Outstanding job by the Super Bowl Crew!
 

Was there anything that was even questionable that they had? They talked when the needed to, hustled well, and seemed to be in great control of the game.

You mean besides the BJ that overruled the catch on the sidelines when the HL had a clear view of the feet AND possession? I bet he felt dumb after that...


:eek:

First of all schmitty, it was not the B, he is in the middle of the field, it was the S, and if you know how the sideline mechanics work for a 6 or 7 man crew, the S did have the feet in that situation. The official who can see the front numbers has the catch, that was the H, and the official who can see the back numbers has the feet. The right foot definitely came off the ground right after he possessed the ball, so if he went foot/ball, as he should have, he would not have thought he had possession before the foot came up. The left foot was drug throughout the catch. The only thing they could have done better is signaled incomplete right away, cuz if one has it as incomplete, you can signal right away, but if you have a catch, you wait and make eye contact with your sideline crewmate before signalling complete.

I'm not claiming to know anything, but I thought I saw him signalling like the receiver didn't have possession. If the HL saw the catch was good, shouldn't he stand up for his call?

All I know for sure is that most mechanics can't be figured out by common sense. There's a method to the madness!!

MJT, the SJ signalled that he bobbled the ball, not that he was OOB. Why he made such a signal, I don't know either. The H clearly had a catch, the ball was not bobbled, which is why it was overturned.

I thought they did a decent job. The only thing, and of course this is only my opinion, is that I don't agree with a couple of mechanics the NFL is doing. One, the umpire blowing the whistle on every running play up the middle. Two, the hand signals of the officials who threw the flag to outwardly tell everyone what they have instead of telling the referee and letting him relay the penalty. I think they probably do this so that nothing can happen with their call (being overturned), but it seems to me they could be asking for trouble if they make a signal and don't accept help from their crew. Again, that's just my opinion. If I made it to the NFL, I would do as I was told :)

I don't have a problem with the U killing the play when the ball falls at his feet. I do it myself from time to time.

But I do agree regarding the signals. That's a big non-no in my area.but I constantly see it in the NFL. What happens when the U comes firing in with a false start and the LJ runs in with a NZ infraction? Not good, no mater how you slice it.

Those are the times when they get together, talk about it and decide which occurred first or takes precedence. They did that a time or two when needed.

That's when the coach's take the opportunity take get on your back..."Hey, you pointed their way and you let the umpire change your mind!?" ... "You gotta be kidding me! What are you, a rookie!?" :)

Not that the coaches of last night would ever do something like that, but I'm sure I would here it in my college conferences or high school.

I agree, that was the only thing that jumped out at me. HL was 5 feet away. I can't believe he came in that strong withut talking to him. After the review i bet the wing had a grin on his face.

This is what the NFL wants them to do. It is not something they just are doing without training. I am also sure this was not the only time these guys did this. These officials did the best job all year according to the NFL Supervisor of Officials. I agree we would not do this, but they are told to. Like an NFL umpire says to a group of us often, “They know (NFL) when we scratch our arm let alone what calls we miss.”

Peace

I thought that the force-out call in one of the playoff games was used much better than they used it in the Super Bowl. The one official was clear that the receiver did not get the second foot down which may be what is required but I thought that he could have discussed it a bit with others before the call was changed to a force-out. However, that may have been a function of these officials not working with each other every week. I thought force-out was the correct call initially but the covering official went with a clear incomplete pass and then was convinced it was a force-out. That one could have looked better.

A couple of hits I saw gave me some questions. The first was the call was against the Colts on the kickoff later in the game when they had a late hit helmet-to-helmet. The replay showed that the hit really wasn't helmet-to-helmet even though it looked like it was from most angles. However the contact may have been late in general and the call may have still been right even though the description may have not been accurate.

The second was when #42 for the Colts speared his own teammate, injuring his arm late in the game. I can't believe that if this contact had been made directly to the receiver that there wouldn't have been some sort of fine or possibly even a foul. However maybe they don't want that called.

Aren't the crews for the Super Bowl and championship games "all-star" crews?

Yes they are.

Peace

I thought they did a pretty good job...and I'm a Bears fan. ;)