Bill Vinovich calling his first Saints game tonight since the no-call (Merged)

SoggyBottomBoy said

Well, if I remember correctly, he said he didn’t see the play. It was not his call, but there are camera angles showing watching the play from the backfield. He was far away, but had the perfect side angle that showed the hit and the ball behind the hit happening.

So, he did see the play and it was obvious to 72K+ spectators in real time (I was one of them). Vinovich may be getting too much of the blame, but this head official lied and is not exempt from blame.

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I’ve seen every video and photo angle that shows Vinovich during that play, and his view was not a perfect one. He was located more behind the pass (about a 37 degree angle) than at a ‘perfect’ 90 degree angle to the path of the pass. He didn’t have the best view of the interference than at least two other officials.

But one thing you will never see in any NFL game is the head official calling pass interference penalties. His focus is on a different part of the field. And while photos and video evidence proves that Vinovich was looking toward the area where the contact was made, he would not have been watching the action as one who would have to make the final judgment of that contact. It just wasn’t his place to do so.

By saying he didn’t see the play was his way of acknowledging that it wasn’t his call to make. Vinovich followed the proper protocol as the head official. Cavaletto made the call and adamantly stood by his call when another official tried to challenge his call. He even threatened Sean Payton for attempting to persuade the side judge who initially saw it the same as Sean did.

The real villain should be clear to anyone who looks at those fateful moments objectively.