The League

Rarely do officials make public statements about missed calls, but in Sunday's Dallas at Green Bay game, they did just that. What's more, referee Jeff Triplette conceded he had made a mistake.

The call in question came with 12 minutes to play and the Cowboys trailing, 10-0. Quarterback Tony Romo fumbled on a blitz by cornerback Charles Woodson, and running back Felix Jones appeared to roll onto the ball for the recovery before defensive tackle Johnny Jolly ripped it out of his grasp.

Linebacker Clay Matthews finally recovered at the 3-yard line, and the Packers scored soon thereafter for a 17-0 lead.

Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips threw his challenge flag after the recovery, and officials began the review process. Turns out the challenge should not have been allowed in the first place because league rules stipulate recovery of a loose ball in the field of play is not reviewable.

"It was my mistake to allow [Phillips] to start the challenge," Triplette told a pool reporter. "I should have just talked him out of it before we started."

How refreshing is that? Hearing an official actually admit fault is about as rare as Adam Vinatieri missing a clutch kick.

The last official who offered a mea culpa was Ed Hochuli after his infamous blown call in a Chargers-Broncos game last season.

Now a year later, it's happened again. Maybe accountability finally is becoming part of the officials handbook. Regardless, Triplette deserves a pat on the back for speaking about the call when he didn't have to, thus proving officials actually can be human on occasion.

Officials in Sunday's Washington-Atlanta game called the Redskins twice for personal fouls after hits on quarterback Matt Ryan. While both infractions cost Washington 15 yards, only one appeared warranted.

That was the call 50 seconds before halftime, when defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander got to Ryan -- who had gotten rid of the ball -- on third down and three. Alexander wrapped his arms around Ryan, and both players went to the ground.

Officials called roughing the passer, based on what at the time looked like Alexander driving Ryan to the ground. But go around the league on Sunday, and I'll bet you'll see many similar plays officials deemed clean.

In this instance, Alexander did not lead with his helmet. He did not toss Ryan down. The play in no way seemed malicious, yet officials called it as such. If falling on top of the quarterback were grounds for roughing, you might as well make it illegal to tackle the passer.

Hitting the quarterback late and out of bounds is another story, and officials appropriately whistled LaRon Landry for a personal foul after the Redskins safety was guilty of both three plays before the call against Alexander.

On that play, Ryan had run out of bounds when Landry delivered a blow along the Falcons sideline. The late hit caused plenty of pushing and shoving, including a heated exchange between Atlanta Coach Mike Smith and cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who used to play for the Falcons.

The Falcons had every right to be upset as they watched their franchise quarterback absorb a blow out of bounds. That Landry, notorious for late hits, was the culprit made the call that much more elementary for the officials.

Officials made one of the most puzzling calls of the season during Philadelphia's 40-17 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday. Although the ruling did not directly affect the outcome, it provided yet another opportunity for football fans to debate questionable officiating and to wonder if replay really does make a difference.

In case you missed it, quarterback Donovan McNabb fumbled as he was being sacked in the third quarter, and defensive tackle Fred Robbins picked up the ball and began running. After 11 yards, Robbins lateraled to teammate Osi Umenyiora, who ran the remaining 37 yards for a touchdown.

Eagles Coach Andy Reid challenged the call that McNabb had fumbled, and after officials viewed the play, they determined while McNabb did indeed fumble, Robbins's lateral was actually an illegal forward pass. Thus the touchdown was overturned, and the Giants wound up with possession at the Eagles 42. That drive ended in a field goal to cut the deficit to 33-10.

Repeated television replays appeared to show the lateral was legal, but inexplicably, officials didn't see it that way. That's what made this particular judgment so frustrating.

It just goes to show even replay can be fallible because, after all, humans are still involved in the decision-making process.

Most of the time an apparent missed call doesn't affect the outcome of a game directly. That wasn't the case in Sunday's Saints-Dolphins thriller at Land Shark Stadium.

The Dolphins had built what seemed a comfortable 24-10 lead -- although virtually no lead is completely safe against the high-powered Saints -- when in the third quarter, New Orleans safety Darren Sharper intercepted Chad Henne and scored on a 42-yard return.

As Sharper got inside the 3-yard line, he began to lose control of the ball. But officials ruled touchdown, an indication they believed Sharper had broken the plane of the goal line before fumbling out of the end zone.

The Dolphins challenged the call, arguing Sharper lost the ball before crossing the goal line and that the play should be ruled a touchback. When they lost the challenge, the Saints had trimmed the deficit to seven, and they rode that momentum to outscore Miami 29-10 the rest of the way to stay undefeated.

