Referees are people too

(Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

Has there ever been a better time to address issues of football refereeing? Since the “non-call” in the Saints vs. Rams game, there has been as much ink used to discuss officiating as there has been discussing the game itself.

The NFL currently does not allow coaches to challenge PI (pass interference) neither calls made nor non-calls. As written in his Jan. 21 article on CFC, Ryan McCabe correctly points out; that it is very likely the NFL will be forced to go to some variation of the CFL rule allowing PI calls to be challenged.

It is not my goal to downplay the likelihood that the Saints would have won the game, had the PI call been made. Games should be decided by the players, and the Saints deserved a better fate.

This is rather my attempt to explain how difficult it is to make the right call all the time, mistakes are inevitable. Even the great Tom Brady made a huge mistake when he threw an intercepted pass at the worst possible time; during the Pats last-minute drive to tie the game, during the 4th quarter. Yup without a referee’s call, Tom and the Patriots would have been eliminated by the Chiefs. More on that call later.