Browns cornerback Tramon Williams says NFL admitted error on game-winning field goal

Posted by Mike Florio on October 8, 2015, 8:01 AM EDT
AP

The NFL recently instructed coaches not to disclose information about private communications with the league office regarding officiating errors. And on Wednesday a Browns player disclosed information about private communications with the league office regarding officiating errors.

Via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, Browns cornerback Tramon Williams said Wednesday that the NFL admitted officials incorrectly flagged him for being offside on a 39-yard field goal try by Chargers kicker Josh Lambo. The attempt went wide right, the Chargers got another chance from five yards closer, and Lambo made the kick.

“The coaches sent in the tape questioning it, because it was close and I thought I got a good jump,” Williams said. “It was time to do or die at the end of the game. I had gathered all the information throughout the game, and I was like, ‘This is my time.’ And sure enough, I got a good jump on it.”

He definitely did. One of the two All-22 film angles from the NFL’s Game Rewind feature shows Williams getting a perfect jump on the snap — a jump so perfect that from the other angle he appeared to be offside.

Even though the blunder gave the Chargers another chance to win the game, Williams doesn’t seem to be all that upset.

“I just move so much faster than everybody else,” Williams said. “I can see where the referees would miss that. . . . Guys make mistakes. At the end of the day you just hope that we can get judgment at the end of the game, maybe review or whatever it may be.”

The real question (apart from whether rulings of this nature will be added to the replay review rules) is whether the league will be upset with the Browns. Although the memo sent last month to teams regarding the disclosure of private communications with the league office was directed at coaches, executives, and owners, the league office likely won’t react well to coaches giving that information to players and players then sharing it publicly.

Regardless, the Browns claim that the same kind of mistake that caused the Lions to lose to the Seahawks caused the Browns to lose to the Chargers. And the Browns seem to be accurate. And it would have been a much bigger deal if the game had been played in prime time.

UPDATE 10:34 a.m. ET: The NFL has denied making that concession to the Browns. The NFL contends that the video evidence is inconclusive.

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56 responses to “Browns cornerback Tramon Williams says NFL admitted error on game-winning field goal”

  2. It’s ridiculous how bad the officiating is. We live in a world where Belichick’s proposal to allow coaches to challenge everything could very simply be put into place. Why isn’t it? It’s not complex. The mechanisms are already there. The only reason is because it would further dilute the power of the league office to blindly stand on its pedestal and proclaim “this is so.”
    For that reason, and no other, they oppose it.
    They crave their absolute power and they will not relinquish it.

    North Korea works the same way.

  3. The NFL wants to keep its mistakes private huh? Sounds like they are adopting the rules that the federal government has used for decades. Fast learner that Goodell fellow.

  4. am I the only one that gets curious about “mystery flags” in close games? wonder if the point spread plays a role in them. no accusation, just curious.

    hmmm…

  8. So when the NFL screws-up keep it quiet.
    Real mature from an accountability standpoint, that’s part of their policy on integrity I guess…

  10. If the NFL doesn’t want anyone to talk about officiating mistakes (and the communications that follow said mistakes), then the NFL should work to cut down on officiating mistakes, especially on key plays at the end of games. Big Brother/totalitarian regime is not a good look for a sports league.

  11. The league office has become such a collection of scum.

    Trying to bury their mistakes as if they never happened and then going after the teams or players if they mention anything.

  13. “…And it would have been a much bigger deal…”

    …if it was anybody other than the Browns and Chargers…

  15. Tramon Williams, way to go , you BALLED OUT !, made a play. All that I heard was ridicule from fans and radio hosts. I thank you for your professional team play , on a team with a lot of problems YOU are NOT one of them . Keep on ballin out

  16. Tramon will be exchanging his Browns uni for a Superman costume! He’s just “so much faster than everyone else”!

  17. That sucks. 2 games won by referees. Seems like the Goodell NFL is all about franchise changing suspensions and letting the refs make the plays.

    But, hey NFL, at least you came out on top of the concussion lawsuit, so kudos… i guess.

