Tag: officials

Cowboys’ McCarthy defends not challenging critical catch: ‘It was too close’

In 2014, McCarthy ended Dallas’s postseason with the toss of a red flag. On Sunday, he ruined their postseason chances by not throwing it.

For nearly six years, Dallas fans have turned “Dez Caught it” into a rallying cry and a stubborn point of pride. As the team now heads into the offseason after their 23-19 loss to the New York Giants ended a surreal and disappointing 2020 campaign, Cowboys Nation may have a new mantra. And while “Dante Trapped It” likely won’t inspire any leaguewide rule changes or its own Twitter hashtag, the play and the sideline’s reaction- or lack thereof- will sting for quite some time.

When Giants receiver Dante Pettis hauled in a 10-yard throw from quarterback Daniel Jones with seven minutes to play and New York up by one point, it set up New York’s final field goal. Replays showed that the ball may have hit the turf as Pettis went to the ground, but Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy opted not to challenge the call.

“The catch was obviously down in our area,” McCarthy explained in his postgame press conference, “and when the receiver turned to me, the information we got, we just thought it was too close. We thought it was kind of a bang-bang type situation. The fact of the matter is, we were in a tight game, and the three timeouts was obviously of high value there. We just didn’t think there was enough information to overturn it.”

The broadcast crew thought it was close enough to warrant a review, but the red challenge flag remained securely in McCarthy’s pocket. Graham Gano connected on the ensuing 50-yard kick, and the Giants extended their lead to four points.

The Cowboys put together a 17-play drive on the next possession that got the offense inside the New York red zone. But with the team needing seven points instead of three, quarterback Andy Dalton ended up forcing a blind heave on a desperate third-and-goal scramble. Giants rookie Xavier McKinney’s end zone interception sealed the New York win and ended the Cowboys’ chances at both a Week 17 victory and the unlikeliest playoff berth in franchise history.

A win would not have given Dallas the NFC East crown, as Washington won their night game versus Philadelphia and with it, the division title. Some may therefore call the loss- and the decision not to challenge the Pettis catch- ultimately meaningless, but for a Cowboys squad that had been on a three-game win streak, the season-finale letdown added one last insult to a season riddled with injury and ineptitude.

For Cowboys fans, the hope of a late-game rally being snatched away by the meticulous frame-by-frame review of wide receiver and football meeting the ground in agonizing synchronicity was a familiar gut punch.

“It looked a lot like the one from the playoffs before I got to the Cowboys,” running back Ezekiel Elliott told reporters after the game. “I think it was 2014, maybe. The one that Dez had in Green Bay that they called incomplete. It looked like that one to me, but I think since then, they changed the rule. So I don’t know. I’m not a ref. I don’t get to make those calls.”

Mike McCarthy was on the sideline that day, too. As Packers head coach, he had the benefit of ample replays being shown to the roaring crowd at Lambeau Field. He suggested that the scoreboard operator at MetLife Stadium on Sunday may not have been quite as eager to show Pettis’s play from every conceivable angle following the on-the-field call of a reception.

“We’re trying to get as much information as possible,” McCarthy said of the team’s internal communications in those precious moments. “Obviously, you don’t get a lot of help on the road, particularly if it’s a play that’s something you have higher interest in than your opponent; I think that’s the norm. But yeah, we have coaches in the box that relay the information. Ultimately, I make the decision.”

Back in 2014, though, McCarthy got extra assistance in making the decision. He admitted during last January’s introductory press conference as Cowboys coach that a sideline conversation with Gene Steratore, the head referee that day in Green Bay, prompted him to challenge Bryant’s touchdown grab.

There was no such help for the Cowboys coach on the sideline in New York on Sunday.

When asked if he thought game management had been a recurring issue this season, the first-year Cowboys coach was blunt in his reply.

“No, not at all. Not at all.”

Cowboys coaches did have a few extra seconds in which to debate challenging the catch. Because it was fourth down, the Giants were not able to hurry the next snap, but instead had to send out their field goal unit.

Even if Dallas had challenged the call and gotten the catch ruling overturned, New York still might have attempted the kick, which would have been from 60 yards. Gano had missed just one field goal try all season and is one of the league’s more reliable legs from long distance; he’s 25-of-41 from beyond 50 yards in his 11-year career. He hit three kicks of 50 or longer in Week 5’s Cowboys-Giants tilt and booted one from 63 yards as recently as 2018.

