Apparently zebras, like cats, have more than a few lives, because I tried to put the Zebra Report to bed last week, and now things just keep popping up. This is, however, no traditional report. I've merely gotten a few emails that I wanted to answer on the public forum. Robin writes:
Matt,
Thanks for writing the Zebra Report -- good stuff, looking forward to it next season.
In our north side bar, after we all reached the consensus that the spot itself couldn't be challenged, someone said that Lovie should challenge the catch itself -- it actually was really close to the ground -- and accept that he'd lose the challenge, but expecting that as part of the review they would respot the ball at the actual spot of the tackle. Wouldn't the referee be expected to respot the ball, after seeing the replay, even if that wasn't the issue that was challenged?
True, I didn't have to include the first part, but a little ego-stroking doesn't hurt your chances to make the mailbag cut. Thanks, Robin.
On the challenge, I actually think that's a brilliant idea. The officials can look at everything when under the hood, and if he noticed the spot was a good 2 yards away he might decide to change it. Do I think they would have changed it in this instance? No. I don't think they would have bothered to look that hard at the spot. I don't have a real reason for this, just a gut instinct that he would have seen it was definitely a catch and headed back to the field immediately. I could easily be wrong.
Still, with the Bears playoff hopes resting the balance, it would have been nice to see someone on Lovie Smith's staff with the creative thinking such as Robin and my other fellow Bears fans hanging in a north side watering hole.
Adam writes:
Do you think that there needs to be a rule about people who continue to pile onto a loose ball. Why not have a rule that after the whistle blows (a few times like it does usually) for play stoppage, flags should fly for others who jump on. Delay of game?
Well, technically, there already is a rule. Piling on or a late hit of any kind can be ruled a personal foul or even an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It's all up to the discretion of the officials. I can tell you that, while it's very annoying, diving on top of the pile after a fumble doesn't really constitute and advantage gained or injury risk. It constitutes more of what we'd call a "talk to." I'd just go up to the guy and say, "next time there's a pile like that, don't dive on top of it." Generally, this is where I'd crack a joke of some type to loosen the kid up -- again, I work high school -- but many older officials would murder me for having the audacity to try and have fun out there with the kids.
It's very possible to see a penalty in this situation, especially if the whistles have been blown a number of times and for a good, say, 10 seconds. Mostly, though, in this situation, the officials are just trying to get down through the players and decide possession as quickly as possible.
Simply put, they have better things to do, as long as no one is doing anything outrageous -- such as a snow angel.
This one is a bit older, but I had passed over it and wanted to give Ryan his due:
At the end of the first quarter of the Texas Tech - Texas game, one play before the Texas Tech touchdown, there was a facemask call against Texas. By the replay, it appears that the Texas player's hand clipped the helmet of the Tech player, pushing the Tech player's head to the side. An official behind the play threw a flag in, resulting in a personal foul call against UT. As I recall, this was incorrect because that official cannot see whether the hand hit the facemask or not.
I thought I'd submit it both for Matt to feel personally vindicated for teaching someone about officiating and to see if, in fact, I am applying that rule correctly.
As a side note, I love the Zebra Report. Please keep it up. Thanks.
Note the flattery. It's nice.
Well, I never saw the play, so I won't attempt to make a judgment. I am glad to see the discussion on why Ed Hochuli could not have seen the infamous Monday night Reggie Bush facemask/non-facemask call sunk in, though.
I would ask, though, did the player grab any helmet opening? If someone grabs an ear-hole, any opening on front of the helmet -- such as the top part around the forehead -- or the grabs a hold of the back of the helmet by the neck area, it is a facemask call. Most people don't know this rule, and I have encountered it first-hand.
For example, I called a facemask in the sectional championship this year and the coach was going ballistic, saying his player didn't grab the facemask. Instead, he explained to me, his player grabbed the side opening of the helmet. Needless to say, that was a pretty easy explanation. Just check the rulebook, coach.
(By the way, he was wrong anyway -- the kid definitely did grab the actual facemask. But why argue when you have an easy out?)
That's all we've got for now.
You may continue to submit questions to the NFL mailbag, just please put "Zebra Report" in the subject line.
