Potential NFL competitive integrity issue brought to light in Rams @ Saints game (1 Viewer)

[Doug B]

Maybe 3 NFL officials really didn't see the WR get trucked with no ball in the area, who knows. I have a feeling now that dominoes are falling for legal sports gambling, stuff like this will become more the norm. 

Not kidding when I ask this, but GamblingGuys would know: Do sports books take action on professional wrestling? Kind of like taking action on the Oscars?

 

[Gally]

I don't understand how people keep posting with 100% certainty that the game was decided on that call. any number of things could have happened afterwards. And as has been beaten to death--Brees had a chance to win and blew it. It happens. It's a game.

The win probability with a first and goal from the 5 with about 1 minute left and the rams having 1 timeout was shown by someone to be about 98%  everything that happened after the no call should not have needed to happen.   Sure, the Saints had the opportunity to still win the game but they should not have needed to do anything else if the correct call was made.

 

[Gally]

I disagree. They were already in easy FG range and the goal should be to make the Rams use their timeouts and run as much clock off as possible before attempting the FG.  I think you have to have better situational awareness there and it surprises me that a veteran like Brees botched it. 

The goal was to get another first down.  If they get the first down then they run the clock down and kick the fg with virtually no time on the clock.  Simply using up the timeouts and kicking with over a minute left still gives the rams a shot.  The goal was to get another first down. 

 

[Kwai Chang Caine]

The win probability with a first and goal from the 5 with about 1 minute left and the rams having 1 timeout was shown by someone to be about 98%  everything that happened after the no call should not have needed to happen.   Sure, the Saints had the opportunity to still win the game but they should not have needed to do anything else if the correct call was made.

I could care less what some “computer model” says. That’s the same type of thing where a snow storm is predicted to bring 6 inches and you’re just as likely to get a dusting or 2 feet. Do you guys believe the “computer model” when using yahoo for fantasy? It’s a joke.

Bottom line, I genuinely feel sorry for individual Saints fans on here like @Doug B and @Nathan R. Jessep I’m sure you guys are real good dudes and are just as passionate about your team as I am for mine and I enjoy your contributions. But as a whole, the Saint’s fan base is losing its mind, to use a sports parallel, the way a lot of the left went berserk after the election (and I’m left leaning for what it’s worth.j

At some point you gotta accept it. No law suit is gonna save this and no computer geek can give you any real prediction. If that were true, those models would bankrupt Las Vegas. For the last time, the Saints still could have won and they didn’t. 

 

[need2know]

wonder if they are watching the refs bank accounts

 

[Doug B]

At some point you gotta accept it. No law suit is gonna save this ... 

Correct, this is well understood. I don't agree, however (and you don't quite seem to be saying this), that "accepting it" means professing that the "right' thing happened and the "right' outcome came about in the end. Accepting the outcome doesn't mean changing one's sense of right and wrong. It does mean continuing to live one's life, carrying forward with the day-to-day, etc.

Speaking for myself alone -- others may feel free to co-sign or not -- I still feel like this is all worth talking about due to the potential fallout for the league being a bigger deal than the mere outcome of the game. Like all unrealized potential ... any eventual fallout from the No-Call may end up being non-existant or non-impactful. I still posit, though, that there is a non-zero chance of some kind of change to the status quo taking place in the end. Small change, huge change? No idea.

 

[brettdj]

wonder if they are watching the refs bank accounts

The officials go thru stringent background checks.  One former referee told me the background check was more thorough than his background check at the NSA.

 

[Doug B]

From the NFL's PR standpoint: Strategically, shouldn't this have been delayed?

Adam Schefter‏
@AdamSchefter

NFL made an unofficial statement on the hit that Rams' CB Nickell Robey-Coleman delivered on Saints' WR Tommylee Lewis. NFL fined Robey-Coleman the amount of $26,739 for the helmet-to-helmet that was not flagged during the NFC Championship Game, per source.

 

[treat88]

League needs to avoid even the appearance of illegitimacy.  They either have to have better refs, which is tough to just do, or they need a better process to get it right.

I don't think Cavaletto intentionally ate his whistle for the Rams benefit, he was just negligent or incompetent in doing the job he was there to do...which, understandably, leads to questions.