  18. Tramon needs to learn there is an addendum in the back of the NFL rule book that says “except for the Browns”. Similar to the call that caused “Bottle Gate” where there refs went back after the next play to review and go against the Browns.

  19. “The real question (apart from whether rulings of this nature will be added to the replay review rules) is whether the league will be upset with the Browns.”
    ____________________

    It’s the Browns. What worse is the league going to do to them that Haslam, Farmer and Fate haven’t done?

    Browns fans deserve bettter

  21. Correct me if I m wrong… the NFL has lost control of the franchises. If the commish were a coach he would have been fired by now. Tell me again how he is still in control?

  26. The Browns wouldn’t have been in that position in the first place if they’d capitalized on some of their other opportunities in that game. It’s a hate/love relationship with my Brownies, though.

  27. I thought it was too close to call him offsides. Although the Browns aren’t going to the playoffs this year, every win counts if we don’t want to see coaching turnover yet again.

    That said, I thought that was the best game the Browns played all year. Rivers was awesome (there’s no way he was going to allow his team to lose to the Browns). I felt much better about the Browns after watching Desir and Duke play extremely well.

  30. Browns always seem to be on the wrong side of the flag, every dawg has its day and im still waiting on ours #GoBrowns!

  31. One thing that baffles me. Why do the refs reviewing plays not have the same video angles to look at as we do from our coach? They are different feeds if you didn’t know. In Cinti they show what’s called “Under the Hood” which shows exactly what the red is looking at. While another video screen shows more angles. Last year there were 2 games where calls went for my team that would have been reversed if the ref was watching the hi def jumbotron screen. Anyone else notice that?

  32. Tramon is a real pro who keeps himself in great shape despite his age. Nice to see him earning that big contract.

  33. This policy wouldn’t be necessary if the league hadn’t spent the last few years damaging the fans’ trust.
    I’m not at the point where I’d say “yup, some of the games are fixed” but atrocious officiating, the huge $ that gambling provides (fantasy and otherwise) and a front office that has been proven to manipulate facts and lie to the public creates a perfect storm of doubt in my mind.
    The only way to begin to eliminate that doubt would be to create transparency (for example, allow fans to hear the secret conversations between the referees and Dean Blandino) and to find a new commissioner.

  34. I think Tramon Williams tampered with the time/space continuum. It’s hard to imagine he could have done it alone. Anyone who helped him must have done it at his direction because they never would alter the time/space continuum without him wanting it.

    Well$ -engage

  35. “I just move so much faster than everybody else,” Williams said.
    ________________________
    Where the was that speed in the NFC Championship game when you got burned by Kearse in overtime, Tramon?

  37. cinvis says:
    Oct 8, 2015 8:27 AM

    Offsides and false starts should be reviewable…. they are not ‘judgement calls’
    ____________________________________

    So no judgment is required by an official? Interesting. Actually, these are judgment calls. The officials know the rules and it’s a matter of judgment whether a player moved early. Judgment calls are a different category than misapplying the rules, for which we can all come up with plenty of examples.

    –A retired (not NFL) official–

  39. I had the game on DVR and watched that play several times. I never could see him jump early. He did get in there fast though. Having said that, the ref should be fined for assuming a flag when he couldn’t have seen it. smh

  40. I wondered about this. He certainly didn’t look offside to me.

    This stuff is suspicious. I’m no conspiracy theorist but calls like this always seem to go against teams like the Browns, the Lions, etc. Granted they were playing the Chargers but could anyone even dream of a call like this going against the Steelers or the Seahawks?

  41. Browns deserved to win that game. They were far and away the better team minus the play of their QB.

    I even picked the Browns to win. As a Charger fan I was more mad the Chargers didn’t deservedly lose after charging down the field and essentially playing to the likes of their cowardly coach and try for a field goal rather than a touchdown.

    And as you know THEY MISSED, only to be saved by a bogus call.

