Ref gets bad grade for gaffe in Chargers game
Published 11:25 pm Monday, September 15, 2008
NEW YORK — Ed Hochuli’s acknowledgement that he erred on a call late in Sunday’s San Diego-Denver game will mean lower grades for one of the NFL’s highest profile referees.
“Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. “Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official’s grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained.”
The play occurred with the Broncos at the Chargers 1-yard-line in the final minute. Denver quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back to pass, the ball slipped out of his hands, bounced off the grass and into the arms of San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins.
Hochuli ruled it an incomplete pass. Replay ruled it a fumble, but it was spotted at the 10-yard line, where the ball hit the ground, and given to Denver because the rules did not permit possession to be awarded to San Diego because the whistle had blown.
Denver went on to score, convert a 2-point conversion and win 39-38.
The play also is likely to be reviewed in the offseason by the league’s competition committee, which normally reviews all controversial plays.
“It’s going to require a great deal of discussion,” said Titans coach Jeff Fisher, the cochairman of the competition committee. “It’s happened at times. It happened in a game against us at Indianapolis years ago. … When the whistle blows and the pass is ruled incomplete, there’s just no way currently that you can award possession.”
For example, until March 2007, down by contact plays were not reviewable. That rule was changed so that they were reviewable, and if a fumble occurred even after the whistle blew, the team recovering it got possession
San Diego coach Norv Turner said he spoke with NFL officials Monday and that the Chargers sent in video of the plays in question.
“As for things that occurred during the game, in my mind, they’re done,” Turner said. “We sent the plays in to the league that we had in question. We expect to get a response back. Anything that we talk about or anything that is discussed in terms of any of the rules or any of the calls isn’t going to change the outcome of that game. That game is going to be 39-38, forever.”
Notes
TEXANS: Houston will resume practicing today with uncertainty about their future after Hurricane Ike seriously damaged Reliant Stadium. Aerial photos of the stadium’s retractable roof showed five pieces missing, with four of them concentrated on one end of the stadium, and officials said large pieces of debris had fallen into the stadium. The Texans’ indoor practice facility, or “bubble,” located across the street from the stadium, was deflated during the storm and wasn’t damaged. Houston also has two outdoor practice fields next to the bubble that are operational.
FALCONS: Safety Lawyer Milloy was arrested on DUI and speeding charges in suburban Atlanta, just hours after Atlanta lost to Tampa Bay. Gwinnett County police charged the 34-year-old former University of Washington player with driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding. Milloy, who lives in nearby Buford, was booked into the suburban Atlanta jail at 4:35 a.m. and posted a bond of more than $1,600 about five hours later.
PANTHERS: Steve Smith is back with Carolina, just in time to join a team full of confidence after a surprising 2-0 start. The receiver’s two-game suspension for breaking teammate Ken Lucas’ nose in a training camp fight ended Monday morning. He was seen leaving Bank of America Stadium around noon carrying two cardboard boxes and joking with defensive tackle Damione Lewis.
REDSKINS: Tight end Chris Cooley apologized for posting an explicit photo of himself on his Web site. Cooley accidentally revealed more of himself than he wanted when he took a picture Sunday morning while preparing for the game against the New Orleans Saints. Cooley wanted to show the readers of his popular blog some of the study materials the players were given by coach Jim Zorn. Cooley, however, was studying in the nude, and he didn’t examine his photo closely before posting it.
BROWNS: Defensive end Robaire Smith sustained a potentially season-ending injury to his left Achilles during Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland coach Romeo Crennel didn’t provide specifics of Smith’s injury, but indicated the 6-foot-4, 310-pounder would be sidelined for an extended period.
CHARGERS: Linebacker Shawne Merriman had surgery to repair two torn ligaments in his left knee. The surgery, performed by Dr. John Uribe in the Miami area, repaired Merriman’s posterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments. Merriman will miss the rest of the season. Also Monday, Merriman was fined $7,500 for unnecessarily striking Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme below the knees.