Update: Dante Wesley suspended for one game by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Carolina Panthers special teams player Dante Wesley was at the center of controversy on Sunday after launching himself into Tampa Bay's Clifton Smith, leaving the Pro Bowl punt returner with a concussion.

An official threw a penalty flag immediately after Wesley made contact with Smith, who walked off the field under his own power. Wesley was ejected for the hit, and the incident triggered a confrontation among players from both teams near the middle of the field before officials could restore order.

What made the play completely unacceptable and indefensible was that Smith appeared to have called for a fair catch, and yet Wesley still found it necessary to leave his feet and lead with his shoulder into Smith's head and neck.

"I felt like really the refs could have controlled that situation," Wesley told reporters after the Panthers' 28-21 win. "I was trying to see what the ref called on that, and then their whole team just come and surround me. I just wondered if the refs were going to call them for something."

Smith was physically unable to speak to reporters after the game, and teammates were justifiably upset at what some called a "dirty play."

The last thing the NFL wants is a player severely injured or, God forbid, paralyzed because of an irresponsible hit like Wesley's. Suspending and significantly fining him would send a strong message to other players in the league that this type of excessive and unsportsmanlike behavior won't be tolerated.

If you don't believe bad teams tend to suffer the most from bad breaks, just look at what happened to the Washington Redskins against Carolina on Sunday.

Nursing a five-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Redskins' Antwaan Randle El called for a fair catch on a punt. As he was getting set to catch the ball, Carolina's Quinton Teal blocked Washington's Byron Westbrook into Randle El, the ball bounced off Westbrook's foot, and Carolina recovered at the Washington 12.

A clear case of interference on the kicking team, right? Most every Redskins fan watching thought so as they waited for officials to award the ball to Washington, which they did initially. Not so fast.

After officials conferred, referee Walt Coleman changed the ruling and awarded possession to Carolina, which scored the decisive touchdown two plays later.

"If they are both trying to block, then he can knock him into him," Coleman said. "Because they were both engaged, then that's why there wasn't a foul or anything wrong with that play. If the Washington player is stationary and just standing there and the Carolina player had come down there and knocked him, then it would have been totally different."

Despite how bogus that explanation may sound, officials apparently got it right. In my colleague Rick Maese's story on the play, Randle El said he didn't realize the play was legal, but Redskins special teams coach Danny Smith said his unit practices pushing a blocker into a returner.

Most football fans probably were under the assumption when a blocker is pushed into a returner calling for a fair catch that it's interference on the kicking team. League rules indicate that's only the case if the blocker in question was stationary, but in this case, Westbrook clearly was moving.

So Redskins fans, save your ire at the officials for another week. Despite what you may have thought at first, they didn't contribute to the Redskins' loss after all.

Roughing the passer is among the most hotly debated calls in the NFL. Defensive players will tell you the quarterback gets too much protection, and quarterbacks say they don't get enough.

Sunday's Ravens-Patriots game illustrated that divide. Officials twice flagged the Ravens for roughing the passer, and both calls extended drives that led to New England touchdowns in the Patriots' 27-21 victory.

After the game, Ravens players were predictably upset at the officiating. Linebacker Ray Lewis called it embarrassing to the game. Linebacker Terrell Suggs, who was assessed for one of the roughing calls, said the league is protecting some quarterbacks more than others.

Brady defended the calls by saying quarterbacks are defenseless and unprotected in the pocket. Meantime, message boards were filling up with comments assailing the officiating and the perceived special protection superstars such as Brady receive from officials.

What if it were some nondescript quarterback like David Garrard or Derek Anderson? Would the Ravens have been called for roughing?

The truth is probably not, but we shouldn't be surprised. The NFL is heavily vested in Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and other big-name quarterbacks because they are the faces of the league. They generate revenue though ticket and merchandise sales, and they bring the NFL plenty of exposure.

The league even amended its rules for roughing the passer after Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard rolled into Brady's knee in 2008 opener and ended his season. Now it's commonly referred to as the Brady Rule, so it's clear the league is looking out for its most valuable commodity.

We all understand officials missing a call here and there during the fast pace of a pro football game. It happens all the time, and usually we don't give it a second thought.

But when we're talking about a facemask infraction, it's different because that penalty could lead to serious injury. How many times have you seen a player's helmet get tugged and turned, only to cringe when you watch the replay in slow motion. It's amazing there aren't more neck injuries.