    Mike McCoy is a garbage coach, Pettine deserved the win

    -Chargers fan

  42. PCa Survivor says:
    Oct 8, 2015 10:00 AM
    cinvis says:
    Oct 8, 2015 8:27 AM

    Offsides and false starts should be reviewable…. they are not ‘judgement calls’
    ____________________________________

    So no judgment is required by an official? Interesting. Actually, these are judgment calls. The officials know the rules and it’s a matter of judgment whether a player moved early. Judgment calls are a different category than misapplying the rules, for which we can all come up with plenty of examples.

    –A retired (not NFL) official–

    ——————————

    Brother, I don’t care if you’re the retired king of Siam. Offsides and false starts are not judgment calls. Time is an absolute measure and those are timing calls. Where somebody was at the time the ball was snapped is as black/white as it gets. Whether somebody moved before the ball was snapped is as black/white as it gets.

  43. Did anyone else notice that after SD kneeled ball and were waiting to call TO, the long snapper and holder were on the field practicing snaps while the clock was running. Granted, they were no where near the actual line of scrimmage but in my mind that should have been a penalty.

  44. Most fans understand that the Refs are supposed to moderate the game and maintain a sense a flow and “fairness” between the two Teams. Most fans also know that for quite a while now the Refs have been controlling the pace and unduly influencing the outcome of many, many games.

    Be honest, how many times have you seen either a missed call or a blatant bad call which is followed almost immediately by a call against the other Team?? We all see it weekly and have for many years. The way the rules are constantly changed the dynamic has swung to three Teams on the field, the two opponents and the Officials.

    The NFL is big business and the League does what it can to grease the wheels of success for who it needs to be successful.

  45. If the Browns are so great, why weren’t they ahead by 50-60 points at the end of this game?

  49. They need to let the players play. Unless the penalty is blatantly obvious or effects the out come of the play, let it go…

    Example…

    Tailback runs a sweep to the right side of the field, outside the hashmarks. WR on the left side of the field grabs a handful of jersey for a split second and the play is nullified for that? Ridiculous. I can see if they were on the side of the field the play went to or the wr bear hugged up but let them play

  51. billsfan1 says:
    Oct 8, 2015 12:24 PM
    They need to let the players play. Unless the penalty is blatantly obvious or effects the out come of the play, let it go…

    Example…

    Tailback runs a sweep to the right side of the field, outside the hashmarks. WR on the left side of the field grabs a handful of jersey for a split second and the play is nullified for that? Ridiculous. I can see if they were on the side of the field the play went to or the wr bear hugged up but let them play
    ————————–

    I have the biggest problem with this on kick returns. I don’t see a lot of backside holds called on scrimmage plays but it seems like there is one called on every single kick returns. I think you could honestly call a hold or block in the back on every return and would like to see the refs use more discretion in calling return penalties that don’t affect the play.

  52. Scenario One: NFL – We keep our conversations private and you don’t need to know what was said between NFL staff and coaches.

    Scenario Two: You have obviously done something wrong, hand over your cell phone so we can see all your private conversations.

    Yea Goodell, keep smoking that Hookah.

  53. Sure it sucks to have that call go against you but it doesn’t mean Browns win the game if the flag goes away. The game would have went into overtime and each team could have won at that point. Also, nothing he did caused the kick to curve right and miss the uprights . The ball was out and up before he got close

  54. The last four years people ask the same question…”Can you believe how bad the officiating is this year?” Well it’s been very bad four years in a row. Very bad is now considered normal by NFL standards. The fact that they have a hush policy for teams only supports the fact. The fact that they let it continue will only question the integrity of the game and its results.

  55. SHOCKER.

    The Lions and the Browns getting hosed by calls at the end of a game.. who cares though because they are the perennial cellar-dwellers!

    Seriously, this is not right. Your reputation as a winning or losing team does not make it “all good” when yet another officiating error causes a loss. It makes it worse.

  56. Dude what a liar. The NFL said they did not review that play or tell Tramon that he was unfairly penalized. I just watched the play 10 times in a row. He was off sides by almost a half second, it wasn’t even close. He was behind the line of scrimmage when the ball first appears from under the centers legs.

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