During Sunday’s Colts-Ravens game, Indianapolis wide receiver Reggie Wayne caught a pass along the sideline and just barely managed to get his feet down. Baltimore coach John Harbaugh challenged the catch.
At least, he challenged the catch at first. But after the Ravens’ coaches saw a replay showing that Wayne did, in fact, get both feet down, Harbaugh changed his mind, and the referee working the game allowed him to take back his challenge. Now the NFL has acknowledged that the referee made a mistake in allowing Harbaugh to do so.
“That’s not right,” said NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira on NFL Network’s Total Access. “He threw the challenge flag, and if you throw the challenge flag, and you either get information from us or get information from your coaches’ booth that the call on the field was right, you’re taking advantage of the system to get out of the challenge.”
Pereira said that in the tape he sent out to all NFL officials this week, he included Harbaugh’s challenge and instructed the officials not to allow coaches to rescind challenges the way the ref working the Ravens-Colts game allowed Harbaugh to do.
“If a coach throws the challenge flag for a play that is reviewable,” Pereira said, “then we’re going to go through with the challenge, even if he subsequently sees that the call on the field was going to be right — so they’ll end up getting charged with the challenge and with the timeout, since they’re going to lose the challenge. It’s the only fair thing to do.”
In Harbaugh’s case, the Ravens got away with not being charged. But Pereira says he’s taken steps to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Naturally,, the NFL and the referees screw the Ravens.. So commence ravens fans making up more excues that even though this went in their favor they still got screwed on Sunday
Just another example of how pathetic NFL refs are..they can’t count the number of timeouts each team gets and used, they go to the camera when a team doesn’t have challenges or the play isn’t reviewable and let’s coaches pick up challenges..how the f**& can we expect them to get “complicated” calls as pass interference, roughing the passer or holding correct. Pereira and his whole staff are a joke!!
As a pasty-white Norwegian from Minnesota, all I can say is that this is another reason why Brett is greater than Peyton. No way Brett throws a pass that close to the sidelines that there’s any question. Brett is the greatest Viking of all time. Right up there with that fullback we had in the 70s. Chip Forelorn I think. And that tiny defensive tackle in the 90s. What’s his name. The one who painted his face like the Ultimate Warrior.
Every time I see Brett drop back to throw, his muscles glistening in the dim light of the metrodome, I get a special feeling deep, deep, deep down in my soul.
Skol Vikings! Skol Brett! Skol tator-tot hotdish!
Ref’s work part time for the NFL and full time else where. If you want professional refs pony up the money and have them work full time.
Billion dollar enterprise has outcomes of games in the hands of part time judges.
Oh REALLY Mike Pereira? You are SUCH a joke!
So then, how about you talk about how the Ravens took a timeout… because your moron officials weren’t about to measure the spot of the ball. Then, as soon as he calls timeout… you then proceed to measure for the 1st down or not. Now, in multiple instances… the officials have given back a timeout if this happens. But did the Ravens get back their timeout? No. In fact, they got charged two timeouts because the Ravens wanted to challenge. I’ve also seen the officials change a timeout into a challenge before for other teams.
And what about that play where Joe Flacco got rocked in the helmet? No flag… was it because he didn’t do a Tom Brady song and dance?
Did any of this directly put points on the board or take points off the board? No. But you are a joke, your officials are a joke, and your “arguments” or “excuses” or “explanations” are even more of a joke. Rich Eisen doesn’t even have to try, and he still makes you look like a fool. Imagine if someone who REALLY wanted to grill you was asking the questions.
Still waiting to hear the explanation on that “tripping” nonsense that cost the Vikings their undefeated season.
Another prime example of why the NFL needs full-time officiating. Why bring part-timers into the BIG SHOW? Go home Viking homer part-timers. We’ll see who you root for when Brett starts to slump. Might as well start kissing the fringe on Brady’s skirt now.
Gae4Brett: We know this is really you, Vox.
Come out, come out, wherever you are.
That’s cool, they got him back later when they delayed making a close measurement, then measured, but made the Ravens use their timeout anyway.
Officials just mess up everywhere, something has to be fixed.
NFL officiating is embarassingly bad. Ed Hochuli and his crew are just plain laughable. I’ve been watching games for over 40 years and this is the worst its ever been….by far.
RE:habibfromnewdehli….
like i predicted.. the typical Ravens snivling has started..just as predictable as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Where is another Irsay at to buy and move the team out of Baltimore so their whiny,biased,unknowledgeable fans can go back to the hole(or street corner) they came from
This is the kind of gray area stuff that makes the NFL refs a joke.
# Gae4Brett says: November 25, 2009 8:20 PM
As a pasty-white Norwegian from Minnesota, all I can say is that this is another reason why Brett is greater than Peyton. No way Brett throws a pass that close to the sidelines that there’s any question. Brett is the greatest Viking of all time. Right up there with that fullback we had in the 70s. Chip Forelorn I think. And that tiny defensive tackle in the 90s. What’s his name. The one who painted his face like the Ultimate Warrior.
Every time I see Brett drop back to throw, his muscles glistening in the dim light of the metrodome, I get a special feeling deep, deep, deep down in my soul.
Skol Vikings! Skol Brett! Skol tator-tot hotdish!
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There’s something wrong with tatertot hotdish? Am I missing something here, because its GREAT.
anyway, whatever packer backer this is, you aren’t fooling anyone, so why not comment on how great the packers are….oh wait, nevermind, MORE TATER HOTDISH!!!! Maybe if you fed a little to your O-line they’d remember how to block…
I don’t think it could be worse than the Bengals/Raiders game where Don Carrey’s crew only called two penalties against the Raiders (vs a dozen against the Bengals) , while ignoring the Raider’s holding, offsides, and blatent pass interference. See Heyward-Bey’s grabbing of Leon Halls collar, dragging him down to the ground and the refs call the penalty against Hall, holding Ocho’s right arm in the end zone so he couldn’t get both arms on the ball (both called out by TV comentators), and blatently riding the back of Caldwell to get to the ball, etc.
Almost had to think the refs had money on that game.
Can anybody else see a problem with this ruling? Whenever a coach throws a challenge flag, the official always goes up to them and asks them what they want to challenge. Several times I have seen, the coach asks to challenge something and the umpire tells them that it is not something that is challengable and the challenge is rescinded. So if a coach throws a flag, but is subsequently told by their people that the call on the field is correct, all they have to do is tell the ref they want to challenge, for example, a missed holding call, at which point they will be told that this is not challengable and the challenge will be cancelled.
Hey PFT, name names, that is why you are here. Who was the ref?
Ahhhhh, Pereira. The MASTER of talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Is the coach “polish” or what. You’re supposed to challenge AFTER your people in the booth look at the replay, not BEFORE.
# SmackMyVickUp says: November 25, 2009 8:26 PM
Ref’s work part time for the NFL and full time else where. If you want professional refs pony up the money and have them work full time.
Billion dollar enterprise has outcomes of games in the hands of part time judges.
Look what happens in other sports where the officials work full time at their craft. You get guys who think they are bigger than the game. NBA refs give the stars a ton of leeway and MLB umps each have their own strike zone. We could go on. There is nothing to show that if NFL refs were full time they wouldn’t make the same mistakes they do now, but at least they show some professional accountability and attempt to get the calls correct. Its taken 100 years for MLB umps to huddle up and discuss a call because one guy didn’t want to “show up” another. That doesn’t occur in the NFL because there is a good structure on the field. You will never eliminate human error no matter how much or how little these guys work. The NFL refs do the best job of all the major sports.