Zebras stood out Monday night
Not that it would have changed the outcome, but I watched a tape of Monday's game, and I was surprised by the number of questionable calls by the officials, led by referee Larry Nemmers.
The ones that stood out:
* How could they rule that TE Jermaine Wiggins did not catch that first-down pass from Brad Johnson? Brad Childress even gave Nemmers and his crew a chance to make things right. But they upheld the decision. Wiggins clearly took at least two steps before having the ball jarred out of his hands and out of bounds.
The Vikings went for it on fourth down, and they had a pass tipped. The score was 24-7 at the time.
* After a 27-yard catch later in the third, Patriots RB Corey Dillon heaves the ball across the field, toward the Vikings' sideline. Didn't look like very sportsmanlike conduct to me.
* After that, on second and 10, Vikings safety Darren Sharper appeared to touch Patriots TE Ben Watson. That the pass pass sailed way out of bounds doesn't matter on an illegal contact penalty. But that looked like a marginal call, as well.
The two penalties I am on the fence about:
* In the second quarter, Vikings WR Travis Taylor was called for offensive pass interference, after his eight-yard catch for a third down. He appeared to bump the defender, but I'm not sure that it was pass interference. The Vikings had a third-and-13 instead of a first down, and they ended up punting.
* I also could not really tell whether the refs missed the holding/ pass interference on running back Mewelde Moore on Johnson's key first-quarter interception near the goal line. Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi appeared to run into Moore, but he was not flagged.
What do you think? Did the refs call a good game?
The ones that stood out:
* How could they rule that TE Jermaine Wiggins did not catch that first-down pass from Brad Johnson? Brad Childress even gave Nemmers and his crew a chance to make things right. But they upheld the decision. Wiggins clearly took at least two steps before having the ball jarred out of his hands and out of bounds.
The Vikings went for it on fourth down, and they had a pass tipped. The score was 24-7 at the time.
* After a 27-yard catch later in the third, Patriots RB Corey Dillon heaves the ball across the field, toward the Vikings' sideline. Didn't look like very sportsmanlike conduct to me.
* After that, on second and 10, Vikings safety Darren Sharper appeared to touch Patriots TE Ben Watson. That the pass pass sailed way out of bounds doesn't matter on an illegal contact penalty. But that looked like a marginal call, as well.
The two penalties I am on the fence about:
* In the second quarter, Vikings WR Travis Taylor was called for offensive pass interference, after his eight-yard catch for a third down. He appeared to bump the defender, but I'm not sure that it was pass interference. The Vikings had a third-and-13 instead of a first down, and they ended up punting.
* I also could not really tell whether the refs missed the holding/ pass interference on running back Mewelde Moore on Johnson's key first-quarter interception near the goal line. Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi appeared to run into Moore, but he was not flagged.
What do you think? Did the refs call a good game?
posted by Unknown at 11:23 AM
5 Comments:
LOL. I had to make sure it was as bad as I thought. One player said wins are never as good as they look and losses are never as bad. But that loss was pretty bad -- twice.
Sorry you had to endure that live... and pay for it.
I can't understand how they screwed up the Wiggins catch, unless there was some kind of technical glitch with the replay monitor. I would like to see an explanation from Mike Pereira on that one. With so many questionable calls/non-calls, it would be interesting to see how this particular officiating crew grades out. I'd give them a 'D'.
Go Pats, thanks for the candid take. The Vikings were on the wrong end of some bad calls. But I still they would have lost. Maybe it would have been 31-17. Maybe 20.
I got my answer...Mike Pereira was on the NFL Network last night. He thought the Wiggins call was correct from the beginning--something about the nebulous 'football move'. He also said if there is any question, the refs should make the call "incomplete". It sounded like political spin.
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