I don't think they can just train guys up and call it better on the field.  Really, these guys generally do about as good a job as humans can do.  There's exceptions, this call in question being one of them, but overall they are amazing at what they do.

The only way to ensure this call was made correctly is process based.  Got to have a booth official, who has final say on a certain few types of calls, that can take a second look.

PI, roughing the passer, and helmet penalties is what I would give him.  Should be able to call or overturn at any point.  Guy watches in real time and buzzes down if he wants another look.  Minimally invasive and cleans up questions.

Just get it right.  

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Not kidding when I ask this, but GamblingGuys would know: Do sports books take action on professional wrestling? Kind of like taking action on the Oscars?

Yes - I only know because coincidently ESPN radio locally had a gambling expert on last night talking about prop bets and he mentioned people betting on Pro Wrestling and the Oscars (apparently the Vegas favorite wins the Oscar at something close to a 95% clip). 

 

[Doug B]

Doesn't mean a lot, but for the sake of record-keeping:

Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter

This week, Sean Payton has spoken to Roger Goodell, SVP of Officiating Al Riveron, EVP of Football Opetations Troy Vincent, Comp Committee Chairman Rich McKay. It was explained to Payton: It’s a call that officials should make. Goodell also spoke to Saints’ owner Gayle Benson.

Goodell may be able to ward off tough questions during Super Bowl Week by stating he spoke with Benson and Payton already and then attempting to move on to the next reporter in the pool.

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

Doesn't mean a lot, but for the sake of record-keeping:

Goodell may be able to ward off tough questions during Super Bowl Week by stating he spoke with Benson and Payton already and then attempting to move on to the next reporter in the pool.

I'm sure. And ya know, there's really nothing he could say (to the public or to our fanbase, at least) that would make anything better. And in all likelihood, making a statement would only make things worse at this point. I do think it was a mistake to wait almost a week before talking to Coach Payton (assuming that took place today or late yesterday, since it just came out today as far as I've seen), which was part of what Ben Watson meant by his public statement imploring Goodell to say something.  

 

[Gally]

I could care less what some “computer model” says. That’s the same type of thing where a snow storm is predicted to bring 6 inches and you’re just as likely to get a dusting or 2 feet. Do you guys believe the “computer model” when using yahoo for fantasy? It’s a joke.

Bottom line, I genuinely feel sorry for individual Saints fans on here like @Doug B and @Nathan R. Jessep I’m sure you guys are real good dudes and are just as passionate about your team as I am for mine and I enjoy your contributions. But as a whole, the Saint’s fan base is losing its mind, to use a sports parallel, the way a lot of the left went berserk after the election (and I’m left leaning for what it’s worth.j

At some point you gotta accept it. No law suit is gonna save this and no computer geek can give you any real prediction. If that were true, those models would bankrupt Las Vegas. For the last time, the Saints still could have won and they didn’t. 

I am not saying there is anything to do.  The call was missed and life will go on.  The point I was getting to was that missing that obvious call ended up changing the outcome of the game.  It didn't have to change the outcome but it ended up doing so. 

Yes, the Saints could have still won (and if they did this situation would have already died down) but that doesn't change the fact that the blown call did essentially end up changing the outcome of the game.

 

[modogg]

i mean this is beyond silly at this point. Glad to see the US government hard at work with LA senators whininng about this too. should help with re-election though, nothing better than cheap heat:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFCChampionshipGame?src=hash

 

[DropKick]

I am not saying there is anything to do.  The call was missed and life will go on.  The point I was getting to was that missing that obvious call ended up changing the outcome of the game.  It didn't have to change the outcome but it ended up doing so.

Yes, the Saints could have still won (and if they did this situation would have already died down) but that doesn't change the fact that the blown call did essentially end up changing the outcome of the game.

The perfect storm of the magnitude of the game, the point of the game it occurred and the sheer ineptitude of missing the most obvious PI call since Knute Rockne popularized the forward pass.

