Chiefs should have gotten another chance to boot Steelers into playoffs

[Shoe]

4. I think I would not like to be Dean Blandino when he goes into his meeting with senior staff, including Roger Goodell, today at the league office in New York. Too many mistakes, easily spotted mistakes, keep happening in the league. How on earth can you be an umpire or side judge staring at the defensive line and see seven players on one side of the center—clearly in violation of a league rule that says six is the most players on the line of scrimmage on either side of the center before a field goal or PAT—and not throw a flag? The league owes the Steelers and the people of Pittsburgh a mea culpa. And I’m beginning to think the offending officials on such obvious plays like that should have to sit a game. It’s just too important a situation for the only consequences during the season to be an offending official not making the playoffs. Coaches bench players if they don’t perform. Blandino should be able to bench officials if they don’t perform.


[URL]http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/30/aaron-rodgers-rob-chudzinski-monday-morning-quarterback/?eref=sihp[/URL]

Goodell should return our draft pick over this.

That is true. The league chose to come down hard on Tomlin. Accountability must rule in this case too, as (in both cases) the blunder was very costly in the game. I'm no "We get jobbed all the time" kind of Steeler fan, but this would be bogus, to not see some heads roll in a figurative sense.

[NorthCoast]

Maybe they need to starting fining refs for blown calls. That should get their attention.

[buckeyehoppy]

As long as the league keeps insisting upon hiring "weekend warriors" to do the jobs that full-time employees should be doing, you will keep getting the results you keep seeing from NFL referees.

This blown call cost every member of the Pittsburgh Steelers roster a playoff bonus check. EVERY... SINGLE... PLAYER... ON... THE... ROSTER! That should be enough of a blunder that it should get notice.

In the meantime, why doesn't this dumb f*ck commissioner the NFL has finally admit the problem he has and do what every other major professional sports league already does: hire their game officials full time!? It's finally time to start this conversation. If Roger Goodell doesn't think so, he's stupider than even I was giving him credit for.

[RuthlessBurgher]

You can't have more than 6 guys on one side of the snapper, but there is clearly EIGHT guys on one side. That means that there were only THREE guys on the other side of the snapper. How multiple officials can miss that degree of unbalance is mind-boggling. It wasn't as if it was missing some bang-bang judgement call like pass interference. The refs had plenty of time pre-snap to count heads on a game-deciding play, and couldn't even manage that. Andy Reid should be been running after the ref and stuffing a Polaroid in his pocket like Cowher once upon a time.

[Shoe]

You can't have more than 6 guys on one side of the snapper, but there is clearly EIGHT guys on one side. That means that there were only THREE guys on the other side of the snapper. How multiple officials can miss that degree of unbalance is mind-boggling. It wasn't as if it was missing some bang-bang judgement call like pass interference. The refs had plenty of time pre-snap to count heads on a game-deciding play, and couldn't even manage that. Andy Reid should be been running after the ref and stuffing a Polaroid in his pocket like Cowher once upon a time.

I really don't think it has to do with full-time/part-time. As to the play again, the Steelers were obviously affected by the play. But can you imagine the storm of controversy, had KC had something on the line here themselves? Could this have happened in an NFC/AFC Championship game? Could this have potentially happened in the SB? I think so.

The bottom line is that somebody should be held accountable. And not just "accountable", by e.g. denying playoff work opportunity. Someone should be suspended or more. Especially given how they layethed the smack down on Tomlin for his sideline gaffe.

[Jooser]

Maybe this explains it a little, a "makeup" call by the "regrettable" official from Super Bowl XL....Mr Leavy.

NFL acknowledges officiating error on Chiefs’ field-goal try
Posted by Mike Florio on December 30, 2013, 11:19 AM EST
Leavy Getty Images

Bill Levy giveth. And Bill Leavy taketh away.

The same referee whom many regard as the man who helped deliver the Super Bowl XL trophy to the Steelers via multiple bad calls for which he eventually expressed regret led the crew that cost the Steelers a chance to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

The NFL has acknowledged that the officials failed to call a foul on the Chargers during a potential game-winning field goal try by the Chiefs. If kicker Ryan Succop had made the field goal and the Chiefs had won the game, the Steelers would have qualified for the AFC playoffs.

As explained last night, a new rule for 2013 prohibits teams from putting more than six players on the line of scrimmage to either side of the snapper during a field-goal try. The Chargers clearly had seven men on the line to the left of the Chiefs’ snapper.

The infraction is not currently subject to replay review, which means that the officials who were standing directly behind the defensive formation should have seen it. They didn’t.

If the flag had been thrown, the Chiefs would have gotten a second chance at the missed 41-yard field goal, from five yards closer. If that kick had gone through, the Chiefs would have won, the Chargers would have lost, and the Steelers would be getting ready for a trip to Cincinnati.

[Dee Dub]

This is a huge mistake. An apology from the league means very little. Sine it resulted in the magnitude of keeping a team from the playoffs the league should compensate the Steelers with a compensatory first round pick.

Would anyone here have a problem with that? Not me!

[Jooser]

[JAR]

Maybe the NFL felt the need to get Rivers to the playoffs since he would have been the only QB going to the Pro Bowl that wasn't in the playoffs.

This whole thing has me fuming, I know, coulda, woulda, shoulda earlier in the season, but the Steelers were in the same boat as the other three teams and the freaking refs made the final decision.

Tomlin's step on the field was fined because it could have had an outcome on the playoffs, well Goodell, your lousy refs did have an outcome.

Hell, the blocked FG blunder last week almost cost the Steelers a chance at the final spot.

[Jooser]

Here's a little better shot of the infraction....click to enlarge...

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