Pete Morelli was wrong, according to the NFL:
The NFL said the referee made a mistake: Troy Polamalu caught the ball.
The league acknowledged that referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned on replay Polamalu’s interception of a Peyton Manning pass in the playoff game between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.
Mike Pereira, the league’s vice president of officiating, said in a statement that Morelli should have upheld the call, made with 5:26 left in Pittsburgh’s win over the Colts.
***“The definition of a catch — or in this case an interception — states that in the process of making a catch a player must maintain possession of the ball after he contacts the ground,” Pereira said.
“The initial call on the field was that Troy Polamalu intercepted the pass because he maintained possession of the ball after hitting the ground. The replay showed that Polamalu had rolled over and was rising to his feet when the ball came loose. He maintained possession long enough to establish a catch. Therefore, the replay review should have upheld the call on the field that it was a catch and fumble.
“The rule regarding the performing of an act common to the game applies when there is contact with a defensive player and the ball comes loose, which did not happen here.”
Good for them. I was convinced they were going to weasel around and try to justify that call, when it clearly was something Morelli just flat-out made up on the spot.
Now fix the officiating problem. I don’t know how many billions you folks make a year in the NFL, but I am wagering you can afford full-time refs like other leagues.
Dave Ruddell
Colour me shocked. I was also sure that the league would weasel on this one, or just not release any statement at all. Will this bring back the calls to have full-time officials in the league?
hypocycloid
dead on. swore to my brother on the phone that it would be impossible to overturn that catch and that if the ref did, i would never watch nfl football again. now i rightfully claim complete vindication, and will retain my only written vow for my upcomming nuptials on Saturday, that noone disturbe me during the Stillers games. now lets take it to the Broncos…
Ozymandias
Well, good to see there is some sanity left in the world.
Otto Man
Amen to that. The officiating this weekend was ridiculous.
AustinRoth
I am curious about all those who posted on the other thread about how the ref got the call right, becuase it was a judgement call. Any mea culpas?
SoCalJustice
Awesome. But justice delayed is justice denied.
Kidding. But it’s refreshing to see some honesty, especially when even Colts fans and Indianapolis sportswriters felt the call was blown.
On to Denver.
Wrye
The N-effing-L does not have full time officials? What the hell? How is that possible?
demimondian
I’m even more upset now than I was yesterday. The NFL has betrayed me! I had a solemn promise that they would stand behind my purchase of the referree, and they *welched*.
Justin Slotman
Well–just because a league employs officials full-time does not mean they’ll be good officials. Look at the NBA.
Trevor
I’m just glad that the perpetually whining Raiders fans can still call the Tuck rule the biggest shaft job in NFL history. That never gets old.
Far North
Whining Raider fans? I’m hearing quite a bit of whining from Steeler fans here. When you win the f***ing game and still make a big deal of the officiating, now that’s whining.
And Trevor, there might be one other call that trumps the clustertuck ruling. That was Raiders vs Broncos AFC championship game where Rob Lytle fumbled on the Raider 1 yard line and Otis Sistrunk recovered. The official ruled “down by contact” even though Lytle never left his feet during the entire play and replays clearly showed the ball coming out. John Madden remembers that one. He was the Raider coach.
What would your reaction be if your team had been on the short end of either the tuck play or the Rob Lytle fumble in a playoff game?
Slide
yawn
ether
lot of fucking good this apology would have made should the colts have won.
i’m getting sick of the calls, in particular calls related to whether or not possession was established.
the league got their asses saved by the steelers getting the win they earned.
i was ready to boycott the playoffs and superbowl, and i’m not even a steeler fan.
i second your motion on full-time refs, this shit is getting old.
Sock Puppet
Q) How many NFL football fans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A) Who in their right mind could possibly care?
Sam Hutcheson
As one of the people defending the judgement call of the ref, I most certainly do not retract anything. If the league had clarified the “football move” rule before the game, it would have been different. As it stands, the guy made a judgement on a play that the league rules leave open to judgement. Coming in after the game and saying the judgement was wrong is just the league covering its ass in the face of crying fans and sportswriters.
demimondian
SP, the question for today is not how many football fans it takes to screw in a lightbulb (to which the answer is simply “as many as he wills”), but rather, “how many NFL referees does it take to screw up a light bulb joke”.
