Before the NFL’s Bizarro Stanford band play, the Raiders tied the game against the Patriots with a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Carr to receiver Keelan Cole. Replay evidence seemed to suggest that Cole’s second foot landed on the white stripe along the edge of the end zone. The NFL’s replay-review protocol found otherwise.
After the game, NFL senior V.P. of officiating Walt Anderson spoke with pool reporter Mike Reiss, of ESPN.com. The bottom line was that Anderson didn’t see enough visual evidence to overturn the ruling on the field.
Asked Reiss, “How did you determine that was a touchdown catch by Keelan Cole in the fourth quarter?”
Said Anderson, “The ruling on the field was a touchdown.”
“In replay review, it appeared the receiver’s left foot was on the white,” Reiss added. “Was that not visible in replay?”
“We looked at every available angle and it was not clear and obvious that the foot was on the white,” Anderson said. “It was very tight, very close. There was no shot that we could see -- we even enhanced and blew up the views that we had. There was nothing that was clear and obvious that his foot was touching the white.”
“Did you have a down the sideline angle to aid you in your review?”
“No, we did not,” Anderson said. “Probably the best view was what we term a ‘high end zone’ view. TV gave us the most enhanced view that they had as well. We blew it up and I believe TV blew it up and there was nothing that was clear and obvious either way. Had the ruling on the field been incomplete, we would not have been able to change that either.”
That’s one of the basic realities of replay review. When the very high bar is properly honored (and sometimes it isn’t), some plays will be upheld, whatever the ruling on the field. There just isn’t enough to provide sufficient clarity, either way.
And that’s a practical consequence of the Patriots-Raiders game being flexed out of primetime. NBC would have had more cameras than a low-level regional FOX game. Including pylon cameras.
Regardless, the available angle looked pretty clear to me. As does the photo attached to this article.
Do you agree? Chime in below.