The Voice of Lee Schwartz, father of two former NFL studs, Geoffrey and Mitchell Schwartz, author of Raising Giants and member of Concussion & CTE Foundation’s West Coast Advisory Board . . .
IT’S ONLY ONE PLAY, HOWEVER . . .
Perfection is a goal that few ever achieve. Many abide by the expression, “No one’s perfect.” So when I watch a football game, intellectually I can’t expect every referee call to be correct. And they aren’t, which brings me to this blog.
Admittedly, I’m not a Rams fan. Grew up in Northern Cali as a died-in-the-wool San Francisco 49ers lover and, although I’ve lived in Los Angeles for many more years than in Santa Rosa, have retained my loyalty to the ‘9ers. Even brought up Geoffrey and Mitchell—born and raised in L.A.—to be staunch 49er fans.
In an early season game pitting the Rams against the Denver Broncos, a call was made against the Rams that was wrong. Obvious to the naked eye. Obvious on instant replay. But not eligible for review. They got screwed.
With a minute and a few ticks left in the game, the Rams led 26-23. Denver had the ball, threatening to score. A Bo Nix pass to the goal line was intercepted by a Rams’ defender. Game over. Not so fast. A flag lies on the turf. The defender was called for pass interference. Broncos retained the ball. With 47 seconds they scored a touchdown to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
After a post-game review by the NFL, the league informed Rams’ coach Sean McVay that the penalty should not have been called. Too little too late. That admission won’t shift the loss to a win. How consequential might that be at season’s end? Could potentially prevent the Rams from being post-season eligible.
In a perfect world a single play shouldn’t outweigh all other plays in a game . . . there were 142 total snaps in this game . . . but nonetheless it just feels very unfair.
A somewhat similar situation took place the following weekend in a college game. Underdog Washington was playing USC in triple digit temps at the L.A. Coliseum. It was the 3rd quarter. SC hadn’t played particularly well but was holding a one-point lead. The Trojans lined up for a critical third-down play. The pass downfield was incomplete. But another yellow hanky was lying on the turf.
A zebra trailing the play thought he saw defensive pass interference. Fifteen yards walked off against Washington and a first down for SC. But, again, hold on. TV replays clearly showed that the receiver was the offender who committed the pass interference. But the ref was trailing the play and therefore shielded from the infraction. Instead of SC having to punt from their own end zone, they had an undeserved reprieve. SC’s drive ended in a field goal, extending their lead to five points.
One play . . . but it was obvious, at least to me, that momentum dramatically shifted moving forward. Would Washington have ultimately scored and won the game? Not even a crystal ball can provide that answer. It was, though, another controversial call that shifted fortunes . . . in my opinion unfairly. But as we all know, life isn’t always fair.
And now for these examples of more zebra ineptitude.
- NCAA week one kicked off with a bang. Michigan vs. Western Michigan in the Big House. The Wolverines were 27.5-point favorites, but they played like crap. They were behind 13-12 as time was running out. On what was thought to be the final play of the contest, the Michigan QB tossed a Hail Mary pass into the end zone. The ball fell to the ground. Game over. Or so everyone thought.
Inexplicably, the Big 10 referees huddled. In what’s been described as the “mother of all administrative controversies,” the zebras somehow concluded that one second remained on the clock. A second Hail Mary attempt was miraculously caught by a Michigan receiver. Instead of a massive upset, Western Michigan walked off the field defeated.
- Mid-October #8 ranked BYU trips to South Bend, IN to take on the #3 ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. It was a battle from beginning to end. ND, behind 28-24, found themselves 8 yards from paydirt with 4 ticks left on the clock. Their quarterback tossed an incomplete pass. The officials ruled the clock had expired. BYU upset the Fighting Irish. But wait a minute.
After the game, the BIG 12—see if you can spot a trend in this section—acknowledged that a replay review should have taken place. Had that been rightfully done, the referees would have seen that the ball hit the ground with one second remaining on the clock. Notre Dame deserved one more chance at the win.
- Maybe karma was in play the next weekend. BYU had vaulted to #2 in the college rankings after defeating Notre Dame. They were 7.5-point favorites over an unranked UCF squad. In a déjà vu moment, at the end of regulation, Big 12 officials wrongly enforced—again acknowledged by the conference—a 10-second runoff because a UCF player had his helmet pop off during a last second field goal attempt. With the runoff, regulation time ran out with the score tied at 24. Had the officiating crew not blundered, UCF would have had a second opportunity to win the game with a field goal. UCF ultimately overcame and won in OT. After but one week BYU relinquished their lofty #2 spot in the rankings.
What is most troubling about these botched calls is that all but one was procedural in nature, a missed application of a rule, not one of judgment. Black and white. Not subject to interpretation.
We’ll never know the impact of a blown call. Will Notre Dame, because of the one possibly undeserved loss, not receive a first-round bye when the NCAA final rankings are determined? Were the Rams’ fortunes for the season changed because of the call that wasn’t made?
These referees MUST do better.
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And the beat goes on. After “finalizing” this blog, “it” happened yet again. A controversy. In a game involving the Big 12 conference. An attempted run from the 1-yard line. The QB fumbled the ball. Running back picked up the bouncing pigskin and ran into the end zone. Touchdown!
After the game, the Big 12 announces that the TD should not have been. By rule! Not a judgment call. One governed by a specific rule cited by the conference. I’ll save you the drudgery of reading all the details. But once again, a botched call.
Eight zebras on the field . . . and several supposed “experts” in the replay booth . . . and not one knows the rule. It’s getting so bad that former referees turned analysts are speaking out, one pronouncing afterwards, “stunning rules error by Replay.”