After further review: NFL

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Old School

Makes sense. Please understand, I don't have a dog in this fight. Being fair to both parties is what's at issue for me here. Penalizing the defense awarding a score when you can't be sure or that seems doubtful doesn't seem to fit either. BTW, the end result of the play would have been a turnover. Isn't there a rule that says you can't fumble the ball forward into the endzone?

If the official would have come together and consulted with the official in the endzone or near the middle to determine if the player had control, would have sold it for me because now you're considering every possible angle. The official straddling the line can verify that the ball crossed the plane, what he can't confirm is if the player had control when the ball crossed the plane. It's all good, I realized it's not an exact science. Something so important, it just seems like at a minimum, there should have been a conference.

First, the default on a replay situation if you "can't tell" is to go with the official's original call, which is as it should be - he was in the right position on this play, and the camera wasn't.

But generally, you seem to disagree with the default position if awarding a score if you're not sure. In cases where you aren't sure (these better be few and far between), you do your best. You don't default toward one team or the other. Your assumption that you shouldn't award a score if you don't see one makes sense, but your corollary is even worse - awarding a turnover if you don't see one. If you're not SURE the ball was loose before it crossed the end line, you can't call it a loose ball.