Despite the Giants win I'm convinced more every year that the refs are instructed before each game which team to favor. Yesterdays Giants/Packers game was one of the worst officiated games I've seen. The non-fumble by the pack which was even reviewed, the 2 yard short spot given to Ware on the third down, the phantom blow to Aaron Rodgers head, the continuous late hits to Manning, and so many missed holding calls on the Packers. I am not a Joe Buck fan, but even he and Aikman were dumbfounded a few times yesterday. How is this not a fumble? ESPECIALLY when you take the time to review it!!
One of the reasons it may have been missed is because the official only has 60 seconds to look under the hood. He may not have seen all of the views you saw on TV. Based on the wording of the official when he announced the decision it was clear that there wasn't enough evidence to overturn the call from what he saw. Having said all that, it was clear it was a fumble. I don’t buy into that the officials are told to favor anyone. Calls are missed all the time but they typically even themselves out in the long run. The only favoring I notice is when a hit occurs on a high profile QB, it seems the refs dump their hanky easier when compared to when a low profile QB is hit.
60 seconds is a ton of time to review a play. With that said, some times they do take a longer look. Its not like there is an alarm that sounds and everything shuts down at 60 seconds. The average reply is 5-7 seconds long. You can see up to 12 replays in 60 seconds. That is plenty of time to get it right if the footage is available. Some time there just isn't good enough footage. They will look at everything available if need be. The whole point of replay is to get the call correct. I don't believe the officials are told to favor a team. I think their calls do get influenced during the game by players and coaches, but not replays. I have no explanation for some of the replay decisions yesterday other than people make mistakes.
The only thing Vito is that I'm not sure the official has a full AV crew sitting outside in a truck getting all the replays set up back to back like you see it on TV. It goes that fast on TV, but I'm not so sure it goes that fast under the hood. But I agree there isn't an alarm at 60 seconds. It got blown. Bottom line.
It is my understanding they see all the same replays, as all the footage is provided by the network broadcasting the game. The only thing they might not see is the zoomed in footage. Many times we see that on TV after the official has made his decision. I could see that making a difference.
I'm a packer backer and I even agree the officiating was terrible and not for only this game. They have stunk it up all season long.
I think they should have to explain themselves as to why they made the call. Would love to here the reasoning behind that fumble. One of the easiest overturns there is.
When they blow calls so badly they should be passed over for playoffs and fined like the players are when they make mistakes.
NYB, here was the leagues definition, and FYI, I have tried to get my calf on the gound without my knee and now I have a pulled hamstring... http://profootballtalk.nbcspor...-replay-ruling/ If the Packers had beaten the Giants by seven points or fewer on Sunday, the NFL offices in Manhattan would have been besieged by calls, emails, pitchforks, and/or torches as to the failure of referee Bill Leavy to overturn a ruling on the field that Packers receiver Greg Jennings had lost possession of the ball in the first quarter before he was down. Even though the Giants won the game by 17 points, Leavy’s indisputable failure to find that indisputable evidence existed to reverse the non-fumble finding has made a major stir. The league has explained the decision. “Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1 of the NFL Rule Book (page 35) states: ‘An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended: (a) when a runner is contacted by a defensive player and touches the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet,’” the league said in a statement emailed to PFT by NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. “So by rule, if Jennings’ calf was on the ground prior to the ball coming loose, he is down by contact. Contrary to what was suggested during the game, there is no need for the runner’s knee to be on the ground.” That’s a not-so-subtle slap at FOX, whose broadcasters (including rules analyst and former NFL V.P. of officiating Mike Pereira) believed that Leavy had committed a pretty big blunder. In the end, Leavy’s decision apparently flowed from uncertainty based on the video as to whether Jennings’ calf was on the ground before he lost possession of the ball. “Rule 15, Section 9 of the Rule Book (page 98) governs instant replay reviews and states: ‘All Replay Reviews will be conducted by the Referee on a field-level monitor after consultation with the other covering official(s), prior to review. A decision will be reversed only when the Referee has indisputable visual evidence available to him that warrants the change,’” the league said in the statement. “Referee Bill Leavy conducted the instant replay video review and determined that there was no indisputable visual evidence to warrant reversing the on-field ruling of down by contact. As a result, the ruling on the field stood.” That’s fine, and we appreciate the explanation. But the video clearly showed the ball coming out before any part of Jennings’ leg was on the ground. Many of you will assume that the league is merely circling the wagons on this one. Even though the NFL has been candid in the past about some officiating mistakes, that assumption seems to be valid this time around.
