There are solutions for every problem.  When written and interpreted correctly, rules can be black and white with no gray areas.  It is our goal to give greater attention to the overall problem with bad calls, to provide constructive criticism and possible solutions to help eliminate discrepancies and improve the overall enjoyment of the games by fans everywhere.

The primary focus is on the National Football League. However, all sports are open to criticism by our Zebra Watchers.

However, umpire Jim Joyce saw it differently. He called Donald safe at 1st base. Tigers manager Jim Leyland charged the field and argued the call without success.

It was not until the umpire saw the replay that he admitted his mistake. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay…” Joyce said.

USA Today: Umpire – “I just cost the kid a perfect game”

Play-by-Play: Tigers 3 Indians 0

With 7:19 left in the 3rd quarter with the Colts trailing the visiting Jets by 3 points, Colts safety Melvin Bullitt comes on a safety blitz. Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez hands the ball off to running back Thomas Jones who runs for a five yard gain. After the handoff, Bullitt slams his shoulder into Sanchez knocking him to the ground. To add insult to injury, Jets offensive tackle Wayne Hunter is penalized for holding causing Jets head coach Rex Ryan to lose his cool and shout obscenities from the sideline. The Colts win the game and move on to the Super Bowl.

Final Score: Colts 30 Jets 17

In the second game of the day, the New Orleans Saints were tied with the Minnesota Vikings at 21 points each with 2:06 left on the clock in the 3rd quarter. During a pass attempt which ended up being intercepted, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is sandwiched high and low by Saints defensive tackle Remi Ayodele and defensive end Bobby McCray. Replays show that McCray dove at the back of Favre’s legs in violation of the NFL’s regulations designed to protect the quarterback. Favre’s ankle needed taped after the play, no flag was thrown, and the Saints proceeded to win the game in overtime for the right to play in the Super Bowl.

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The hits on Favre were not the only questionable issues with the referees siding with the Saints on Championship Sunday. Check out the issues that ESPN points out including the phantom pass interference call on Vikings linebacker Ben Leber in overtime –> Video Evidence from ESPN »

Final Score: Saints 31 Vikings 28 (Overtime)

With 11:24 remaining in the 3rd quarter and Arizona leading by a score of 24 to 10, Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner scrambles after play action to his rookie running back Beanie Wells and completes a pass to a wide open Fitzgerald over the middle. Fitzgerald runs into the endzone for a touchdown.

Fitzgerald is an elite receiver, but he is being covered by Packers Cornerback Charles Woodson; one of the best in the game. Replays show that to get wide open, Fitzgerald throws Woodson to the ground as he breaks off his pattern, nearly falls, and then runs to the open spot on the field.

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At 2:43 remaining in the 3rd quarter and Arizona on the Green Bay 11 yard line with the Cardinals leading by a score of 31 to 24, Larry Fitzgerald makes a great catch for a score. Again, replays show that Offensive Pass Interference should have been called on the play.

In a trips left shotgun formation, Fitzgerald lines up as the furtherest receiver on the left. At the snap, he runs directly at Woodson, throws a shoulder into him, and knocks him to the ground. Warner throws the ball to Fitzgerald as he runs free in the end zone and he snags it out of the air.

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The Packers refused to give up hope and tied the game at 45 points to force overtime after Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers missed a short field goal just before the end of regulation. Charles Woodson called the coin toss in overtime and correctly predicted tails. On the third play of overtime, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers drops back to pass, has the ball knocked out of his hands, and into the arms of Cardinals linebacker Karlos Dansby. Dansby runs the ball into the end zone for the game winning touchdown.

Replays reveal two issues with the play. During the sack and strip of the football, Cardinals Cornerback Michael Adams grabs the facemask of Rodgers. Also, the arm of Rodgers looks like it is bringing the football back into his body after a pump when the ball is knocked free; this brings the Tuck Rule into play. The result of the play should have been a 15 yard penalty on Adams and a first down for the Packers.

