Bad Ref Calls

I know everyone know about that horrible "tuck rule" crap that the skins got F-ed on, but did anyone see that fair catch crap last night on MNF? The Chargers kick returner tried to fair catch the ball it bounced off of him and straight in the air into the arms of the Steelers player. How is that not a fumble?

I know everyone know about that horrible "tuck rule" crap that the skins got F-ed on, but did anyone see that fair catch crap last night on MNF? The Chargers kick returner tried to fair catch the ball it bounced off of him and straight in the air into the arms of the Steelers player. How is that not a fumble?

Couldn't agree more, and also there was a play during MNF where the 'Tuck' rule would of applied, but I don't even think it was reviewed at all. Roethlisburger went to throw and as his arm went forward (granted this is what it looked like to me thousands of miles away) the ball came loose. I really don't care about the outcome of the game, but how in the world does this call not get reviewd by Marty Shotty? I don't understand. I just wish the refs would at least be consistent. If its one specific way thats fine, but then it should always be ruled that way, not refs choice. Now lets quit yappin about our loss, and pregame for KC....

Stacks42:

That was not a "bad ref call". In fact, it was a "perfect ref call". That is what the NFL Rulebook says about the act of fielding a punt and what needs to be done with respect to the player trying to do that.

Whenever you hear the ref on the microphone say the phrase "By rule..." that means they have a call and that is what the rule book says has to happen even though they realize that all the folks in the stadium and most of the folks at home think something else should happen.

The refs got it right. The problem is that you think the NFL Rulebook needs to be changed when it comes to fielding a punt.

Here's how you can contact the NFL Rules Committee to set them straight:


NFL Rules Committee
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10019.


Of course, you'll need to study the existing book pretty carefully to make sure that whatever new rule you propose does not conflict with some other rule in the book - - unless you want to suggest changes to all of them too.

I know everyone know about that horrible "tuck rule" crap that the skins got F-ed on, but did anyone see that fair catch crap last night on MNF? The Chargers kick returner tried to fair catch the ball it bounced off of him and straight in the air into the arms of the Steelers player. How is that not a fumble?

I missed that game. What happened, did the Steelers not give enough room for the punt returner?

Regarding the tuck rule crap in the skins game. If that was the correct call on that play, it is a BS rule. It should go!

When is a fumble not a fumble? When it is a QB and another rule created to help QB's and more offense.

stupid rule right call, dumbass refs needed a replay and some talking to to get it right. That is one incompetent group, that was horrible officiating, while i think we got the harsher end of it i still think it was going both ways, those refs should be fired, i don't know if the rain played a factor

The "Fair Catch" rule allows for the player making the call to have an unmolested opportunity to make the catch. Despite bobbles and muffs (two dirtier sounding football terms there may not be), the opportunity still exists to catch the ball until it hits the ground. At that point, the ball would have been live.

At the speed the Pittsburgh player was going, does anyone doubt that he would have been call for a personal foul had the catch been made clearly? In fact, was there a call of "Fair Catch Interference" on the play? The kicking team was guilty of that.

When you watch film from the Washington game, you can see clearly that Plummer was NOT trying to pass the ball, rather trying to put it away to avoid the hit. BY RULE that is NOT a tuck rule call. It was a fumble. Plummer knew it. Shanahan knew it. The entire Denver offense knew it and they were walking away knowing that they'd given up two points. The officials simply blew that call. They blew it.

Since as long as I've been a Redskins fan we have always gotten the shaft when it comes to piss poor officiating. What can you do when you are playing your opponent and the biased zepras? Simple, just dominate your opponent and leave no doubt about the outcome. But in todays NFL, with all of the team pairity and all, that is highly unlikely.

Since as long as I've been a Redskins fan we have always gotten the shaft when it comes to piss poor officiating. What can you do when you are playing your opponent and the biased zepras? Simple, just dominate your opponent and leave no doubt about the outcome. But in todays NFL, with all of the team pairity and all, that is highly unlikely.

You're so right about that. Parity has changed the game. Dominating teams is just not a normal situation anymore. And if a dominant team is built, it can't last more than a few years before it is dismantled and the parts sent to other teams. That is why it is so much more important that the officials get this right.

I heard an interesting discussion last week that gives some insight into poor officiating calls. The NFL has decided this year to send the same crews around the league together every week. This means that while the crews are more likely to work tightly together, they are also much less likely to overturn a bad call on the field. When the field official blows it, the booth official knows that he is going to be hanging out with these guys all season and so he upholds the bad call. With such parity in the league, one failed call can mean a game (e.g. Washington-Denver).