 

[Ghost Rider]

It's a false equivalence. The bad PI on Joe Haden was called because Haden's back shielded the official from seeing what Haden was doing (or not doing) with his hands on Mike Thomas' back. From behind, not being able to see hands, it looked like Haden pulled Thomas down. From the side view, Haden just grabbed Thomas' jersey for a second, then let go. Since Thomas' jump looked impeded (don't know if Thomas lost his balance or what, looked clumsy) from the ref's rear angle, he threw the flag.

There's no similar "bad angle" or "obscured view" issue with the No-Call.
 

EDIT: I identified the wrong Saint above -- it was Alvin Kamara, not Mike Thomas. Here's video of the play in question -- 1:30 remaining in the first quarter, score is PIT 3 - NO 0.

I was talking about the PI at the end of the game (that extended the Saints drive since the PI happened on a failed 4th down). 

 

[Kwai Chang Caine]

i mean this is beyond silly at this point. Glad to see the US government hard at work with LA senators whininng about this too. should help with re-election though, nothing better than cheap heat:

https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFCChampionshipGame?src=hash

“State of Louisiana OUTRAGED.” Awesome, we can add a whole state to the “outrage culture.” Poeple are wondering  how to feed themselves with the government shutdown but our tax dollars get to be pissed away on the Saints. Unbelievable...

Where do they find these nimrod senators?? “Even Hulk Hogan took to Twitter.”

I’m laughing my ### off at this guy!!

 

[Doug B]

I was talking about the PI at the end of the game (that extended the Saints drive since the PI happened on a failed 4th down). 

This play? 4th & 2, 2:00 remaining in the 4th, PIT 28 - NO 24. Joe Haden hooked Thomas's left arm and initiated contact before the ball arrived.

That's what people are saying was the "bad PI call" in the PIT @ NO game? That's widely considered a screw-job call? The 1st quarter one, yes ... but the one linked in this post? Not really the thread to argue that call, but let me go look at the Shark Pool game day thread for that game and see what was being said at the time.

 

[Ghost Rider]

This play? 4th & 2, 2:00 remaining in the 4th, PIT 28 - NO 24. Joe Haden hooked Thomas's left arm and initiated contact before the ball arrived.

That's what people are saying was the "bad PI call" in the PIT @ NO game? That's widely considered a screw-job call? The 1st quarter one, yes ... but the one linked in this post? Not really the thread to argue that call, but let me go look at the Shark Pool game day thread for that game and see what was being said at the time.

Not a screw-job, but a really close call that could have gone either way.   The earlier one you mentioned prior was much more egregious, for sure. 

I guess I have reached the point where I am sick of hearing about the complaining from the New Orleans crowd (a LA congressmen bringing it up in front of Congress, really??).  Yeah, it sucks that that call was missed, but the Saints still had the lead and then got the ball first in OT, so while they got screwed by that non-call, I can't say it is the single reason why they lost. 

 

[treat88]

No single play is ever the single reason a team wins or loses a football game.

Everyone understands that, so really the semantics of "they had other chances" is a really pointless point. The Saints had other chances, they still could of won. People get it. 

This play was, however, the defining play of that game. Cavaletto made as poor of a judgment call as a professional ref can make. In other lines of work he be canned and possibly sued for a comparably negligent call. Using the word "mistake" to describe this play really minimizes what Cavaletto did there. 

Im really ambivalent about the Saints, but Im a huge fan of the sport. How can we not expect them to get it right at the biggest most impactful moments of a teams season?  How much blood, sweat, and tears did Saints players sacrifice that were wasted when one ref goes rogue and swallows his whistle on a blatant call at a critical juncture?  

The standard has to be higher than, oh well they had other chances.

I guarantee the NFL has its fingers on the pulse of the fan base. The more folks who just say, human element or shouldnt of ever needed the call, the easier it is for the NFL not to adapt. 

Its a low bar to clear to ask that the league have a process to get obvious calls with game changing impacts correct. 

*Steps off soap box. Steps out of thread. 

 

[Kwai Chang Caine]

Not a screw-job, but a really close call that could have gone either way.   The earlier one you mentioned prior was much more egregious, for sure. 

I guess I have reached the point where I am sick of hearing about the complaining from the New Orleans crowd (a LA congressmen bringing it up in front of Congress, really??).  Yeah, it sucks that that call was missed, but the Saints still had the lead and then got the ball first in OT, so while they got screwed by that non-call, I can't say it is the single reason why they lost. 