During two games on Sunday, officials missed what appeared clear facemasking penalties.

The first happened in the Redskins-Lions game, when Detroit defensive back William James grabbed Santana Moss's facemask. A similar scenario transpired in the Colts-Cardinals game, when Indianapolis safety Antoine Bethea grabbed Larry Fitzgerald's facemask while he was making a catch.

Both wide receivers popped up after being tackled and turned to look for a flag. Who could blame them, considering how potentially damaging grabbing the facemask of a player can be?

Penalties such as holding happen virtually every play, and it would be pointless to call each infraction. Games would last five hours, and the spirit of the game would suffer.

But as far as facemasking, it's a completely different issue. Not only are we dealing with possible injury to the neck and spine, but normally the sequence comes in open space where officials can get a good look at the play.

It would be tragic if a facemasking penalty that resulted in significant injury went unpunished. Officials simply can't wait until then to begin enforcing that infraction more consistently.

Pass interference may be the most dissected rule in the NFL. It's the only penalty that theoretically can cover 99 yards, and it can alter the complexion of a game in an instant.

In the St. Louis at Washington game, officials were faced with a decision regarding contact in the end zone midway through the second quarter. To the dismay of Redskins fans, there was no flag, but by all accounts there should have been, if not for interference then at least for illegal contact or holding.

On the play in question, Redskins wide receiver Antwaan Randle El was trying to get open in the front right portion of the end zone as quarterback Jason Campbell was scrambling out of pressure. Campbell threw the ball well over Randle El's head, but before the pass, Rams cornerback Ron Bartell clearly was clutching Randle El's jersey in the end zone.

After the play, officials conferred and ruled there was no pass interference because the ball was uncatchable.

Okay, anyone watching the game would agree Randle El had no chance of catching the pass. What's puzzling is why officials didn't throw a flag for defensive holding or illegal contact.

First, Bartell made contact with Randle El well beyond the five-yard buffer zone off the line of scrimmage. Second, Bartell held Randle El in the end zone moments later. Seems officials missed the call in more ways than one.

Officials have one of the most thankless jobs in sports. They don't exactly find bundles of fan mail on their doorstep for making the right call, but when they get one wrong, boy do they ever hear about it. Just ask Ed Hochuli.

Seattle Seahawks fans, for instance, are still steaming over the role they say officiating played in their loss to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL.

More often than not, officials have nothing to do with the outcome, and in many instances, they are the most sensible people on the field. Take Sunday's game between the Giants and Redskins.

Super Bowl XLIII was memorable not only for its riveting fourth quarter but also for a handful of critical officiating errors. One of the most egregious came immediately following Santonio Holmes's acrobatic, six-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds left that gave Pittsburgh a 27-23 victory.

We might as well start there since that play decided the outcome.

Holmes did a nice LeBron James imitation during his celebration, using the football as a mock shaker and throwing imaginary powder into the air. NFL rules specifically state, however, that using the ball as a prop is prohibited. Holmes should have been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and that would have impacted Arizona's starting field position on its final possession.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, officials called Steelers linebacker James Harrison for unnecessary roughness when he made contact with punter Ben Graham. Officials said the contact took place after the change of possession, and Pittsburgh began inside its 1-yard line as a result.

Replays showed Harrison did much more than make illegal contact. Well after the punt, Harrison appeared to take a swing at Graham while holding him down. That ought to be cause for ejection, but perhaps officials figured the magnitude of the game precluded tossing the NFL's defensive player of the year.

In any case, it was an ugly sequence in one of the more memorable Super Bowls of all-time.

Another questionable call unfolded midway through the third quarter. On first and 10 at midfield, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came under a heavy rush and tossed the ball toward the left sideline.

Officials called linebacker Karlos Dansby for roughing the passer on a borderline late hit in the back. A more appropriate call would have been intentional grounding, as Roethlisberger was not outside the tackle box and did not have a receiver near his pass.
The Steelers advanced 15 yards because of the penalty, and they got a 21-yard field goal out of the drive.

There was even some controversy on the Cardinals' final play when linebacker LaMarr Woodley sacked quarterback Kurt Warner, causing what officials ruled a fumble. Defensive end Brett Keisel recovered, and Roethlisberger knelt to run off the final five seconds.

Replays showed officials probably made the right call, but considering the stakes, shouldn't they have at least looked at it again to be unequivocally sure?

It was an appropriate ending to a Super Bowl with spotty at best officiating and to a season in which poor officiating was rampant.