Sorting the Sunday Pile, Week 11: Second-Rate Officiating Now Affecting Vegas

Sorting the Sunday Pile looks back at the NFL weekend that was. It's also an unofficial Mittens blog.

We witnessed history Sunday afternoon. Jeff Reed's last-second field goal to give the Steelers an 11-10 win over the Chargers was the first time in the universe's existence -- something like 12 million games -- that the final score of an NFL get-together has ended 11-10. Except for the part about the final score being 11-10.

As you've probably seen by now, San Diego had time to run one offensive play after Pittsburgh took the one-point lead. With the ball deep in their territory and only five seconds on the clock, the Chargers dusted off the ol' "lateral and hope." LaDainian Tomlinson caught a short pass from Philip Rivers, tried to lateral it to Chris Chambers -- as it turned out, it was an illegal forward pass -- who then attempted to lateral it to either Marcus McNeill or Rivers. I couldn't tell because Troy Polamalu came out of nowhere, knocked the ball down before scooping it up and rumbling into the end zone as time expired.

That makes the final 17-10, right? Well, according to the rules, yes. But according to Scott Green, the referee, no, no it doesn't.

First, the ruling, as explained by NBC's Cris Collinsworth during halftime of last night's Cowboys-Redskins game:

"The first of those dipsy-doodle things was ruled an illegal forward pass that should not have ended this play. So this should've been a Pittsburgh Steelers touchdown. But despite the fact that point differential is the seventh tiebreaker, this score will not be changed."

To clarify: "dipsy-doodle things" is the technical term for "lateral," and "the fact that point differential is the seventh tiebreaker, this score will not be changed," is another way of saying, in your Norv Turner voice, "ha ha, degenerate gamblers, now YOU know what it feels like to get screwed by the officiating."

And then there's this choice nugget, which is sure to make Mike Pereira, head of NFL officials, very happy: "After the game, referee Scott Green said the officials realized afterward the touchdown should have counted, though it wouldn't have affected the result."

By the way, did I mention that the spread was Steelers -4.5?

Gambling issues aside (and I can say that because I didn't have anything on this game -- apparently, I was the only one), I'm just curious: when does the league step in to overturn blatant missed calls that take points off the board? The sixth tiebreaker? How about the fifth? Or maybe the fourth? It's an idiotic notion, really. Because the there's virtually no chance the Steelers' season will come down to point differential, the NFL, at least to hear Collinsworth tell it, are happily willing to pretend like nothing happened?

Look, I'm not naive enough to believe that this doesn't has everything to do with the spread and absolutely nothing to do with any tie-breaking scenarios. But the bigger issue -- other than Polamalu might be getting screwed out of end-of-year contract bonuses tied to fumble recoveries and touchdowns -- is that Green doesn't know the freaking rules. I mean, it's not like he missed a holding call, or signaled roughing the passer when he meant intentional grounding. Green didn't know that an illegal forward pass doesn't end a play. That's embarrassing as hell.

On the upside, Green won't likely be punished for his incompetence, but there's a great chance Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel will get fined for sacking Philip Rivers "with malice in his heart" or whatever Ray Anderson and his henchmen are calling it this week. Solid.

And I eagerly look forward to Rich Eisen not asking Pereira about all this during Wednesday's "Official Review" segment on "Total Access." Should be not fun.

The Ravens Still Haven't Beaten Anybody

Last April, when the Ravens drafted Joe Flacco with the 18th-overall pick, the plan was to have him spend his rookie season on the sidelines. Baltimore's previous franchise quarterback, 2003 first-rounder Kyle Boller, was to battle Troy Smith for the starting gig.

Didn't work out quite as planned; Boller ended up on injured reserve with a bum shoulder and Smith contracted a virus that knocked him out of commission long enough for head coach John Harbaugh to anoint-by-default Flacco the Ravens quarterback.

This story might sound familiar because it was the one i was telling in Week 5, when Flacco was playing less like a fresh-faced, wide-eyed kid from Delaware and more like what I imagine Brian Billick envisioned the Ravens Next Great Quarterback might look like. Ironically, Billick's not around to ruin Flacco.

Yesterday against the Giants, the rookie was fine; he completed enough passes for Baltimore to keep it close, and even rushed for 57 yards. Unfortunately, the Ravens' defense, which is annually among the best in the league, got manhandled. And it started early.

On Brandon Jacobs' very first carry of the afternoon he ripped off a 33-yard gain, and by the time the first quarter had ended he had gone for 70 yards. The Ravens, on average, give up 65 rushing yards a game. But it wasn't just 6-4, 264-pound feature backs that gave Baltimore fits, it was also 5-11, 228-pound, change-of-pace back Derrick Ward and occasional third-down-back Ahmad Bradshaw -- all 5-8, 198 of him -- who ran roughshod over a suddenly aged-looking Ravens bunch. For the day, the Giants racked up 207 rushing yards, which prompted defensive end Trevor Pryce to offer this frank assessment:

"It was a thumping. It's the biggest thumping I've been a part of for a long time ... Even the Indianapolis game didn't feel like this one."