 Not a congressman, a SENATOR for crying out loud. The blow hard actually had the nerve to thank government workers for working for free before getting to his main argument of the poor Saints fan base getting screwed. Unbelievable.

 

[Doug B]

No single play is ever the single reason a team wins or loses a football game.

Everyone understands that, so really the semantics of "they had other chances" is a really pointless point. The Saints had other chances, they still could of won. People get it. 

This play was, however, the defining play of that game. Cavaletto made as poor of a judgment call as a professional ref can make. In other lines of work he be canned and possibly sued for a comparably negligent call. Using the word "mistake" to describe this play really minimizes what Cavaletto did there. 

Im really ambivalent about the Saints, but Im a huge fan of the sport. How can we not expect them to get it right at the biggest most impactful moments of a teams season?  How much blood, sweat, and tears did Saints players sacrifice that were wasted when one ref goes rogue and swallows his whistle on a blatant call at a critical juncture?  

The standard has to be higher than, oh well they had other chances.

I guarantee the NFL has its fingers on the pulse of the fan base. The more folks who just say, human element or shouldnt of ever needed the call, the easier it is for the NFL not to adapt. 

To your point bolded in red above, here's the OP of a thread to titled "Best analogy I've heard yet..." on Saintsreport.com:

Game 7 of the ALCS: 3-3 bottom of the ninth with 2 outs , 3-2 count, home run in left center called foul by the third base umpire and he strikes out on the next pitch. You think MLB would let that stand if it prevented a team from going to the world series?

And then the second post:

He should have hit the next pitch out as well. /sarcasm

Specifically, those posts argue against a "bad calls are part of the game" conclusion. A HR to left-center called foul is not part of baseball. Similar to the NOLA No-Call -- outside of the parameters of football.

...

I sign on to your points in blue. Those remain true regardless of which team won or lost the game, and those points stand apart from the allegiances of any NFL observer who invokes them. "Getting it right" ... not "one team got screwed!" Different things.

 

[Gally]

"Game 7 of the ALCS: 3-3 bottom of the ninth with 2 outs , 3-2 count, home run in left center called foul by the third base umpire and he strikes out on the next pitch. You think MLB would let that stand if it prevented a team from going to the world series?"

You have to add in that the home team then went on to lose the game.  In both instances if the Saints (or the home team in the example) ended up winning this situation is nothing more than brief mention.  In order for this to get it's due discussion the other team had to end up winning.  Otherwise it gets treated as just a missed call like thousands of other calls and nothing changes.  Hopefully this leads to a change to fix this from happening in the future

 

[BassNBrew]

Eric Mangini brought that up on Speak for Yourself today, about how a very questionable PI call made it possible for the Saints to get the 1 seed.  Without that call, the Saints get the 2 seed, not the 1, and the Steelers make the playoffs.  

The refs also gifted a win to the Saints against the Panthers in week 15.  Saints should have been a three seed and not even playing last weekend.  Refs also gifted them a win v. the Panthers in the playoffs last year, so this just evens things out.

 

[BassNBrew]

To your point bolded in red above, here's the OP of a thread to titled "Best analogy I've heard yet..." on Saintsreport.com:

And then the second post:

Specifically, those posts argue against a "bad calls are part of the game" conclusion. A HR to left-center called foul is not part of baseball. Similar to the NOLA No-Call -- outside of the parameters of football.

...

I sign on to your points in blue. Those remain true regardless of which team won or lost the game, and those points stand apart from the allegiances of any NFL observer who invokes them. "Getting it right" ... not "one team got screwed!" Different things.

I've never seen you post about getting it right wen the Saints are benefitting fro0m blown calls.  

On a positive note, these things even themselves out over time so we should get plenty more bad calls that go against the Saints.

 

[Short Corner]

i’ve been saying for years...

the games aren’t fixed, but they are nudged. 

Yes the refs waited fur 58 minutes and knew the saints would pass instead of grinding the clock down before putting their thumb in the scale.  Exceptional poise on their part.

 

[Dizzy]

Terrible call (terrible NO call to be correct). Happens all the time.

