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Before I begin, I should tell you I'm not a big fan of the New England Patriots or the Indianapolis Colts. In fact, I’m not even a big football fan, but in any event, after watching one of the greatest AFC Championship games in recent memory, (a game that saw the Colts overcome an 18-point deficit to record the largest comeback in conference title-game history with a 38-34 victory) I couldn’t help but feel the game was tainted over a few bad calls.
It’s no secret the NFL is America’s favorite sports league, but the product is being diluted as a result of some of the calls that are being made on the field. (Remember Super Bowl XL?) As a matter of fact, there were a few calls that went against New England on Sunday which directly impacted the outcome of the game.
The first call that bothered me was the 18-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs that occurred late in the third quarter. After watching the reply, there was some contact between the receiver and the defender, but not enough to draw a penalty. So why was the flag thrown? Following the bogus call, Peyton Manning hit Dan Klecko with a 1-yard TD pass and Marvin Harrison for the 2-point conversion to tie the game at 21-21.
After New England went ahead 34-31 on a field goal late in the fourth quarter, then came the worst call of the day: a horrendous roughing-the-passer penalty that moved Indianapolis from the 25 to the 11. After that, Joseph Addai capped off the drive with a go-ahead 3-yard TD run.
Now, this might sound like a radical idea, but would it be too much to ask for competent referees?
Come to think of it, I don’t blame the refs, this time, for the bad calls, but I do think something bigger is happening here. First, I think instant replay has made their jobs more difficult because it has allowed doubt to creep into their collective minds. Before instant replay, when a ref made a bad call, he didn’t have to worry about a coach challenging his authority; therefore he was more confident in his ability to do his job. Second, I wonder if the refs were instructed to give the Colts the benefit of the doubt. I hate to bring up such a conspiracy theory, but I honestly felt like the league wanted its golden boy, Manning, to advance to the Super Bowl. After all, who the hell wants to see the Pats in the big game once again?
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