During tonight's Saints-Vikings game in New Orleans, Reggie Bush took a handoff and was met near the line of scrimmage by Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway. Greenway grabbed Bush's facemask and pulled, jerking Bush's head toward him, and then knocked the ball out of Bush's arm.The Vikings jumped on the ball, but that shouldn't have mattered. The Vikings would be called for facemasking, the Saints would accept the penalty, and they'd have the ball, first-and-10. Right?
Wrong. The officials missed the facemasking. How they missed it I have no idea: This was a blatant facemask, the kind of clip you'd show to someone who didn't know anything about football if you wanted to explain what facemasking was. There is absolutely no excuse for the officials not calling it.
But they didn't call it, and the fact that the crew that missed the call is led by referee Ed Hochuli is going to be another black mark on Hochuli's record. Heading into this season, Hochuli was probably the most highly respected referee in the NFL. But between his horrendous call on Jay Cutler's Week 2 fumble and tonight's blown call by Hochuli's crew, that reputation is gone.
Of course, the real culprit in all of this is the NFL, which continues to have absolutely idiotic rules when it comes to instant replay. If you're going to have instant replay at all, why isn't facemasking reviewable?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
10-06-2008 @ 10:31PM
Ronny said...
Wow this guy blew a call against Carolina last week and the NFL fined Peppers for no reason. Now he blow another one. The commissioner need to get his head out his you know what... ...
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10-06-2008 @ 10:57PM
mike said...
Don't blame the referee--His job is watching and protecting the QB until play ends. The umpire or wing official has to make the call. That's a crew error, not a referee's error. Too often we hear the referee cited for a mistake because he is the "messenger" when one of his crew screw up. He has to live with the call or non call.
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10-07-2008 @ 8:16AM
Ron said...
Have to agree with you . I have been a saints fan for a long time and they just dont know how to win. what the heck is wrong with them . They bust their behinds get a good lead then they get stupid a lose. what a disapointment they are to their fans
10-06-2008 @ 11:30PM
mrhammerstein said...
he really blew the fumble by peterson. he clearly had lost control of the ball whether his fingers were still touching the ball or not. so i guess the rule is that as long as you're touching a part of the ball and your knee is down, there can't be a fumble.
ridiculous. saints suck.
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10-07-2008 @ 5:58PM
alex guerriero said...
clearly lost control of the ball? it was still in his hand when his knee hit the ground, and they went to replay and made the correct call.
10-06-2008 @ 11:41PM
Vikesgrl said...
I am so sick of these commentators talking so bad about the Vikes. Re-watch the game and it shows they are voicing who they want to win 100%. I think they should talk football and leave their personal view at home. At half time they say "they were given a gift." "The head line tommorow will be WHAT?" I had to mute these jerks. VIKES 4-EVER!
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10-07-2008 @ 10:11AM
Tom said...
You have to admit the officials missed a number of calls, and most of them went against the Saints. Look at the Reggie Bush "fumble" this author is talking about. It wasn't a fumble at all... it was a blatant face mask by the Vikings' defender. You think that doesn't affect the outcome of the game?
10-08-2008 @ 4:07PM
firemen said...
Take the good with the bad.
10-06-2008 @ 11:41PM
renoymichelle said...
don't worry! He'll fix it in the second half by giving the Saints a call.
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10-06-2008 @ 11:43PM
Vikesgrl said...
Your crazy!!! That ball was grasped until his knee hit, then the ball hit his leg and came out. Whatever.
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10-07-2008 @ 5:21PM
beverly said...
these refs are jerks, everybody knows they can be bought. bsw
10-06-2008 @ 11:54PM
reno said...
Not to worry Hochulli will even it out in the second half, just like in the commercial
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10-07-2008 @ 11:29AM
David said...
Even though it was not necessarily Ed Hochuli's job to make the call on the facemask, it was his officiating crew that blew the call. Then at the end of the game when Drew Brees threw the Hail Mary pass, there should have been a pass interference call against Tyrell Johnson and the ball should have been placed on the 19 yard line where the penalty occurred, thus setting up Martin Grammatica for a 29 yard field goal attempt. (Granted, Grammatica was shaky at best on the night, but he should have at least had the opportunity to tie the game at the end.)
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10-07-2008 @ 12:19AM
BRP said...
Mr. Smith:
You blew this one, sir. It was a blatant facemask, yes, but another official closer to the play should have made that call. That was not Hochuli's call to make. Now you're just piling it on unfairly.
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10-07-2008 @ 12:50AM
A.J. said...
I guess being a crew chief in a ref squad is about the same thing as being a QB out there on the field. When you make one mistake, from then on in, everything is your fault - even if it isn't necessarily YOUR fault. I would have frowned on Hochuli making the call in this case, just because Hochuli was so far away from the play. If the guy near the play didn't do his job, that's not Hochuli's fault. But since Ed's name is already out there in terms of controversy...
10-07-2008 @ 2:22AM
Jack said...
True, Hochuli was not closest to the play, but he still made that mistake on the Peterson fumble...the guy should just retire!
10-07-2008 @ 7:28AM
Tommy said...
Apparently every single time there is a close call in a game officiated by Ed Hochuli, people are going to whine about it and try to get him fired.
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10-07-2008 @ 6:22AM
Marshall Selph said...
What a real sad story, if the saints and fan play ball as they should then theses mistakes would not turn into blames or excuses. Until that call by referee Ed Hochuli a few days this would not be a problem at all with him or his crew but now everything is fair game against he and his crew. Why blame Ed if one of his member missed the call,why not blame the official that was closest to the play? Believe me, he's still one of the BEST officials in the game,barring NONE so get over and lets enjoy football.......saints got their butts kicked and thats all there is to it.
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10-08-2008 @ 4:05PM
firemen said...
What game you were watching ?
10-09-2008 @ 11:13PM
Vikesgrl said...
AMEN BROTHER VIKES ROCK... NO ONE WANTED IT BUT I SAY H** YEAH!