Still the Saints were given the chance to overcome bad officiating and they turned it over.

Assume there's no questioning the ref's on the Drew Brees INT?

 

[Short Corner]

To your point bolded in red above, here's the OP of a thread to titled "Best analogy I've heard yet..." on Saintsreport.com:

Game 7 of the ALCS: 3-3 bottom of the ninth with 2 outs , 3-2 count, home run in left center called foul by the third base umpire and he strikes out on the next pitch. You think MLB would let that stand if it prevented a team from going to the world series?

Um.  That analogy sucks.

 

[moleculo]

I remember way back when I was in 7th grade - Broncos played raiders on MNF and Broncos got hosed on a blatantly bad call.  I was so pissed I was ready to write letters to the commissioner, questioning the integrity of the entire league.  That was back before the internet so i have no idea how many people agreed with me but in my circle of friends, it was a pretty big deal.

Yes, the saints got robbed, and yes, it was blatant.  It happens.  It's happened before, and I promise you, it will happen again.

As long as there have been sports with referees, there have been bad calls.  Its part of the game.  You want to make sure that it doesn't happen again? Be up by 14.  Sometimes you have to beat the opponent AND the officiating.

 

[moleculo]

  Yeah, it sucks that that call was missed, but the Saints still had the lead and then got the ball first in OT, so while they got screwed by that non-call, I can't say it is the single reason why they lost. 

I've been coaching HS wrestling this season.  We have some really, really bad refs here in SC.  I can't tell you howany times I've seen a bad call happen, kids focus on getting screwed by the refs and let the match slip away.  You've got to get the team past that - focus on the task at hand, and not at "Mannnnnm, the ref is screwing us.  I can't believe that happened".  It kind of felt like this happened in this game to me - Saints fixated on this call, and the game got away from them.

I mean, yes it was a bad call but it ultimately didn't cost the saints anything.  Suppose the Rams guy doesn't PI and the Saints player drops the ball...same situation.  No guarantee anyone catches any given pass (ask Alshon Jeffrey).  So, you take the incompletion and move on.  Kick the FG, get your head in the game.  At that point, what we are talking about today is why are you throwing the ball with 1:49 left, and your opponent only has 1 TO? 

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

- Saints fixated on this call, and the game got away from them.

this is exactly what happened.  you could tell Payton went nuts and his team folded its on him.....need to be more mentally tough...

 

[moleculo]

I don't know if this has been discussed on the previous 8 pages, but here's what bothers me about this situation: it seems systemic, and has been for years.  We all know that refs call the game differently on the playoffs.  They are more likely to sit on their whistle WRT defensive backs getting a little handsy or agressive with WRs.  Patriots entire dynasty is rooted in Belichick understanding this and his DBs absolutely mugging opponents WRs (think Pat's vs Colts in mid 2000s).  IMO, this Saints/Rams non-call is an extreme position of this tendancy.

I really wish refs would call playoff games the same way they call regular season games.  Actually, scratch that, I have it backwards.  I wish refs would call regular season games the way they call playoff games (non-call excluded, of course). 

 

[modogg]

this great:   https://twitter.com/espn/status/1089593116812853256?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1089593116812853256&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbleacherreport.com%2F

i want to make a t-shirt that says "don't throw an interception in OT". Or how about "cover a the WR when there is no time left in Minnesota playoff game". Few others too i am sure we can make. 

honestly at this point, a full week later, we just have a bunch of crybabies

 

[Joe Bryant]

This is fascinating. One has to know the context. Schefter is one of the most respected voices in the league. He doesn't write for clicks. The fact he'd go here is pretty

remarkable. 

Also, totally agree with:  

In the opinion of many around the football world, this was the most high-profile blown call in NFL history.

Fascinating.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Larry Brown Sports running it too https://larrybrownsports.com/football/nfl-facing-questions-saints-rams-officials-la-area/482430?fbclid=IwAR19ko2yvDO4JO5Rverxw5eHhJwqXqFSw7GdWqhLOltk-9E0l23qPaSReDM

 

[treat88]

This is fascinating. One has to know the context. Schefter is one of the most respected voices in the league. He doesn't write for clicks. The fact he'd go here is pretty

remarkable. 

