These 3 Botched Calls Have The NFL World Fuming At The Refs Today
Sports Illustrated's Peter King said the officials "stunk" in his column today, and called for wholesale changes of the replay system.
Here are the three calls that have people fuming.
1. The Browns got called for pass interference in the end zone with 40 seconds left. The penalty set up a game-winning Patriots touchdown (via NewsNet5):
Browns coach Rod Chudzinski was asked if he thought it was the right call, and he said, "I did not. I felt like those two were both jostling for the ball and obviously, the penalty was called. So, at the end of the day it doesn't really matter what I think."
2. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh got called for roughing the passer on a crucial play in the third quarter (via @guyism):
Suh started his tackle while Foles still had the ball and immediately let go after contact. It shouldn't have been called.
3. Bengals running back Benjarvis Green-Ellis was given a touchdown on this play, even though a Colts player clearly touched him (via Bleacher Report):
This call - where the refs seemingly botched it even after replay review - has people talking about a play to make the replay system more centralized.
King reports that the league is seriously considering setting up a replay-review hub in New York City, where officials will review plays remotely and send the decisions back to the officials on the field.
It would speed up the game, and lessen the workload for the refs.
But that wouldn't happen until at least 2015.