Where do the Ravens go from here? According to the schedule they'll host the Eagles. More generally, though, Sunday's browbeating served as a sobering reminder: Baltimore is obviously much improved from a year ago and Harbaugh deserves some credit for the quick turnaround. But the media going into full-on hype mode after the 6-3 start might've been a tad premature.

For starters, the Ravens had a ridiculously easy first half schedule beating the Bengals, Browns (twice), Dolphins, Raiders and Texans, and losing to the Steelers, Titans and Colts before running into the Giants. And there are still three NFC East teams left to play, not to mention a rematch with Pittsburgh.

This isn't to take away from what Baltimore has accomplished through 11 weeks, just to point out that while records are swell, who you beat to amass said record is sort of important, too. And through two and a half months, the Ravens haven't beaten anybody.

Tony Romo's Nine Fingers > Brad Johnson's Ten


Remember three weeks ago, when the Redskins were 6-2 and Ron Jaworski announced that his midseason MVP was Jason Campbell? Washington has dropped two straight, Campbell has looked pedestrian in both losses, and I'm guessing Jaws would prefer we never speak of this again.

Part of the problem is that the Skins' offensive line can't pass block. Or, more specifically, they can't pass block for more than 1.3 seconds. That, together with Campbell's sometimes suspect decision making and head coach Jim Zorn's inability to find a rhythm as a play-caller adds up to a lot of ugly offense. Clinton Portis, a legitimate MVP candidate, at less than 100 percent doesn't help, obviously, but we're at the point in the season when every team is missing at least one key player.

Six wins against four losses is the black-and-white proof that, as Bill Parcells likes to say, you are what your record says you are. But perspective is a funny thing; the Cowboys are also 6-4 and they couldn't be happier. Much of that has to do with putting Brad Johnson back in moth balls, getting Tony Romo on the field and finding some semblance of an offense.

After the Giants, who now lead the NFC East by three games, the division is wide open. (Well, except for the Eagles; they're done.) Which is to say that the Redskins and Cowboys are still in the wild-card conversation, although both teams will have to play mostly mistake-free football for the next six weeks.

By the way, does Wade Phillips strike anybody else as someone who should be sitting on a porch swing cracking pecans for his grand kids instead of pretend coaching a tackle football game? Just me? Okey doke, then...

Muffed Punts
Leftovers from Sunday's action...

... Jack Del Rio is definitely blaming the Jaguars' most recent loss on Mike Peterson. And I love the irony of the officials penalizing Titans wideout Brandon Jones for his "cuffed and stuffed" touchdown celebration. Fitting.

... The Vikings Jared Allen was fined $50,000 for repeatedly trying to maim Matt Schaub a few weeks ago. Yesterday, Allen's teammate, Ray Edwards, leveled Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia approximately two minutes after the play was over. Given the NFL's tough but arbitrary stance against such behavior, I fully expect Edwards to be executed in the town center ... or the league to do nothing. Definitely one or the other.

... Um, Rod, when somebody asks you if you've failed, I'm pretty sure it's rhetorical.

.... So much for Chad Javon Ocho Cinco's prediction that the Bengals would win eight games this season. But, hey, at least they didn't lose Sunday, either. Of course, the only thing more improbable than Mr. Ocho Cinco's visions of an 8-0 finish is that Donovan McNabb thought "tie games" were like unicorns and sea monkeys. Nope, Donovan, they actually exist.

... Clearly, the slogans worked for Mike Singletary and the 49ers. As for the Rams, consider this: they've been outscored 75-3 in the first halves combined of their last two games. As Herrera notes: "I don't think 'atrocious' accurately describes that."

.... The Raiders haven't scored an offensive touchdown in 13 quarters. It's a good thing Tom Cable's now calling the plays.

Post-Game Debaclings
Quotes that Emmitt Smith might like...

"Am I embarrassed? Definitely."
- linebacker Terrell Suggs, after Ravens defense allowed 207 rushing yards against the Giants

"You can't have an offense that doesn't score points."
- Raiders running back Justin Fargas after his offense didn't score a point for the 13th consecutive quarter

"Have we failed? Yes. Have I failed? Yes. Am I going to give up? No way. Am I discouraged? No way. I'm not."
- Lions head coach Rod Marinelli making his "have I failed" speech for the 11th week in a row.

"I didn't know that ... I've never been part of a tie. I never even knew it was in the rule book. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately with the rules, we settled with a tie."
- Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, learning something new