Tag: Pass Interference

Pass interference review is the new catch rule

How soon we all forget. Only a few years ago NFL fans were plagued by the question of what exactly is a catch. What we thought we saw with our own eyes was was wrong – according to the NFL. It was a national nightmare. No one knew if a catch would …

How soon we all forget. Only a few years ago NFL fans were plagued by the question of what exactly is a catch. What we thought we saw with our own eyes was was wrong — according to the NFL. It was a national nightmare. No one knew if a catch would stand or not. Then the NFL came to its senses and simplified the catch rule. Sure, there are still some weird decisions, but the issue has been fixed for the most part. The league simply couldn’t have that, so now we have the new catch rule. It’s pass interference review.

The pass interference review was a reaction — or overreaction — to the infamously missed pass interference/blown call in the NFC title game between the Rams and the Saints. There were many ideas thrown around that would remediate the issue. The NFL seems to have picked the worst one.

Even though everyone was saying that the pass interference review would come back to only anger fans and confuse coaches, the NFL trudged onward. It was all fine in the beginning. It was fine only because referees — and the folks in New York helping out with reviews — simply refused to overturn missed pass interference calls. The burden of proof had to be so amazingly high that there wasn’t a challenge that could be overturned. If the call was missed on the field, it wasn’t changed on replay. Tough luck. Coaches adjusted and they knew that challenging for pass interference wasn’t a good investment when it came to their challenges and timeouts. There were some obvious missed calls — just google “Ravens Texans missed pass interference” — but that was life.

Then suddenly things changed. Some ticky-tack calls were being overturned — this happened in the Panthers-Saints a few weeks ago — and now we are exactly where we did not want to be. Pass interference reviews are nebulous. They are being reffed to a level where small plays are being overturned while other pass interference is being overlooked. Reviews are being broken down frame by frame and the intent of the rule is being lost. It’s the exact same issues we had with the catch rule a few years ago. Except, this time it’s totally worse because it’s a subjective penalty. Everyone knew — or thought they knew — what a catch was. No one really knows what’s pass interference unless it’s blatantly obvious.

So this is where we sit at Week 14 of one of the most exciting seasons in recent NFL history. We have storylines like Lamar Jackson, the crumbling Patriots dynasty, the rebirth of the Niners, and amazing playoff races in both leagues. We also sit here with the dark cloud of what important game will be decided by a pass interference review. If the league simply kept doing what it was doing early on in the year, it would make sense. They apparently didn’t want to do that. Now, “what’s a catch,” has turned into “what’s the burden of proof for pass interference?”

Sean Payton: Nobody had a good game, including the New York NFL office

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton took aim at his team’s sloppy penalties, the Carolina Panthers’ poor execution, and NFL officiating.

The New Orleans Saints won their Week 12 game with the Carolina Panthers, but it was ugly. Saints coach Sean Payton watched his team commit 12 penalties for 123 yards, while his opponent executed poorly in several areas of the game — including two missed extra-point attempts and a botched field goal try that gave the Saints a chance to win.

However, the two teams on the field weren’t the only ones having an off day. Payton said after the game during his postgame press conference, “It wasn’t our best game, it wasn’t (Carolina’s) best game, and quite honestly it wasn’t New York’s best game.” Payton clearly took issue with mistakes from the on-hand officiating crew, which initially failed to give the Saints possession of a muffed punt until Payton forced their hand with a challenge.

He infamously received a private phone call from NFL officiating czar Al Riveron after last year’s botched NFC championship game. Riveron’s responsibility on Sundays from the NFL offices in New York City is to watch a wall of monitors streaming each ongoing NFL game and assist on-site officials with making the correct calls; apparently, Payton wasn’t happy with the officials’ performance on Sunday.

Payton challenged a foul for offensive pass interference on tight end Jared Cook early in the first quarter, which wiped out a 42-yard gain, but after reviewing the play with instant replay the officials let the penalty stand as called.

Late in the fourth quarter, the officials hit New Orleans defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson with a foul for defensive pass interference after Panthers coach Ron Rivera challenged the non-call. It was just the fourth overturned pass interference play of the year, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Ridiculous as that seems, the Saints were able to overcome it. And Payton declined to dwell on the officiating’s impact in the game, adding, “I’m not going to go down a list of all these calls. Any more questions about the game? Or are we just looking for hits?”

New Orleans did enough to win on Sunday. But they can’t keep playing sloppy and making opportunities for lesser teams to hang with them deep down the stretch. Here’s hoping this was just another aberration against a division rival. With a game against the Atlanta Falcons on Thanksgiving night just around the corner, they can’t afford to make many more of the same mistakes.

