapping the ball before Heyward was able to make it off of the field or get back to the line of scrimmage, the Steelers would have been called for an offsides penalty and that would have advanced the ball an extra five yards. Instead of getting time put back on the clock or getting the ball closer to the end zone, Baltimore got neither.

While this sequence certainly didn’t make things any easier for the Ravens, they shot themselves in the foot time and time again with costly penalties and turnovers to put them in position to need a game-winning drive. Hopefully, Baltimore can shore things up in the coming weeks to avoid being in situations where they put the game in the officials’ hands.

Chargers propose pair of rule changes

The Los Angeles Chargers were among four NFL teams that proposed rule changes.

On Tuesday, the NFL announced seven rule change proposals that will be considered for the upcoming season.

Four teams put the rule changes on the table and among the clubs was the Los Angeles Chargers.

For the Chargers and Baltimore Ravens, they want to add a “booth umpire” as an eighth game official to the officiating crew, and they also want to add a Senior Technology Advisor to the Referee to assist the officiating crew.

One of the main reasons for Los Angeles’ proposal is because they had some questionable calls this past season that went in favor of their opponent, including a loss to the Tennessee Titans in which officials signaled touchdown on the field twice for go-ahead scores in the final minute, only to have both calls overturned

Here is a look at the other rules proposed by the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens.

By Philadelphia; to amend Rule 12, Section 2, Article 7, to modify the blindside block rule to prevent unnecessary fouls.

By Philadelphia; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to make permanent the expansion of automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any successful or unsuccessful Try attempt.

By Philadelphia; to amend Rule 6, Section 1, Article 1, to provide an alternative to the onside kick that would allow a team who is trailing in the game an opportunity to maintain possession of the ball after scoring (4th and 15 from the kicking team’s 25-yard line).

By Philadelphia; to amend Rule 16, Section 1, to restore preseason and regular season overtime to 15 minutes and implement rules to minimize the impact of the overtime coin toss.

By Miami; to amend Rule 4, Section 3, Article 2, to provide the option to the defense for the game clock to start on the referee’s signal if the defense declines an offensive penalty that occurs late in either half.

Each proposal will have to face a vote of the owners during the league meeting at the end of March. In order for a proposed rule change to be adopted, 24 of the 32 owners will have to vote in favor of it.

Chargers’ Keenan Allen takes shot at NFL officiating

Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Keenan Allen resorts to Twitter to express his thoughts.

For years now, teams across the league have had their wins and losses determined from questionable calls by NFL officiating.

With the playoffs kicking off today, these contests are critical for each of the 12 teams that will be playing for a Super Bowl title, and head-scratching penalties could ultimately be the difference between moving on or going home.

For wide receiver Keenan Allen, he will be watching the playoffs since the Chargers didn’t make it this year. But he didn’t shy away from letting out his thoughts on the officiating, saying that a guy drinking coffee with his feet up in New York is gonna be making all the critical decisions.

Last year in the NFC Championship Game between the Saints and Rams, there was a no-call on what should’ve been ruled pass interference.

New Orleans ended up losing the game in overtime, stirring up a national conversation with many expressing their disbelief at the call.

Saints defensive end Cam Jordan took his own shots, arriving at the Pro Bowl wearing a shirt that said, “Blow whistles, not games.”

Here’s to hoping the referees aren’t ultimately the determining factor in the slew of postseason games that begin today.

Twitter blows up that the Colts weren’t awarded Deshaun Watson’s fourth quarter fumble

NFL Twitter blew up after the Indianapolis Colts were not awarded the football after a fumble from Houston Texans’ Deshaun Watson.

Many believed the Indianapolis Colts should have received another chance to beat the Houston Texans on Thursday night. On a 6-yard second-down run with 1:48 left in the Texans 20-17, quarterback Deshaun Watson coughed up the ball. Disaster.

However, Watson brought the ball back to his body, according to the officiating crew, who, despite the Colts possessing it at the bottom of the pile, gave it to Houston.

NFL Officiating said of the play, “There was no clear visual evidence of a recovery by the defense.”

Naturally, Twitter had different reactions, with many believing Indianapolis did not get a fair call on the play.

Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk explains why the NFL did not review the call.

Then she criticizes Bill O’Brien’s questionable timeout call that followed.

As for the rest of Twitter.

There is little doubt, in the minds of the public, that the NFL officiating left viewers wondering what had happened before their eyes.