By throwing the red flag in 2014, McCarthy ended the postseason for Dallas, a team favored by many to win the Super Bowl. By not throwing the red flag on Sunday, he merely made it a little more difficult for a 6-9 team to avoid double-digit losses.

It’s not known if referee Brad Allen’s crew would have overturned Pettis’s catch. There’s no guarantee Gano would have missed from 60. There’s no way to be sure that the Cowboys would have capitalized and come away with a win. And in the end, even if all those things had gone Dallas’s way, the Cowboys players would still be cleaning out their lockers and scheduling exit interviews this week. So maybe McCarthy’s decision to not challenge is truly irrelevant.

“As I’ve addressed it,” McCarthy said, “I didn’t feel there was enough information for them to overturn it. We didn’t think it was clear and obvious.”

What’s clear and obvious is that the Cowboys’ season is over. But finishing it with a four-game win streak sure would have been easier to swallow than another offseason of questions about receivers maintaining control, coaches making in-game sideline decisions… and what ultimately might have been.

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Officials for Tennessee-Florida game are announced

Tennessee plays Florida Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee (2-5, 2-5 SEC) continues its 10-game, SEC-only 2020 season against No. 6 Florida (7-1, 7-1 SEC) Saturday.

The contest will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST and is being televised by CBS.

Ahead of kickoff, officials for the contest have been announced.

Officials for the Tennessee-Florida game

Referee: Steve Marlowe

Umpire:

 Paul Myers

Linesman:

 Ralph Green

Line Judge:

 Chris Conway

Back Judge:

 Wayne Gautney

Field Judge:

 Andy Britton

Side Judge:

 Justin Larrew

Center Judge:

  Kevin Boitmann

 

2020 Tennessee football schedule

9/26 at South Carolina (W, 31-27)
10/3 vs. Missouri (W, 35-12)
10/10 at Georgia (L, 44-21)
10/17 vs. Kentucky (L, 34-7)
10/24 vs. Alabama (L, 48-17)
10/31 OPEN DATE
11/7 at Arkansas (L, 24-13)
11/14 OPEN DATE
11/21 at Auburn (L, 30-17)
11/28 OPEN DATE
12/5 vs. Florida
12/12 at Vanderbilt
12/19 vs. Texas A&M

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“Total B.S.:” Lawrence, Cowboys defense criticize late penalties in loss

Just past the halfway mark in a season that was seemingly spiraling out of control, the 2-6 Cowboys surprisingly played their best game of the year against the undefeated Steelers. Dallas found itself in unfamiliar territory by leading for most of …

Just past the halfway mark in a season that was seemingly spiraling out of control, the 2-6 Cowboys surprisingly played their best game of the year against the undefeated Steelers. Dallas found itself in unfamiliar territory by leading for most of the game, sometimes by double digits. In the end, though, it was the guys in the black jerseys with the yellow pants who prevailed… thanks in large part to the guys in the black and white jerseys with the yellow flags.

The Cowboys suffered key setbacks at critical moments late in the fourth quarter, as untimely penalties extended drives and improved field position for Ben Roethlisberger and the rallying Pittsburgh offense.

While the Cowboys themselves were ultimately responsible for letting this one slip away, the subject of officiating did come up during the players’ and coaches’ postgame conferences after the heartbreaking 24-19 loss in Arlington.

“The frustrating part is that it wasn’t in our control,” defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence told reporters. “I’m not the one to complain, but that was total B.S. on that last call. Hopefully, the NFL can take that into account, and we get better from it.”

Dallas was flagged seven times for 70 yards on the afternoon. Three of those infractions were called on the Cowboys defense in the fourth quarter. But it was the last of them- roughing the passer against linebacker Jaylon Smith- that Lawrence seemed to be referring to.

“Of course I’m talking about the penalty [on Jaylon],” Lawrence snapped when asked for specifics. “I don’t know where that came from, but that’s very unacceptable. Especially in a close game like that.”

On the play, Smith was one of a number of Cowboys defenders converging on Roethlisberger as the pocket collapsed around him. As the Steelers quarterback let the ball fly through heavy traffic, Smith’s hands went up, and although he was still engaged in a block, one of his arms made glancing contact with Roethlisberger’s head.