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Final Score: Arizona 51 Green Bay 45

The officiating in the game was poor. The lack of video of crucial penalties was maddening. Triplette repeatedly stood in front of the camera making calls with a look like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else.

At 1:40 remaining in the first half, the Cleveland Browns have the ball while leading by a score of 10 to 6. It is 2nd down with 6 yards to go on the Cleveland 11 yard line. The Browns rush running back Jerome Harrison behind the right guard for a yard. Cleveland Center Alex Mack is called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct after being bull rushed and dragged over 6 yards by Raiders Defensive Tackle Gerard Warren. Although not televised, announcer Randy Cross advises the viewing audience that punches were thrown after the play had ended. He does not indicate who punched at who or what actually happened.

Two plays later, it is 1st and 10 from the Cleveland 23 yard line. Jerome Harrison runs behind his left guard for 2 yards. After the play, a small fracas breaks out and Raiders Defensive End Richard Seymour and Browns Offensive Guard Rex Hadnot are called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. Seymour had continued to scrap for the ball after the whistle which caused Browns players to come to the defense of their running back.

Most amusing was Browns quarterback Derek Anderson reaching into the fracas with one arm and pulling and slinging Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt to the ground which resulted in Routt giving Anderson a shove soon afterward to end the melee.

The penalties offset, but Triplette was clearly losing control of the game. For the scuffle, penalties could have/should have been called on Raiders Safety Tyvon Branch, Browns Guard Eric Steinbach, Browns Offensive Tackle Joe Thomas, Derek Anderson, Stanford Routt, along with Seymour and Hadnot.

Thinking that the ref may have said the wrong number, Richard Seymour asks the referee for an explanation of the penalty and is flagged for a second Unsportsmanlike Conduct. After all of the unnecessary roughness in the scuffle that was not called (in which he really did not participate), it is understandable that Seymour would wonder why the flag was thrown on him.

After a 14 yard pass completion, it is now 1st and 10 from the Oakland 46 yard line. Jerome Harrison runs behind his left guard for 4 yards. Raiders cornerback Stanford Routt is called for Unnecessary Roughness and ejected from the game. Routt supposedly flagrantly headbutted a Browns player. However, no video of the incident is aired. The penalty filled drive resulted in a Browns touchdown with 21 seconds remaining in the half.

Fast forwarding ahead, at 8:31 remaining in the 4th quarter, Phil Dawson kicks off to the Raiders after a touchdown puts the Browns up by a score of 23 to 9. Raiders Tightend Tony Stewart is blocking Browns linebacker Alex Hall on the return. As the play ends, Hall punches Tony Stewart and another Raiders player in the face in clear view of the official (according to Stewart). The referee does not throw a flag. When Tony Stewart protests, the ref puts his hand on Stewart’s chest and pushes him backwards. In reflex, Stewart swipes the referee’s hand off of his chest, is called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct, and is ejected for contacting an official. None of this televised.

With the referees now on edge, another questionable call is made a few minutes later. At 6:52 remaining with the Raiders driving, it is 1st and 10 from the Oakland 47 yard line. Raiders quarterback Charlie Frye passes to Raiders Tightend Zach Miller who makes a great catch across the middle at the Cleveland 26 yard line. As he is getting up from being tackled, he drops the ball; it bounces off of his own thigh, and hits the bottom of the foot of a Browns defender still laying on the ground. A flag is thrown and Miller is called for Taunting and the team is penalized for 15 yards. Rewinds show that Miller was merely getting up from the reception and never looked down or stood over the Browns defender in a taunting manner.

The game is coming to a climax when the next questionable ZebraWatch moment took place. The Raiders drive down to the Cleveland 2 yard line while narrowly escaping two interceptions due to a Defensive Pass Interference call on Browns cornerback Hank Poteat (where Poteat initiated contact beyond 5 yards and may have been pulled to the ground by Zach Miller) and a reversed call on an interception by Browns cornerback Eric Wright when replays showed that he only had one foot in bounds during the interception.

