Jared Goff turns heel, won’t apologize to Saints fans for controversial NFCCG no-call

Former Rams QB Jared Goff reopened old wounds in discussing the NFC title game no-call, says ‘I’ve had a million pass interferences that weren’t called’

Who saw a Jared Goff heel turn coming? The scrappy Detroit Lions have been one of the easier teams to root for lately with former New Orleans Saints assistant coaches Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn running the show, but Goff’s true colors as an ex-Los Angeles Rams quarterback came through in a recent podcast interview.

Speaking with “Pardon My Take” about the Lions’ 2023 season and his unsuccessful Rams run, Goff declined the opportunity to apologize to Saints fans for the 2018 NFC championship game no-call. Goff scoffed, “No, God no. They got the ball in overtime, they had a chance to win it.”

Thanks for reopening old wounds, Goff. The Saints’ final possession in the 2018 conference title game ended with a Drew Brees interception at midfield, setting up a 57-year field goal by Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein. Los Angeles embarrassed themselves in the Super Bowl matchup that followed, but the damage was done, and Goff isn’t taking the high road with New Orleans.

When asked whether he believed a penalty occurred during the play, Goff responded adamantly: “No, it wasn’t. Was it called pass interference? I’ve had a million pass interferences that weren’t called. Who says he makes the field goal, too? I know he’s automatic from (that distance), Lutz was, but I don’t know.”

That’s not what the player at fault here had to say. Former Rams defensive back Nickell Robey-Coleman bragged about how he got away with one in New Orleans, which brought a big smile to Goff’s face in recollection.

“I thought Robey’s response was fantastic after the game, when they asked him (if it was pass interference), he’s like ‘Yeah it was.’ I was like, ‘Robe, don’t say that, Robe,'” Goff laughed.

Goff will return to New Orleans for a game with the Saints in Week 13, and his presence — and these volatile comments — add a little more vitriol to a matchup already swarming with subplots. Dennis Allen versus Dan Campbell. Michael Thomas versus C.J. Gardner-Johnson. And Jared Goff versus everyone in the 504.

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Ex-Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis joins Teddy Bridgewater in Carolina

The Panthers signed ex-New Orleans Saints WR Tommylee Lewis after a free agent tryout, reuniting him with Teddy Bridgewater and Joe Brady.

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Another former member of the New Orleans Saints has gone turncoat and joined the Carolina Panthers. ESPN’s Field Yates reported that wide receiver Tommylee Lewis signed with the Panthers after going through a free agent workout on Saturday, reuniting him with one-time Saints assistant Joe Brady and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

The Panthers have padded out their roster with castoffs and other Saints players, including practice squad wideout Keith Kirkwood and starting cornerback Eli Apple. If the Panthers can’t beat the Saints, then, well, they’re doing their best to become them. Brady is rebuilding the Panthers receiving corps from the ground up as offensive coordinator to first-year head coach Matt Rhule, so Lewis has as good a shot at earning playing time as anyone.

Lewis passed on an opportunity with the upstart XFL earlier this year to return to the Saints, having been drafted highly by the Dallas Renegades but instead opting to sign a reserve/futures contract with New Orleans for the 2020 season. But Lewis ended up placing among ten roster cuts to open Saints training camp when the team was forced to thin its roster down to 80 players from 90 per the NFL’s new COVID-19 rules and protocols.

Listed at just 5-foot-7 and 168 pounds, the 27-year old Lewis did more work on special teams than offense with the Saints from 2016 to 2018. Including the playoffs, he appeared in 38 games, returning 41 punts for 360 yards and 24 kicks for 528 return yards. When he did take the field with the Saints offense, he caught 20 of 29 passes for 252 receiving yards, scoring two touchdowns, and logged 8 rushing attempts for another 31 yards.

His only target in the postseason is the most infamous of his career, having been blatantly fouled with both pass interference and a helmet-to-helmet hit by Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman in the 2018 NFC Championship Game. But the NFL’s “all-star” postseason officiating crew decided it was clean, and the Rams were helped into Super Bowl LIII, which they lost 13-3. Maybe Lewis should have sold the illegal hit better?

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Bill Vinovich’s family reflects on NFCCG no-call: ‘Those people in New Orleans are nuts’

Bill Vinovich is infamous for the 2018 NFC Championship Game no-call against the New Orleans Saints, and now he gets to work Super Bowl 54.

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Bill Vinovich is not well-liked by New Orleans Saints fans. He was the referee in charge of the 2018 NFC Championship Game between the Saints and the Los Angeles Rams, and was at fault for the infamous defensive pass interference no-call that helped cost the Saints a trip to Super Bowl LIII; the Rams advanced instead, and were beaten so badly they failed to reach the postseason at all the following season.

Vinovich is a third-generation referee who has worked NFL games for 15 years, while also officiating Division I college basketball games. While he’s barred from speaking to the media as an active official, his father discussed the measures taken to protect Vinovich and his crew after they botched the game of the year.

“It was a scary situation,” Billy Vinovich told USA Today’s Josh Peter, “They had them sneak him out of the hotel and put him in another hotel and change their flights and get them out of town by 6 in the morning. The cops stayed with them all night. Those people in New Orleans are nuts.”

Obviously it’s a shame that Vinovich and the other officials should have ever had to fear for their safety, but at the same time it’s important that actions (or conscious non-actions) deserve consequences. And so far, Vinovich hasn’t faced any. He’ll be officiating his third Super Bowl in five years when the Kansas City Chiefs kick off against the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday. The most he’s had to do in publicly addressing failure in the workplace was calling it “A tough situation,” during his induction speech at the Midland Sports Hall of Fame in July 2019.

That frustration — of Vinovich getting off scot-free from what could be a fireable offense in other industries, along with his superivisors at the NFL offices in New York — is something Saints fans aren’t able to do anything more to alleviate. They’ve thrown public parade protests and made blindfolded referee costumes a popular sight at gamedays and Jazz Fest, but Vinovich’s presence in Miami wearing a white cap sends one tone-deaf message: Get over it. And that’s going to resonate with Saints fans about as badly as you’d expect.

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