Roethlisberger’s pass fell incomplete. But instead of facing fourth-down deep in their own end, the penalty gifted the Steelers a new set of downs with four minutes left to play. Pittsburgh ultimately scored the go-ahead touchdown on the drive two minutes and 79 yards later.

After the game, Smith struggled to explain how the play could have resulted in a flag.

“Yeah… I mean… I didn’t… Really, you know… just questionable calls,” Smith told media members via conference call. “I really didn’t do anything; I was trying to pressure the quarterback and press the pocket, put my hands up when the ball was coming out, and that’s what it was. Questionable calls, like I said. We’ve just got to keep fighting. Got to keep fighting.”

It wasn’t the only nitpicky penalty to be called against Smith as the game came down to the final minutes. On the previous Steelers drive, the fourth-year linebacker was flagged for illegal contact with Pittsburgh receiver Chase Claypool. That penalty wiped out a strip sack by Tyrone Crawford and subsequent fumble recovery and 22-yard return by Aldon Smith.

“They thought that I hit him and was just crazy over-the-top holding,” Jaylon said later of that call. “Really, he just ran into me. That’s really what it was. A few questionable calls in the game, but for us, we’ve got to control what we can control.”

That was the overarching message from Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who acknowledged the officiating during the hard-fought game, but chose not to expound on it for reporters.

“You can write on it as much as you want. Go for it. I’m not going to,” the coach said in his postgame remarks. “Like I said to the football team, we need to focus on the things we can do better. What was called, what wasn’t called: we don’t have control of that. I think our players did a really good job of that. You want them playing with a lot of energy; obviously, it’s a physical football team that we played today. We expected a knock-down, drag-out type game. That’s what we prepared for. At the end of it, when you’re on the edge and guys are getting after it, you’ve just got to be disciplined through those spots. I’m saying that without seeing the actual tape; I haven’t had a chance to review it. We had some tough calls, and the timing of it was a real challenge.”

Coaches often dismiss “effort” penalties that come from players simply playing the game aggressively. Those come with the sport and are very different from mental lapses like lining up offsides or committing a false start. And officials frequently allow a certain amount of physicality, especially in the closing moments of a hard-fought battle. Broadcasters call it “letting them play.”

The Cowboys’ players, coaches, and fans watching the game can certainly make a Monday-morning case that it was the officials at AT&T Stadium who played… too large a role in the outcome of Sunday’s game.

Lawrence claims the defense didn’t get much of an explanation on the field from referee Tony Corrente’s crew… and he didn’t press for one.

“Once the refs make up their mind, they’re stuck with it,” Lawrence said. “Ain’t nothing you can really say. I mean, there are some things you can say, but they ain’t going to do nothing but cause you to get another penalty.”

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Officials for Tennessee-Arkansas game are announced

Officials for Tennessee-Arkansas game are announced.

FAYETTEVILLE — Tennessee (2-3, 2-3 SEC) takes on Arkansas (2-3, 2-3 SEC) today in Fayetteville for a SEC showdown.

Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised by SEC Network.

Ahead of kickoff, officials for the contest have been announced.

Officials for the Tennessee-Arkansas game

Referee: Mark Loeffler

Umpire:

 Stan Weihe

Linesman:

 Michael Shirey

Line Judge:

 Gus Morris

Back Judge:

 TraBoger

Field Judge:

 Heriberto Bonet

Side Judge:

 Jesse Dupuy

Center Judge:

  Chris Snead

Game day odds: Tennessee-Arkansas per BetMGM

Tennessee-Arkansas: How to watch and listen

2020 Tennessee football schedule

9/26 at South Carolina (W, 31-27)
10/3 vs. Missouri (W, 35-12)
10/10 at Georgia (L, 44-21)
10/17 vs. Kentucky (L, 34-7)
10/24 vs. Alabama (L, 48-17)
10/31 OPEN DATE
11/7 at Arkansas
11/14 vs Texas A&M
11/21 at Auburn
11/28 at Vanderbilt
12/5 vs. Florida

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NBA gives retroactive flagrant to Anthony Davis for shot on Jeff Green

The league office seems to agree with Houston’s frustrations over the incident, as shown by the choice to retroactively assess a flagrant.

The NBA has retroactively issued a Flagrant Foul 1 to Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis, who made contact with the midsection of Houston Rockets forward Jeff Green late in Sunday’s first half.

Green stayed down in obvious pain for several minutes, though he did return to play in the second half of Game 2.