With 4:27 remaining in the game, it is Raiders ball on 4th down with goal to go from the Cleveland 2 yard line. Charlie Frye passes to his wide receiver Louis Murphy and the play is broken up. However, a flag is on the field. Raiders wide receiver Chaz Schilens is flagged for Offensive Pass Interference. Repeated rewinds and replays of the play leave fans scratching their head…

Schilens comes off of the line from being flanked wide and meets Browns Cornerback Eric Wright. Schilens runs an in route on the goalline; Wright comes with him with his arm around Schilens’ waist at one point and Schilens turns his body to shield Wright from the ball if it is thrown his way; it looks like Wright has one of Schilens arms penned behind his back at one point. Louis Murphy, in the slot, is mugged as he comes off of the line with Browns Cornerback Mike Adams making contact until Murphy makes his break to the outside. Adams then makes a great play on the ball to break up the pass. This play should have been a non-call, Defensive Pass Interference on Eric Wright, or an Illegal Contact penalty on Adams.

The opening gambling line on the total points scored in the game was 38.5. The phantom offensive pass interference penalty was thrown with the ball still in the air. Even if Murphy had made the catch, the penalty would have negated the touchdown and made sure that the final score remained UNDER the total with the Browns ultimately winning by the score of 23 to 9…..

Week 16 2009 – Raiders at Browns – Play-by-Play

The Tom Brady Rule was not applied in this travesty. The roughing the passer penalty is not enforced uniformly across the league…

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Gradkowski failed to return to the field after the half and the Raiders lost by a score of 34 to 13.

The referee calls some phantom pass interference causing Falcons Head Coach Mike Smith to destroy his headset in disgust. Saints running back Reggie Bush scores a few plays later and the Saints maintain their 13-0 perfect record by holding on to win by a score of 26 to 23.

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NFL.com Story: Phillips Rails About Officials

The missed call allowed Dallas to take the lead by a single point with a score of 7 to 6. Washington was unable to score in the final 2:50 of the game and the Cowboys were awarded the victory.

This was after an official’s gaffe at the end of the first half allowed Washington to attempt a field goal 10 yards closer than it should have been due to poor officiating. A bad ruling that Redskins quarterback, Jason Campbell, was out of bounds on an incomplete pass attempt was reversed despite NFL rules not allowing the play to be reviewed. This nullified a delay of game penalty and placed the ball 10 yards closer to the Cowboys’ end zone than it should have been. The officials were let off the hook for this bad call when Redskins kicker, Shaun Suisham, missed the field goal attempt…

Washington at Dallas – Week 11 2009 – Boxscore

The refs call it a first down for the Steelers! Shortly thereafter, Steelers receiver, Hines Ward catches a touchdown pass. Upon further review… the ruling is that Ward dropped the ball while rolling out of bounds.

“The ruling … I thought was that you have to have control while you’re in the end zone,” Ward said. “What the ref said was that you have to continue, no matter how many times you roll. On the second roll, the ball hit my thigh and moved a little bit. I had complete control of it when I caught it in the end zone.”

This confusing sequence leads to 3 points when Steeler kicker, Jeff Reed, kicks a field goal before half-time.

The zebras also missed a holding call during a kickoff return with 4:28 remaining in the 2nd quarter by Cleveland speedster, Josh Cribbs. At 10 seconds into this video, note the hold and jersey pull on Steelers cornerback #31, Keiwan Ratliff by an unidentified Browns player.

The Steelers win the game by a score of 27 to 14. Steelers tight end, Matt Spaeth, and Kicker, Jeff Reed, celebrate at a bar named McFadden’s. They get busted leaving the bar for a combo of public urination and public intoxication…

From The Simpsons, Season 5, Episode 16:
Ned: Homer, I’d love to chitty-chat, but tonight’s the night I do my charity work.
Homer: Oh yeah. The judge made me do that once too. Stupid lack of public urinals!

The Short First Down:

It must have looked too good because a ref threw a flag for pass interference. Repeated replays of the play show no infraction of the rules took place. The penalty gave 49 yards to the Jets.

The Dolphins hold on for a 31 to 27 win. Play-By-Play