This is rich. I'm not one to bellyache about the officiating -- no matter the sport, it's usually pretty atrocious -- but I found this comment from referee Pete Morelli particularly Bears defensive lineman Alex Brown sacked [Jon] Kitna in the first quarter of the Lions' 16-7 victory Sunday at Soldier Field. Replays showed Brown grabbed Kitna's mask.Awesome. "I can't see everything." Well, that explains this, I suppose. Morelli's only human, only has two eyes, can't be two places at once, and so on and so forth.
Grabbing the face mask is a penalty, even if it's accidental. Kitna complained immediately about the play to referee Peter Morelli. One of the referee's primary jobs is to watch the quarterback.
" 'I can't see everything' -- that's what he said," Kitna said Monday.
The bigger issues, for Kitna anyway, is that he feels he's taking a lot of illegal hits that are going uncalled. Part of me finds that shocking since officials are throwing flags at even the hint of any impropriety (Morelli and his two eyeballs notwithstanding, of course).
But then I remembered that the Lions' offensive coordinator is Mike Martz. You know, the guy who isn't afraid to put his quarterback in harm's way at the expense of a big play.
My advice to Kitna: pray about it. God likes him ... how else do you explain this.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-30-2007 @ 7:04PM
Bish Wheeler said...
Farcical? You find it farcical (is there such a word) do you, well until you have stood in the offensive backfield of a football game when all hell is breaking loose, where bodies are flying about and sight lines get broken, you can't begin to understand that "I can't see everything" is an honest retort. I did it for 30 years, working high school and college, (even worked 5 or 6 of Kitna's college games) so trust me when I say, these NFL guys are good, really, REALLY good. Try to remember that a good official will only call what he sees, not what he thinks may have happened!
Reply