John Cole
Shorter Sam Hutcheson: I am too pig-headed to admit that I, like Morelli, was wrong, and don’t know my ass from an interception.
Guess the league is just throwing you two poor dears under the truck, hunh?
Gregory Markle
I’m glad they came clean on that one, I was terribly confused by the call. If he had not attempted to get up and run it would have undoubtedly been ruled a catch so how anything that occurred afterwards could negate that catch was quite a mystery.
This was handled much better than the “no goal” situation that my Sabres lost the Stanley Cup on where the NHL came up with an elaborate explanation including an elusive “memo” to the officials, which none of them remember receiving, miraculously outlining exactly such an event some months before it occurred. Not in the rule book, never ruled that way before or after…frustrating!
Jeremy
Nice to see that they fessed up on the blown call, but you know they wouldn’t have done it if Pitt had lost the game. It’s MUCH easier for them to show regret when it ended up not mattering (except for the defibulator industry).
Vladi G
Based upon a few years of reading Sam’s post over at the former Baseball Primer (on all sporst, not just baseball), and comparing that to what I’ve read from John’s posts about sports over the last year or so, I’m going with Sam on this one. Sam’s not saying he’s right or wrong. He’s saying it’s a judgment call left open to interpretation by the rules. This isn’t Don Denkinger in the 1985 World Series. This is a difference of opinion.
Good christ, John, you guys won. Get over it already.
I hope Morelli recovers from his run in with the bus that the NFL just threw him under.
Tequila
I’ll just say that I’ve heard the phrase “thrown under the bus” more in the past two days than in the previous 25 years.
Also, I wonder if the NFL would have had the cojones to release this statement if Harper makes it to the end zone?
platosearwax
Sam Says:
And Vladi G:
The thing is though, it wasn’t a call open to interpretation. The head of officiated said:
Since there was no contact with another player, the “football move” rule doesn’t apply. It was a catch, the ref got it wrong by applying the wrong rule.
Brian
Good thing this wasn’t the first blown call lately.
Raider Hater
If Raider fans want to discuss screwjobs then allow me to take you back to 1978. A man in stripes called Ben Dreith. A clean sack by Sugar Bear Hamilton? A guy named Stabler? Ringing any bells? It should, prior to Sundays call it was the single biggest screw job in the history of the NFL. It still is in fact.
John Cole
.
Uggh. Ppgaz 2.
Clearly, I care more about the game, because I am not mad because my team lost, I am mad at the overall state of officiating. There is nothing for ME to get over, as my team won- thre are significant hurdles for the NFL to overcome.
As to Sam, any way you slice or dice thisruling, the ref got it wrong. First, the NFL says he misapplied a rule, and regardless, if it was a judgement call, it was bad judgement. That is why every honest sportsfan and EVERY sportswriter/columnist/broadcaster will tell you it was a horrible call. Because it was so clearly wrong.
Sam Hutcheson
Thanks, Vladi. To clarify, I personally thought it Palomalu caught the ball. I think any reasonable definition of “catching the ball” includes what Palomalu did. But up until the NFL press release which clarified where the “football move” clause is supposed to be used (when a defender makes contact) vs. where that clause should be ignored (apparently when considering possessions on the ground), no one, including (quite obviously) the referee responsible for that review, really knew when and where to properly apply the clause. The ref mistakenly (like everyone else, including the play by play guys on ABC) read the “football move” clause as relevant to this play, and judged accordingly.
So now the NFL clarifies. Great. It should have clarified before the season. In point of fact, it should never have written such an ambiguous “rule” to begin with. Moriella was simply attempting to do his job as best he could. What I really take umbrage with here is this Steeler-fan pathology given public voice by Joey Porter’s paranoid post-game rantings, and fully embraced by John’s posts here. Namely, I find the idea that the NFL in 2006 is throwing games (or trying to) just to get Peyton Manning to a Superbowl patently absurd, and anyone who makes such a claim is at best being goofily irrational. At worst, they’re complete nutjobs. I assure you, if the fix were in at the level required to justify the Porteresque delusions of persecution, the Steelers *would have lost.* They would not have almost lost. They would never have gotten those 4th and 1 opportunities, much less converted them. They would have never gotten the ball on the 2 yard line with the opportunity to salt away the game.