It was the latest in a string of questionable incidents involving apparent below-the-belt shots at Rockets players during the 2020 playoffs. Houston GM Daryl Morey and CEO Tad Brown each voiced their displeasure on social media following the latest example, and it seems that the NBA agreed with their assessment of the Davis-Green play.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, the ruling doesn’t provide them with much of a competitive advantage. Davis will be fined for the flagrant, as all players are, and it will count as one flagrant “point” on his record. If Davis were to reach four flagrant points in the playoffs, he would be suspended for a game — but that’s not close to happening, at the moment.

In real-time, the play was not even whistled as a common foul, let alone a flagrant. Going by the NBA’s revised judgment, it should have been two free throws for the Rockets and possession of the basketball.

Instead, Houston didn’t get any free throws, and Davis scored a layup as Green writhed in pain on the ground. In effect, it was likely a four-point swing as the game approached halftime. The Lakers went on to eventually win Game 2, 117-109, as they tied the second-round series.

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The play was not reviewed during the game, even though there was a 15-minute halftime break immediately following the sequence.

The NBA also retroactively issued a technical foul to James Harden for an earlier play, which occurred when his elbow struck Davis’ face after a foul. However, because it was a technical and not a flagrant, it does not count toward the league’s suspension threshold for flagrant fouls.

While NBA players can still be suspended for cumulative technical fouls, as well, the threshold to trigger an automatic suspension on technicals (7) is much higher than it is for flagrants (4).

Game 3 between the Rockets and Lakers is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. Central tip-off on Tuesday, with a national TV broadcast on TNT.

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NCAA approves new rule changes ahead of 2020 CFB season

Tuesday, the NCAA released several new rule changes for the 2020 college football season.

Tuesday, the NCAA released several new approved rules regarding targeting, instant reviews, jersey numbering, clock management and referee jurisdiction.

  1. Targeting

Players that are called for targeting will now be allowed to remain on the sidelines with their team. Previously, players that were called for targeting were required to spend the rest of the game in the locker room.

2. Instant Review

Pace of play has been a recent point of concern for the NCAA. As the aspect of video review expands every year, the average pace of play increases and now games approach the four-hour mark more often. To combat the increased game times, the NCAA approved a rule that limits reviews that are not “end of game reviews” and reviews that are “exceedingly complicated” to two minutes.

3. Jersey Numbers

Players are now allowed to wear the same numbers, regardless of position, as long as they are not on the field at the same time. Additionally, the number “0” is now allowed.

4. Clock Management

In previous years, if officials believed there was time remaining at the end of the game, the play could be reviewed and if video proved there was any time remaining, referees held the power to put that amount of time back on the clock. Now, if review proves there was time remaining on the clock, it has to be at least three seconds or the game is over.

5. Referee Jurisdiction

In 2020, referees will hold control over the games 90 minutes before kickoff. In previous years, officials held control of the game 60 minutes before kickoff. The NCAA hopes that the extra time will limit the negative interactions between teams during warm-ups.

Study: Tony Brothers, Scott Foster dominate NBA referee mentions

According to a new study of Reddit communities, Tony Brothers and Scott Foster combined for 69% of total NBA officiating mentions by name.

The Houston Rockets and their fans aren’t the only ones to have aired complaints regarding NBA officials Scott Foster and Tony Brothers.

According to a new study by casino.org of sports-focused Reddit communities, Brothers (No. 1) and Foster (No. 2) comprised 69% of the total mentions of NBA officials by name.

Both Foster and Brothers were involved in controversial calls during the 2018 Western Conference Finals between Houston and Golden State, with Rockets’ researchers alleging that poor officiating cost them 93 points over the course of the close seven-game series.

The Rockets assigned expected point values to each incorrect call, as determined by the NBA’s internal officiating reviews.

“Referees likely changed the eventual NBA champion,” the Rockets wrote in a memo summarizing their findings. They also explained that veteran referees “exhibit the most bias against our players.”

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The memo was never formally delivered to the NBA, according to ESPN, with the Rockets instead communicating the message during in-person meetings with the league office.

In February 2019, James Harden called Foster “rude and arrogant” and suggested that he shouldn’t officiate any more Rockets games. “It’s lingering,” Harden said. “It has to be looked at. For sure, it’s personal.”

