I have investigated the play thoroughly. Vinovich was behind Drew when he threw the football. Vinovich’s sight line to the intended receiver was the same as the ball in flight. He had absolutely no idea how close the ball was to the receiver at the time of the collision. Ironically Cavaletto had the exact same disadvantage. The ball was coming toward him on the same line as the receiver. Both Vinovich and Cavaletto was in the worst position to know how early the defender hit the receiver before the ball got there. There were two other officials who had the best angle to make the correct call (one in the end zone and one farther down the right sideline), but both of those officials were called off by Cavaletto after he yelled out “Bang, Bang!” Sadly they gave in to Cavaletto simply because he was closest to the collision and it was his call to make.
Those who still believe that Vinovich had a good (or better) angle to make the call simply didn’t do their homework. He was looking straight down the line of the pass directly behind Drew. Cavaletto was looking down the line of a pass coming directly at him. The only reason the two officials who had the better view didn’t challenge Cavaletto is because he was a senior official who had the rights to that call due to the area of the field he was In charge of at the time.
Yes, the call was wrong. Cavaletto thought he had made the right call and refused to back down. Vinovich really had no choice but to go with what Cavaletto was adamant about calling. Vinovich answered the reporters honestly and did what any other head referee would have done in the exact same circumstances.