Also, totally agree with:  

Fascinating.

Absolutely concur. 

This was not a "mistake". This does not "happen all the time". This does not "even out over time". 

I dont believe it was intentional, but the league can not allow obvious game and season altering misses  like this. Regular season or playoffs. 

This one was as bad as it gets. 

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

 How are referees assigned for each playoff game? Are they drawn from an already approved group randomly, or selected? 

IIRC during the season they have a team...….they generally stay together, then in the playoffs they are reassigned teams based on the seasons performance. you get the "best of the best"

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

Right, but how do they pick the refs for each playoff game?

Like if A-team and B-team are approved. How do they decide A-team does Chiefs/pats B-team Does Rams/SAINTS.

I think Logistics has something to do with it.....they had the best team waiting for the Superbowl, so the 2nd n 3rd best teams I sure did the conf title games.

 

[Ghost Rider]

This is fascinating. One has to know the context. Schefter is one of the most respected voices in the league. He doesn't write for clicks. The fact he'd go here is pretty

remarkable. 

Also, totally agree with:  

Fascinating.

This part from the article is notable as well:

In another interesting twist, before the conference title game, Rams fans launched a petition to prevent Vinovich from working their team's game because Los Angeles had gone 0-8 in games that Vinovich had officiated since 2012. The Rams were based in L.A. in only the last three years of that span, after relocating from St. Louis in 2016.

Vinovich also officiated the Rams' regular-season losses to the Saints and Eagles, which contributed to New Orleans earning the No. 1 seed and getting home-field advantage in last Sunday's game. In the first Los Angeles-New Orleans game this season, a 45-35 Saints victory, the same officiating crew missed a fake field goal spot, and it contributed to costing the Rams the game.

Vinovich's crew called more penalties against the Rams than their opponents in all nine Rams games he has officiated. But one source pointed out that, with that crew having worked the first Rams-Saints game of the season, it made sense for them to work the second.

 

[amnesiac]

Yes the refs waited fur 58 minutes and knew the saints would pass instead of grinding the clock down before putting their thumb in the scale.  Exceptional poise on their part.

sorry, i wasn’t insinuating that they only “put their thumb on the scale” for one play. 

that would be laughable. 

also i have no clue if this was one of the games that they nudged. 

i’m just saying that it happens.

ymmv. 

 

[northern exposure]

Sorry, I don't really watch the CFL. You need western Canadians maybe? @northern exposure. He has a CFL avatar. 

For two seasons the CFL has allowed Coaches to throw a challenge flag when they think Defensive PI has occurred. In the first season it took some getting used to, but it has now become an accepted part of the game. Coaches don't use it as often as they did in the first season and fans see it as a valuable addition to the game.

 

[Shawnky]

 This is getting ridiculous now. 

Concern in NFL circles that the refs were from Southern California! 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25863631/concern-nfl-4-officials-nfc-championship-game-live-southern-california

We'll 3 of them are from LA, and 1 is a former player for the Rams.  I've yet to cry about this in any aspect as it's just a game.  But this doesn't look good.

 

[Doug B]

We'll 3 of them are from LA, and 1 is a former player for the Rams. 

This particular bit of info had been making the rounds, but it’s not true. One of Vinovich’s regular-season crew, Phil McKinney, did play for both the Rams & Falcons.

 

[leave a whisper]

Theft.

no NFL fan should be ok with that no call (which WOULD have ended the game/ gave the Saints the win -- any other talk is just spin)

NFL needs to address this/ release a statement about this asap

(also, both teams need the ball in OT .....  NFL found a way to scar both championship games  --- props)

i honestly feel the NFL is going the way of the NBA (superstar calls/ name team calls) and im not a fan

(just my opinions -- not subject to change)

 

[Doug B]

This crew was 0-8 calling Rams games.

Not quite. With Vinovich as a referee, the Rams were 0-8 (going back to 2009, I think?). The crew from the NFC title was not his regular-season crew -- it was a crew made up of those officials whose regular-season grade-outs qualified them to call the playoffs.

 

[Doug B]

Peter King in today's Football Morning in America. No kvetching about who was robbed or anything like that -- he discusses the bigger issue with officiating. THIS is the issue that Joe Bryant and others are surprised to see so many here being blase about.