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Interestingly, Rockets fans were not among the Top 10 NBA fanbases to mention officials, according to the casino.org study. The top three are the Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Lakers, and San Antonio Spurs.

Ben Taylor was the NBA’s most positively mentioned official, while Jason Phillips the most negatively mentioned, according to the study. Phillips now oversees the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

The study found 40,456 total NBA officiating mentions by Reddit fans, as compared to 31,065 for MLB and 20,375 for the NFL.

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James Harden’s legal Eurostep confuses Jazz announcers, Twitter

Though Utah’s announcers and some Twitter users wanted a traveling call to nullify a James Harden bucket, the officials got it right.

The Utah Jazz television broadcast crew and many Twitter users wanted officials to call a traveling violation on a second-half basket by Houston star James Harden during Saturday’s 120-110 win by the Rockets.

But according to the NBA’s own rulebook, what the All-Star guard pulled off appears to be a perfectly legal (and lethal) move.

For the game, Harden led the Rockets with 38 points and seven assists on 13-of-23 shooting (56.5%), headlined by a 6-of-11 showing (54.5%) on 3-pointers. But it was a drive to the basket around two Jazz defenders that attracted the most attention around the league.

The immediate reaction from Utah’s broadcasters:

At every level of basketball, three steps is a travel. We know that.

However, that’s not what it says in the rulebook. From the NBA:

A player who gathers the ball while dribbling may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball.

The first step occurs when a foot, or both feet, touch the floor after the player gathers the ball.

In this case, the former MVP is gathering the ball as he makes what he broadcasters seemingly believe is his first step. Per the rulebook, that does not count toward the two steps that Harden is allowed.

With a timeout called after the layup, Harden celebrated by mimicking the footwork of the Eurostep move on his way to the bench.

Fortunately, the league’s on-court officials got the call right, and it should serve as a teaching moment for fans and media members.

As for Harden, after going through an extended slump in January, he’s clearly turned it around of late. The NBA’s top scorer at 35.2 points per game this season is averaging 33.8 points and 7.8 assists per game over his last five outings, all on 48.0% shooting and 37.1% on 3-pointers.

Harden and the Rockets will look to keep their momentum rolling when they host the New York Knicks (17-39) on Monday night at Toyota Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central time.

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Russell Westbrook on technical fouls: ‘I’m always the bad guy’

Rockets star Russell Westbrook is only three technicals away from a suspension, and he explains his displeasure with how he’s officiated.

After picking up two technical fouls (and an ejection) in Thursday’s blowout victory by the Rockets at Golden State, Houston star Russell Westbrook now leads the NBA with 13 technical fouls this season.

More importantly, that total of 13 means he can only accrue two more technical fouls before automatically being suspended for a game.

The one-game unpaid suspension is mandated once a player picks up 16 technical fouls in a single regular season, and then every second technical beyond that number (i.e. 18, 20) adds another suspension.

The count resets to zero before the playoffs, with seven as the postseason threshold for an automatic suspension.

Considering Houston (35-20) still has 27 games left to play, Westbrook needs to dramatically cut back his pace of technicals to avoid suspension. As the former MVP sees it, though, he’s often the victim of selective treatment from NBA officials based on his reputation and history, which includes a league-leading total of 16 technicals last season,

“You’ve obviously got to be aware of it,” Westbrook said postgame regarding his current total of 13 technical fouls on the 2019-20 season. “I’ll look at them and see which ones are real technical fouls and which ones are not. And then figure out how to do it. But, I’ll be fine.”

In Thursday’s game, Westbrook picked up his first technical during the first quarter for seeking a foul call after a drive to the rim.

In his postgame comments, the 2020 All-Star noted that he didn’t receive a single free throw attempt in the entire game.

I’m at the basket more than probably anybody since I’ve been in the league. I got no free throws today. But ideally I just got to keep going. … That’s just what it is. I’m okay with it. I’m a guy that’s going to compete every single night. I’ll go out and play my game and find ways to be effective. If they blow the whistle, they do. They don’t, who cares? I cannot allow it to affect who I am as a person and what I’m representing and who I am. So, that’s on me.

He was then called for another technical in the fourth quarter after he appeared to elbow Damion Lee and exchanged words with the Warriors bench. (Westbrook, however, said the elbow was unintentional.)

