Though the season is only five weeks old, we now have three weeks that have seen all-biceps referee Ed
Hochuli blow a call. If a game-deciding call against the San Diego Chargers during week 2 wasn't enough, he later called a helmet-to-helmet penalty on Carolina's Julius Peppers that appeared to be more in the shoulder region. However, Ed continued to ice his
creatine cake with
last night's gaffe against the New Orleans Saints.
Minnesota linebacker Chad Greenway grabbed Reggie Bush's face mask before sliding his other hand around the flashy running back's body to force a fumble. The Vikings were awarded the ball, even though replays clearly showed the infraction - much to the chagrin of the home crowd.Penalties cannot be reviewed in the NFL's replay system.
Now, I have to agree with the fact that penalties cannot be reviewed. The games would last forever, and frankly there are bound to be non-calls. But when the NFL has changed the rules this season to
incorporate larger punishments for
facemask penalties, this is something that cannot be missed. But if that wasn't enough...
Later in the quarter, 2007 NFL Rookie of the Year Adrian Peterson appeared to fumble the ball as he was being tackled, but Hochuli ruled that although the ball was coming loose, Peterson still had it in his possession.
There is no doubt that every move
Hochuli moves is under scrutiny. He's one of the
NFL's most popular officials. However, if he keeps making the wrong calls in these games, one has to wonder what the future holds for the big man. This has been one heck of a season thus far, and we are not even half way through...
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1 comments:
I thought it was a fumble. I don't think the fact that the ball was touching his hand means he had possession. The ball was clearly moving before his knee hit, and I thought the Saints got screwed on that call.
To the point at hand, though, Hochuli has always been one of the best NFL refs, but he's having a bit of a bad year, and on top of that, every single call he makes is in the spotlight now, which has to be an uncomfortable situation. Hopefully he snaps out of it.
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