The interception/overrule play is a case of bad rules rendering bad judgements on the field. That should be fixed. But Steeler fans really should get the hell over it and stop pretending that the entire league is out to screw Pittsburgh. It’s stupid and absurd and beneath otherwise reasonable men.
Trevor
Sorry for the late response Far North, but thanks for proving my point. Learn to take a joke already.
Bob In Pacifica
It’s always about justifying your anger.
Bob Munck
Wouldn’t “full time” pro football officials end up working about 100 hours a year total? How is that a good idea?
mike
Was that Joey Porter or Kanye west making that comment. Both were equally absurd. Cowher needs to gag Porter until the Superbowl is over. I’m starting to think Porter belongs on the East end of Pennsylvania. These comments do not fit with the Git-R-Done style of The Steelers.
Vladi G
That would be “Shredder” to you.
Digital Amish
You guys can argue all the ‘football move(s)’ and judgement you want but one thing that I remember from that play was watching Polamalu on the bench. During the review sitting there talking to his team mates and watching the replays. When the reversal was announced he grabbed his helmet and ran back out onto the field. No tantrum, no histrionics, no mouthed obcenities. Just back to work. I thought that was rather impressive.
Lines
Actually, “full time” officials would also have to spend time reviewing their own and well as their peers’ calls and missed calls. Most of it would remain secret, which is should, but would give the league a little bit more wiggle room on issues, as the credibility gained would outweigh everything else.
The money is there, that just doesn’t seem to be the problem.
mike
well said da…I do respect him. He just does his job and does it well.
Lines
Polamalu is going to refire up the thought that LB’s should be tough, fast and ruthless. They should also be a class act when the play is over and Polamalu is just that. Hopefully he will serve as an example to the league for years to come.
But the only thing about him I don’t like is that he tends to twist his opponents during the tackle. While its somewhat legal, its going to get him some bad press in the future. I’d like to see him tackle just a bit more cleanly to retain that “class act”.
Lines
Oh, and I finally remembered the animal that twists like that when attacking an opponent, lions. And now I’ll never see Polamalu on the field, in his place I’ll see a big ass lion, mane flowing and teeth bared, snagging a running hyena with a claw and drawing them into a twisting death crush.
Capriccio
I’d really, really like to let this 5-year old issue go, but those here who are like me and frequent both sports and political sites have probably noticed how festering passions are very much the same and tend to overhwhelm fact and reason. Thus it is with the Iraq war declaration or, say, the “tuck rule.” I just read a piece in the New York Post which both echoes and reinforces the ravings of fans who insist that the tuck rule was some phantom diabolical scheme cooked up by the NFL to stick it to the Raiders. The Post writer concludes by assuring his readers that:
“The tuck rule ultimately disappeared.”
Sports journalism, alas, is no more reliable than political journalism. The “tuck rule” has no more disappeared than it appeared out of nowhere in the first place as both links below document.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/09/AR2005100901458.html
“The rule in question relieved officials of the burden of deciding a quarterback’s intent when he brings his arm forward, Pereira said. In other words, officials are not supposed to ask themselves: Did the quarterback intend to throw a pass or was he trying to tuck the ball in and run?
In a similar play in the second game of the season, the Patriots recovered an apparent fumble by Vinny Testaverde of the New York Jets but it was ruled an incomplete pass after being reviewed. The Jets went on to win 10-3.”
http://espn.go.com/nfl/news/2002/0120/1314728.html
Here’s my final shot at the Post writer:
Why don’t you try and keep up with things in your so-called area of expertise rather than recycling tired old bullshit?
Now if it was only this easy to prove what we all actually decided upon with the Iraq War vote life would be grand.
Dave Ruddell
Apparently they do that now. Hochuli claims he spends about 30-40 hours/week on officiating related duties during the season. If it were anyone else, I’d say he’s exaggerating, but not Hoch.
physics geek
Color me surprised. I assumed that the NFL would cover its ass and pretend that the rule had always existed. Kudos to them for admitting the ref effed up.