Westbrook explained:

I think it’s a situation where I hold myself to a very, very high standard. I think the refs, the fans, media, the NBA [are] put in a position now where I’m not really allowed to do much. Obviously, I’m an emotional guy. But if you watched the clip, obviously I hit Lee, but it wasn’t on purpose. I’m going to the glass, he got hit, he said something to me, I said something to him. I’m standing there, a guy [Juan Toscano-Anderson] came and snatched the ball out of my hands. Guys come running up to me, I didn’t move, but I’m always the one that gets painted to be the bad guy in the whole situation.

Westbrook said officials directed him to walk away from the situation and towards the Golden State bench, which he did, only to have a young plyer on that bench begin “talking mess” to him. One Warriors player who became involved was injured and plain-clothed star Klay Thompson.

I turned around and said, ‘What did you say?’ So now everybody’s running over to me, then I’m walking towards the thing, then [Kevon] Looney steps in front of me, so I feel like I’m in a position and it’s like, ‘Oh well, Russ is being Russ,’ which nobody knows what that means.

But I got to do a better job of holding myself accountable to a very, very high standard. And I’ll make sure I leave no room for error to allow somebody and people paint me out to be a guy that I’m not. I just think it’s unfair that after all that, I’m the only one that gets a tech or kicked out. That’s not fair. I don’t care what nobody says. It’s so many other people involved in it that are doing so many things that weren’t okay, but I’m the one that gets the tech, gets ejected, and then everybody else is cool, and goes back and play. But like I said, I take responsibility for that and I hold myself to a very high standard, which I’ll uphold.

Clearly, Westbrook believes that other players involved should also have faced punishment. But while he acknowledged that he needs to be smarter, Westbrook also said that he’s not going to back down.

I just got to control myself, that’s it, control myself. But I’m not backing down. I’m not. I wasn’t raised that way. So I don’t back to nobody, fear nobody but God, that’s it. Fear no man but God. I’ll always protect myself under any situation, but I also got to be smarter and understand what’s on the line for me. Or what’s my legacy, who’s watching me, my kids, my family. Make sure that I’m representing my family very, very well.

Prior to his ejection on Thursday, Westbrook tallied 21 points (10-of-19 shooting, or 52.6%) and 10 assists in 30 minutes.

Westbrook and the Rockets (35-20), who have now won six of their last eight games overall, return to action Saturday night at Utah (36-18) for what on paper is a crucial game in the race for Western Conference playoff seeding. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. Central time.

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Inconsistent week-to-week officiating is still hurting the snake-bit Saints

Stop if you’ve read this, but the New Orleans Saints were victims of an obscure NFL rule during their game with the San Francisco 49ers.

Stop us if you’ve heard this before, but the New Orleans Saints were victimized by inconsistent officiating by the NFL’s referees and their crews. They may have drawn half as many penalties (5) as the San Francisco 49ers (10) on Sunday, but an officiating gaffe (and an obscure rule) still ended up costing New Orleans.

This time it came when Saints coach Sean Payton called a bold fake punt against the 49ers, in which quarterback Taysom Hill targeted wide receiver Tre’Quan Smith on a pass deep down the sideline. But Smith wasn’t able to turn and make a play on the ball due to an enveloping bear-hug from the 49ers player covering him.

And no penalty flags flew because of it. Payton raced over to confront referee John Hussey, who dismissed Payton’s concerns due to a rule stipulating that plays run out of a punt formation are ineligible for defensive pass interference fouls. FOX Sports NFL rules analyst Dean Blandino agreed with that ruling on the broadcast.

Payton agreed with it too, emphatically arguing that the play still qualified for a holding foul which would have kept the ball in the Saints’ control. To that, Hussey shook his head and walked away, leaving Payton rubbing his face in exasperation.

What’s troubling is that this rule — that punt plays are exempt from defensive pass interference penalties — wasn’t observed just a few weeks ago, when referee Craig Wrolstad fouled the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for it on a fake punt pass by Arizona Cardinals punter Andy Lee.

So if this is truly what the rules state, why are the NFL’s officiating crews still messing up and hurting teams this late in the season? Why can’t they consistently call each game they work? The NFL either needs to stop pinching pennies and hire full-time, professional officials or look into automated referees, much like the “robot umpires” Major League Baseball is experimenting with. In a sport where one or two plays can make such a big difference, the NFL’s continued reliance on officials who can’t call a clean game from one week to the next is shaping into a crisis.

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