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In cruelest irony, referees enforce DPI against Saints after challenge

The Saints were victims of a rule coach Sean Payton spent the offseason advocating, when referees sided with a pass interference challenge.

The NFL can be cruel. New Orleans Saints fans knew that already, but they were given an ugly reminder late in their Week 12 game against the Carolina Panthers, when Panthers coach Ron Rivera challenged a non-call for defensive pass interference against Saints safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

And he got it. The officials huddled over the instant replay review station and gave Carolina the nod: the Panthers were given a fresh set of downs from the New Orleans 3-yard line. It didn’t matter because the Saints defense buckled down and forced the Panthers into an unsuccessful field goal try, but the fact that this was the one instance in which the officials overturned a call on the field — against a team that was so publicly victimized in similar circumstances in last year’s conference championship game — is such cruel irony. Saints coach Sean Payton spearheaded the effort to make pass-interference (called or not) reviewable, and his team ended up catching the brunt of it.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, NFL coaches went into Week 12 having overturned 3 of 74 (4%) such challenges. League officiating established a precedent that required overwhelming evidence to overturn the result as called on the field, and in this one situation, it ended up biting New Orleans.

Fortunately, it didn’t matter. The Saints followed up that field goal miss with their own drive down the field, capping it off with a Wil Lutz game-winner from 33 yards out. Hopefully this bizarre use of the replay review rules doesn’t hurt them again.

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Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins wants new officiating leadership after pass interference no-call

Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins says there needs to be new leadership in officiating following missed pass interference versus the Baltimore Ravens.

Houston Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins says there needs to be new leadership in officiating following the club’s 41-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium.

On a fourth-and-2 from the Ravens’ 33-yard line with 5:56 to go in the first quarter, quarterback Deshaun Watson heaved a deep ball into the right corner of the end zone that fell incomplete as Hopkins was unable to reach the football. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey hung on to Hopkins and made it difficult to haul in the catch.

After the loss, Hopkins retweeted pictures from ESPN Sportscenter’s official account with images of the alleged missed infraction.

“As a leader in the NFL, we need someone new in New York deciding calls,” Hopkins wrote.

The crew for the game was headed up by referee Alex Kemp. When coach Bill O’Brien challenged for possible pass interference, the call went to NFL senior vice president of officiating Alberto Riveron, who makes all the determinations on challenges and booth reviews. Ultimately, Riveron decided there was no pass interference, and it was a turnover on downs.

Criticism of officials often times leads to a fine from the league. It will be interesting to see if there is a FedEx envelope from the league in Hopkins’ locker this week.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson says ‘everyone’ saw pass interference against WR DeAndre Hopkins

Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson says the alleged pass interference against WR DeAndre Hopkins in the Baltimore Ravens loss was obvious.

The Houston Texans lost to the Baltimore Ravens 41-7 Sunday afternoon at M&T Bank Stadium. The game may have had a different tenor overall if not for one big missed call.

On a fourth-and-2 from the Ravens’ 33-yard line in a scoreless first quarter, quarterback Deshaun Watson scrambled away from Baltimore defenders and threw an end zone shot to receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Cornerback Marlon Humphrey tackled Hopkins prior to the ball’s arrival, possibly defensive pass interference which would have setup Houston first-and-goal at the 1-yard line.

Instead, referee Alex Kemp’s crew made no call on the field, and it was a turnover on downs.

Coach Bill O’Brien challenged, but New York ruled the no-call on the field stood.

“I mean, everyone saw it,” Watson told reporters after the game. “The guy wrapped him around, but they made that call and you got to live with it. You can’t really dwell on it.”

O’Brien was passive-aggressive with his comments in his postgame presser.

“I have no idea,” O’Brien said. “I have no idea what pass interference is anymore. No idea.”

The Texans gave up two touchdowns in the second quarter and suffered a missed field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn that would have made it 14-3 at halftime.

If the Texans could have taken an early 7-0 lead over Baltimore, it could have been a more of a slugfest than a curb stomp on Russell Street by the Ravens.

“It definitely could have been a changing point of the game, momentum switch,” said Watson. “But it’s just one of those calls that it didn’t go our way and we just got to continue to push forward.”

Watson completed 18-of-29 for 169 yards and an interception along with losing a fumble and taking six sacks. The Pro Bowl quarterback finished with a 63.7 passer rating, the fourth-lowest of his career.