Ditka Blasts Officiating in Skins game

[AzSkinsFan63]

Pass interference penalty too costly

Pro Football Hall of Famers Mike Ditka and Marv Levy provide expert analysis for the Coach Speak segment on NFL Total Access. Each week they will debate issues and provide insight and opinions on league trends. With Levy sidelined with a knee injury, Ditka held down the fort -- and shot from the hip (aired Dec. 2, 2003).

I want to talk about something that is a real bone of contention with me -- defensive pass interference. The worst penalty in pro football. Why should defensive pass interference be any different than offensive pass interference?

Let me give you a little example -- and this is stretching it just a little bit. I'm on offense; I have the ball on the 50-yard line. I throw the ball to the end zone; the defense interferes with me. Where do I get the ball? On the 1-yard line.

Now, supposing the same thing happens, I throw the ball down there, the defensive guy is about to intercept it and my guy interferes with him. What happens? Do they put me back on the 1-yard line? No, they move me back 10 yards. The college rule is a much better rule than the professional rule. I watched the game this week between New Orleans and Washington. I watched the worst pass interference call I've ever seen. Joe Horn runs a slant and then tries to run, take it up the field. As he does, Champ Bailey, who's covering him and is one of the best cornerbacks in the league, backs up, he has position, Horn runs right into him. They call defensive pass interference. I think it cost Washington the football game; a very, very poor call and it's a judgment call. Wake up; learn to call the thing right.

Now the other thing we saw this week ... we saw something I think is pretty important. Willie McGinest faked an injury, got some time off, took two plays off because if you fake an injury or you're injured you must come out for at least one play. He came out for two plays but he gave his team valuable time. People say that's unfair, he's taking advantage of the rule. But everybody's done it; they've done it for years. Everybody's told to do it. Willie was smart enough to do it; probably the reason New England came back and won that football game. He came back in; when he did come in, he made the last tackle to save the football game from the 2-yard line. You know, you say, "Hey, you're taking advantage of the rules of play!" What they don't know isn't going to hurt them. And listen, Willie, you did a heck of a job. I'm all for you.

[bubba9497]

I think it cost Washington the football game; a very, very poor call and it's a judgment call. Wake up; learn to call the thing right.

:applause: :applause: :applause:

[aREDSKIN]

NFL officiating is a well know joke.

[NVskinsfan]

Originally posted by aREDSKIN

NFL officiating is a well know joke.

True enough!

We need that rule looked at this offseason!

[Hitman56]

Someone on the Eagles (I think) faked an iunjury against us this year and bought them some time.

[Gamebreaker]

Ditka hit it right on the nail. Everyone knows that call was bullsh!t, but I bet the league office wouldn't admit to it in a thousand years.

[Larry]

But, the problem with that call was the call, not the yardage.

If PI is a 10-yard penalty, then any time the QB goes deep and the CB's beat, he just flattens the receiver. (Heck, the penalty's better than a completion).

My problem with PI is: When the ball's thrown deep, if the WR's in front of the CB, and the WR slows down, and the CB bumps into him, it's a penalty on the D.

If the CB's leading the footrace, and he slows down, then it's a penalty on the D.

The defender gets flaged if he bumps into the WR, but he also gets flaged for failing to get out of the WR's way.

I think the flag should be on whoever runs into the other guy's back. Note to QB's: If the CB's deeper then your WR, don't throw a bomb. (Now,if your receiver's supposed to stop and come back, then the PI rule protects his back.)

[Charlie Murphaaay]

Damn right!

The college rule is much better. Teams getting it on the one yard line is bull****. 10 yards is a fair penalty either way for interference.

Will the NFL really ever be in support of something that actually helps the defense?

[riggins44]

They say the calls are suppose to even themselves out...well it's about time we start getting some favorable calls.

[spm]

The calls all went against us in the NO game except for the intentional grounding call. Jeff Triplette's crew always screws somebody though.....

[NoCalMike]

Wow, Thanks Ditka.......please review the tape on our previous 6 games or so.........

[skinsfan44]

Originally posted by AzSkinsFan63

I think it cost Washington the football game; a very, very poor call and it's a judgment call. Wake up; learn to call the thing right.

Right on.

The Refs cost us atleast 3 games this year. The PI in the Saints and Dolphin games, and the non-TD/fumble at the goal line in the Panthers game.

Instead of being 4-7, we would be 7-4.

[Brave]

Originally posted by Larry

I think the flag should be on whoever runs into the other guy's back. Note to QB's: If the CB's deeper then your WR, don't throw a bomb. (Now,if your receiver's supposed to stop and come back, then the PI rule protects his back.)

Problem with this is, how would you stop defenders from getting in front of WRs and slowing down on purpose to draw penalties and break up pass plays? Seems too easy.

[Fiddler]

The problem with the college rule is that it encourages a CB who's been beaten by a step to tackle the WR while the ball is in the air. Champ intentionally did that on the first PI call; if the penalty were only 10 yards then it would be done all the time. Who wants to see PI flags on every long pass attempt? The NFL wants to see long passes completed and so do I. They just need to coach up those officials better!

[Prosperity]

OR

Make pass interference (especiall in the endzone) a REVIEWABLE penalty the same as a challenge.