The bolding is in King's article, while the red text is my highlighting:

Where's Roger, Again?

Hard to know where to start when discussing the eight-day-old officiating decision heard-round-the-NFL that played a major role in the Rams winning the NFC title game. I think we should start at silence … silence from the NFL, and from commissioner Roger Goodell, and (mostly) from vice president for officiating Al Riveron.

It is disconcerting that Goodell, who entered the league as a PR intern three-and-a-half decades ago, has been so weak-kneed in hiding from the onslaught of this controversy. It started with an obvious pass interference infraction that went uncalled in the Superdome eight days ago, advanced to the chambers of the U.S. Senate on Friday, and will dog Goodell till he acknowledges the momentous error, presumably at his state-of-the-league press conference Wednesday.

Goodell has a new high-powered PR team around him, but he’s never been one to take much advice in how to respond to public crises. That frustrated some of his now departed PR appointees, who found that he listened to their advice but usually did what he wanted regardless. But what seems so tone-deaf and arrogant about ignoring the no-call in New Orleans is … well, let me enumerate:

• It flies in the face of what the NFL has done for years. Searching the internet Friday, I found 15 occasions (I bet it’s closer to 30) since 2003 that the NFL admitted an officiating error publicly—either in a statement, or on the league’s in-house NFL Network, or on Twitter. The NFL has not commented publicly since Nickell Robey-Coleman of the Rams slammed into Saints wideout Tommylee Lewis before the ball arrived with 1:43 left in a tied NFC title game at the L.A. 6-yard line. The Saints, had the obvious infraction been flagged, could have run the clock down to about 20 to 25 seconds, kicked the go-ahead chip-shot field goal, then kicked off to the Rams, who had no timeouts left. Suffice to say that it’s more likely than not that the Saints would have won the game. After the game, Saints coach Sean Payton said Riveron admitted the mistake to him over the phone. But that’s all we’ve heard about the most important officiating mistake in years.

It’s so different from recent history. The league’s three officiating czars in the last 16 years—Mike Pereira, Dean Blandino and Riveron—have publicly admitted errors large and small and often have apologized for them, including a huge missed defensive pass-interference error at the end of the 49ers’ 39-38 wild-card win over the Giants in January 2003. “The game [should] have been extended by one untimed down,” a league statement said. Take it all the way to last month, when Riveron admitted the officials blew a Bobby Wagner illegal leap to block a Vikings field goal in Seattle. “This is a foul,” Riveron said. But now, nothing. The sounds of silence, disgracefully, on the worst missed call in the league in years. The message: The NFL will admit mistake after mistake after mistake, significant ones, but when it comes to a colossal gaffe, league officials will hide in their Park Avenue fortress.

• What good would it do? Not much. But in a league that asks for the public trust and holds itself up as a sporting model of propriety, it’s called doing the right thing. It’s a simple public statement Goodell could issue; he should make it, because the buck stops with him. Or he could do it on camera with someone like Judy Battista or Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. He could deliver a simple message:

"We appreciate the passion of the Saints and their fans, who are some of the best fans in the league. We’re lucky to have them. There was a mistake made by our officials at the end of the NFC Championship Game at a crucial point of the game, and it’s a mistake we don‘t take lightly. We regret the error. We know that doesn’t fix the mistake. But we want fans of the Saints and fans of our league to know we’ll work hard to improve our officiating. This takes nothing away from the efforts of the Los Angeles Rams, who deserve the victory and will be worthy representatives of the NFC in the Super Bowl. We’re now going to re-double our efforts to make sure we close the loophole that allowed this to happen. All options are on the table for improving officiating, and our Competition Committee will work immediately to figure out the best way to help our officials be even better in 2019 and beyond.”

• It’s totally disrespectful to fans—in Louisiana and across the country—to ignore the story. Let’s now count how many places Goodell must need extra security—if he even shows his face in public there. New England. St. Louis. San Diego. Oakland. Louisiana. Anywhere the draft is held. As for the Saints: It’s hard to go to New Orleans and not be wowed by the passion of the fans. When a third of the metro area population went away following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the fans of a bad Saints team responded by selling out the Superdome for 2006—and every year since. I go to all the cities and see all the teams. I can tell you there is no place more passionate than Louisiana about its team. They’re hurting. They’re angry. They’re despondent. What do they get from the NFL? The back of its hand.

