This Time Around, Ed's Not Quite So Gracious About It
 

You probably wouldn't be, either, by this point.

A fan wrote to Ed Hochuli to complain about some of the calls in last night's Saints/Vikings game, including a face mask that wasn't called (but a photo of which the Saints displayed prominently on their website for a bit today).

Hochuli's response:

"You are certainly free to have your opinions, but if you were a knowledgeable fan, you would understand that there are 7 officials out there, and you would not attribute all errors to the Referee. The face mask, for example, is no where near anything I'm looking at or supposed to be looking at when it happened.

It's popular right now to pile on Hochuli, because I blew the San Diego call. And there is certainly no requirement that anyone have any real knowledge of officiating in order to have an opinion. Fortunately, the NFL and my boss don't agree with you. You are free to have your own opinions, and since you took the time to write me, I figured I owed you the time to respond."

More on this.

+1, Ed. Very nicely put.

Add: I followed the link against my better judgment. Same old fanboy whining.

Those fan boards show how absolutely stupid some people are. "I sent him one saying that I hoped he swallowed a bug." He says that and has a picture of doom for his signature. What a moron!!!

I think it's time for another NFL officials strike to show these fanboys that the game can't be played without officials.

Not the wisest of moves. There was a lot of stuff going on last night in that game and the facemask non-foul was pretty egregious. I would imagine that the NFL will eventually tell "Guns" to STFU.

All he said was that this call was not only his responsibility. And fans think (and the media helps perpetuate that feeling) that Ed is responsible for every call. Officials and other educated people clearly know that. But unfortunately there are not a lot of people that are educated to that fact.

Peace

Not much real proof that Ed actually wrote that, but if it is true that he did, then I'd expect them (NFL) to "request" him not to reply. Those fans obviously have showed they aren't too bright. The suggestion of making NFL officials full time employees is absurd. They obviously don't realize what officials do in the offseason. You can't get any more full time than what they are already. From what I seen of the facemask it was pretty quick. It's possible that this happened during the time where the officials were in a transition phase going from their keys into zone. It's also possible that they were blocked from seeing it. It happens just as it happens to all of us at any level we work. As we know, you can't call something you don't see. Had it been seen, then for sure there would have been a flag thrown. If it were seen, then that official may have judged it to have been incidental because why else would he have not flagged it.

I made the same mistake. That's 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. Ed (or whoever wrote the e-mail) maybe did come across as condescending by referring to "educated" fans. The problem is most fans think they are educated but they are not. I love giving friends and co-workers situations and seeing how they fail miserably. They don't realize how little they know the rules and how well the NFL guys do. There were not nearly as many bad calls in that game as they claim. If there were (probably the face mask penalty), the officials who missed them will get downgraded on those calls.

Perhaps the best advice I've ever received, long ago, was to totally ignore anything that fans say, because nothing they say makes any difference or matters. You can never win an argument with a fool.

Another quote I've heard (not necessarily applicable in this context but still funny) is "Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." These fans aren't idiots. They just don't know what they don't know. And they are fans which makes them biased and see things the way they want to see them.

Or: "Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak up and remove all doubt." (A. Lincoln)

One that one of my very first instructors in the art of officiating always used was, "Silence can't be quoted."

I can feel Ed's pain - we've all felt it. It's frustrating to endure the slings and arrows of the uninformed. Many times I'm sure we've ALL wished we could just shut the coach or the parent or the fan up.

All that said, this may have been half a foot over the line on Hochuli's part and I would imagine that if he actually DID write that, he'll be reminded that, while it's admirable to own up to mistakes and to take the time to respond to people who write, it may not always be the best policy.

There were 2 facemasks missed in the Philly/Dallas game that were a lot worse than Bush's and no one started any blogs or chatrooms about those. At normal speed, depending on the angle, Bush's play initially looked like the old 5 yard variety. In slow motion it was easy to see it was a grasp and turn, unfortunately the game is not played in slow motion.

Part of the problem is both the NCAA and NFL have taken way the 5 yard facemask. So any grabbing of the facemask is not automatically a foul. It is possible that the official saw the grabbing, but it did not fit the new rule. And most of the pubic does not know that part of the rule and even officials do not know that part of the rule. At least in previous years there might have been less judgment as to whether there was an actual penalty or not.

I have a feeling this rule might be changed back to the way it was.

Peace

My father always told me, "Do not grab the bull by the horns...or else"

I think Mr. Hochuli (and rightfully so) is at this point. The else refers to Hochuli defending himself, his crew, and his boss.