[Larry]

Originally posted by Brave (responding to me)

Problem with this is, how would you stop defenders from getting in front of WRs and slowing down on purpose to draw penalties and break up pass plays? Seems too easy.

If the CD simply gets in front of the WR, then the offense will call plays where the receiver stops (and maybe comes back) for the ball.

If the receiver's facing the QB, and the defender's behind him, and can't hit his back, I'd think that pass is an almost guaranteed completion.

Defending a receiver by playing deeper then he is, is kind of a "prevent" defense. It meant you won't get burned for a TD (unless the WR can make you miss), but you'll give up a lot of 20-30 yard completions. (Or, at least to me, it seems like it should be that way.)

[aREDSKIN]

Currently, CB's are allowed get in front of a reciever and slow down , therby cutting off the reciever's path to the ball. As long as the CB "appears" to be looking back towards the pass then they have a right to the ball, reguardless of what they do to impede the reciever. I think this happened to the Skins in the Saints game. CB's are taught to get in the path of the reciever and just turn your head towards the ball and you won't get called for PI. Of course it has to look legit and not just flagrantly pathetic.

[gridironmike]

Mike Ditka for NFL Chief of Officiating! Too bad he can't actually do something about it.

[riggins44]

The more I think about this the more I realize that it should have never come down to these calls anyway.

[Gamebreaker]

Originally posted by Brave

Problem with this is, how would you stop defenders from getting in front of WRs and slowing down on purpose to draw penalties and break up pass plays? Seems too easy.

I think it would be easier for a reciever to go around a defender in his way, than for a defender to get out of the way of a reciever running at him full speed.

[just skins baby]

Originally posted by riggins44

The more I think about this the more I realize that it should have never come down to these calls anyway.

Amen brother!!!!

[Bang]

Exactly, it shouldn't come down to a call.

There's a school of thought that says bad teams get more bad calls made on them because officials subconsciously believe they are bad,, and should commit penalties. Reverse for good teams, who always seem to have breaks go their way.

Pass interference, by the letter of the rule, can be called on nearly every single pass. there is supposed to be NO contact beyond five yards, and when the ball is in the air especially... but we see hand checks, and out and out shoves all day long.

Was Champ in position? Yeah, I think he was, and I thought the call was cheesy... but the one i find most annoying is the 15 yard personal foul facemask called on Laveraneous Coles while he was tackling Ashley Ambrose. IMO< that call went just as far to hand the Saints the game as the PI call.

He had him by the shirt, we all saw that. his hand never once went onto the facemask. Replay showed this as clear as the rising sun. Now, why can't the officials in the booth call down and say "hey, not only was that not a personal foul, but it wasn't even a facemask, pick up your flag."

Nope, can't do anything like that, and Spurrier can't challenge it himself to get OBVIOUS justice. Yet, clearly, it gave the Saints excellent field position after a costly turnover late in the game.

But, the redskins are a bad team, and the ref saw yet another bad play by the bad team, and assumed that he MUST have seen a facemask, because that is what bad teams do.

Trouble is, everyone else saw what really happened, including the ref, who I'm sure saw it up on the jumboscreen.

How is it the guy can't just turn his mic back on and say "Hey, you know, from my angle it looked like a facemask, but seeing that jumboscreen shows me i was clearly mistaken,, no foul."?

There comes a time when common sense really must prevail.

~Bang

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I agree the call was shady. But I like the NFL rule better. Someone already alluded to it but if I'm a CB beat downfield more than 10 yards, I'm grabbing the WR...what's the incentive not to if the penalty is merely a 10 yard penalty?

[Awesome]

Yes Bang, it seems that in so many ways, the NFL has just thrown common sense right out the window when it comes to officiating rules, especially the rules governing replay and challenges.

They have implemented a system that is fundamentally good, yet have totally hamstrung it with clauses and glitches that completely undermine its effectiveness and have led to a system totally devoid of the ability to rely on common sense.

Why can't you challenge within two minutes? Isn't that the most crucial part of the game? Why can't you review a play after the whistle's blown? Why can't you challenge or review pass interference or personal fouls?

Also, another side note, I think the rules that govern whether or not a player has possession out of bounds are a total double standard. For example, in the Monday night game this week. That interception by the Titans that was overturned-- if that had been anywhere else on the field except in the back of the end zone, it would have been ruled an interception.

[Morning Wood]

The Stephen Davis TD was sketchy, and lent itself to a gray area. I personally don't think he got in. It should've been blown dead due to forward progress being stopped, or been called a forced fumble, Redskins ball. But, were I a Carolina fan, I might see it differently.

The Coles and Champ calls however, were complete BS, period. I agree with Bang in that the refs should be able to overturn their own descisions if they have clearly made the wrong one. If replay shows Coles' hand on the jersey and not the facemask, that is a clear error. If a Champ is standing there, and a receiver mows him over, that is clearly not defensive PI.

But I have to pose a question to the Board... I agree that the Skins should play well enough to take the game out of the official's hands. BUT, after a few of these obviously BS calls, I have to wonder, do our guys start playing tentatively? Are they looking over their shoulder's? Are they thinking, "Man, if I even look at this guy wrong, I'm gettin a flag". I'm not trying to make excuses for the guys, but it has to be very difficult to keep your motor running high and giving 110% when you feel like anything you do is subject to the perception of those striped guys, and will most likely not end in your favor.