I spoke to retiring Saints tight end Benjamin Watson the same day he issued his impassioned where-is-Roger statement. He echoed it to me, pretty much. “This an imperfect game, coached by imperfect people, played by imperfect people, reffed by imperfect people,” Watson said. “This is simply a case where one of those imperfect people made a huge mistake and impacted a team and a city and a lot of passionate fans. The commissioner should say something. This is an NFL franchise. These are some of your most passionate fans. This is not a franchise on the fringe, or an expansion franchise. For him to sit there and not say anything, for him to be silent, is disheartening for the fans. Not just for Saints fans but football fans. They want to know the game is not rigged. Plus, it is disrespectful to the men in both locker rooms, who deserve the truth. Instead, all we get is silence.”

• The league’s valuation of the vice president of officiating position is dumb, and should be re-thought, even if it means Riveron goes. Football Zebras, the NFL officiating watchdog site, estimates that the officiating VP post a salary of about $350,000 a year. From Labor Day to early February, a span of more than five months, the job is the second-most important in pro football administration, behind one person—Goodell. It is beyond ridiculous that the second-most important guy in the league office for the season, the face of the league in many weeks, makes 1 percent of Roger Goodell’s annual compensation.

Let’s say the NFL moves to strengthen the internal operations of officiating. Let’s say they begin to pay this job for what the headaches and brickbats and cover-the-NFL’s-rear part of the job are worth. My recommendation: Call Blandino and his employer, network partner FOX, and see if a signing bonus of $1 million and annual salary of $1 million could convince him to jump back to the league, where he is missed. Convince FOX it’s for the good of the game. (Blandino recently said he’ll stay in television, but I’d like to see what he’d do if offered $2 million for his services in 2019.) Keep Riveron, if he’ll stay, as Blandino’s number two, which he used to be.

One last thing: Put everything on the table for discussion at the league’s March meeting in Phoenix, but decide nothing. Give it the proper consideration. Then convene a week-long post-draft power meeting in New York with the Competition Committee and other influential league pillars, like Belichick. Put everything on the table. Bring in John Madden, Ozzie Newsome, Ed Hochuli and the respected idea people to figure out the best way to proceed on new officiating strictures.

With most every significant league figure in Atlanta for at least part of this week, this should be the start of an idea period. I’ll share one that I got from an active NFL coach last week, in a text. “Rules need to be changed for the playoffs,” the coach wrote. “Coaches need to have more challenge and be able to challenge more types of calls, like P.I. It’s too important to say, ‘Well, we’ve never done that before.’ It’s the playoffs. All that matters is we get it right!”

Well put.

 

[RUSF18]

I could care less what some “computer model” says. That’s the same type of thing where a snow storm is predicted to bring 6 inches and you’re just as likely to get a dusting or 2 feet. Do you guys believe the “computer model” when using yahoo for fantasy? It’s a joke.

....

At some point you gotta accept it. No law suit is gonna save this and no computer geek can give you any real prediction. If that were true, those models would bankrupt Las Vegas. For the last time, the Saints still could have won and they didn’t. 

Let's maybe start with learning the difference between win probability and a "computer model".

 

[Short Corner]

Let's maybe start with learning the difference between win probability and a "computer model".

Doesn't really matter since nobody is using the actual probabilities.  Just making up whatever number they think makes their argument look better.

 

[Short Corner]

Theft.

no NFL fan should be ok with that no call (which WOULD have ended the game/ gave the Saints the win -- any other talk is just spin)

You and Doug B treating this as a walk-off win that got over turned aren't doing much for your credibility.

 

[Doug B]

You and Doug B treating this as a walk-off win that got over turned aren't doing much for your credibility.

As a Saints fan, I don't have necessarily have credibility on this issue, anyway. It's not my credibility at stake. Quoth Peter King regarding the commissioner's silence on the matter:

... in a league that asks for the public trust and holds itself up as a sporting model of propriety, [publicly addressing the No-Call is] called doing the right thing.