Poll Bill Vinovich has not officiated a Saints game since the "no-call". Are there other officials who do not officiate certain teams? (1 Viewer)

[Bill]

I remember seeing this at the time. Lombardi is a pretty knowledgeable NFL guy.



I agree that he will never set foot in the Dome ever again. They might let him ref an away game (like in Germany LOL) at some point but I kinda doubt it.

That's a shame because he is still one of the best NFL head officials.

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

That's a shame because he is still one of the best NFL head officials.

You just like his first name.

I hear what you're saying about it not being his call, but that was a penalty so obvious and flagrant on both the pass interference and unnecessary roughness level that yellow flags should have rained in from all directions. BV did have an unobstructed view of the play from a very favorable vantage to see the hit well before the ball arrived. I don't know the rules, but could he have called a ref huddle to discuss? It's not officially his call, but he could've righted the wrong. He's not blameless, IMO.

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

You just like his first name.

I hear what you're saying about it not being his call, but that was a penalty so obvious and flagrant on both the pass interference and unnecessary roughness level that yellow flags should have rained in from all directions. BV did have an unobstructed view of the play from a very favorable vantage to see the hit well before the ball arrived. I don't know the rules, but could he have called a ref huddle to discuss? It's not officially his call, but he could've righted the wrong. He's not blameless, IMO.

That, and the NFL already had the "replay assist" system in place back then - you see it more and more now where they get word from NYC that they got a call totally wrong and fix it before even going to commercial/replay booth. Could've easily gotten together and had the correction wired in from NY and then throw a flag after the conference.

They knew it was wrong and didn't do squat about it.

 

[mr.t]

Interesting. Not even a preseason game?

Didn't he ref a playoff game yesterday.

 

[Bill]

I hear what you're saying about it not being his call, but that was a penalty so obvious and flagrant on both the pass interference and unnecessary roughness level that yellow flags should have rained in from all directions. BV did have an unobstructed view of the play from a very favorable vantage to see the hit well before the ball arrived. I don't know the rules, but could he have called a ref huddle to discuss? It's not officially his call, but he could've righted the wrong. He's not blameless, IMO.

As I have stated many times since that horrendous call... The biggest mistake by the NFL was to put a 'dream team' of officials together to call a football game rather than to use an entire well-graded crew who were used to working together to officiate the playoff games. It can be nearly impossible in the spur of the moment for all these senior officials to overrule the calls of each other even if one may possibly have the authority to do so. Even if he suspected the defender was early, Vinovich was much farther from that infraction and he knew that it was Cavaletto's call to make. If instead that play had an obvious 'illegal hands to the face' penalty by a defensive lineman, you would have expected Vinovich to make that call because it would have occurred in the part of the field that he was assigned to officiate. I doubt seriously that you would have had Cavaletto run over to Vinovich and say, "You missed an obvious hands to the face penalty on the defense." The infamous 'no-call' just wasn't Vinovich's call to make.

What bothers me the most about the 'butthurt' feelings of the fans is that they are allowing the popular opinion to do all their thinking for them. Statistically Vinovich is still one of the best NFL officials in the game. I'd rather have him calling our games than a lot of the blunderers I've seen slinging flags around the field. I believe with all my heart that if the rule had been in place to review such questionable PI rulings that Vinovich would have called for such. Instead he was put in the difficult situation of having to challenge another senior official whose position on the field made it his job to make the proper call. Cavaletto failed, not Vinovich. Just because the head official is the guy with the open mic and communicates the information to all the spectators doesn't mean that he necessarily agrees with all the calls that are made.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

I can only applaud Bill's post above.

Bill Vinovich is one of the best officials in the NFL. Except for the no-call, the 2018 NFC championship game was very well officiated (though I recognize that is like saying except for the entrance of John Wilkes Booth, Mrs. Lincoln had a grand time at the theater). Except for league intervention or a strong protest by the other official in the area, Vinovich could not have overruled Gary Cavaletto, who not only failed to make the call but apparently waved off the other official from making the pass-interference call.

The 2018 no-call was a horrible decision. I was in the end zone away from the play and saw the interference clearly. But the Saints would have won had they stopped the Rams in the last two minutes or scored in overtime, and then they failed to stop the Rams in overtime after the Brees interception.

Once in the Super Bowl, who knows what happens. But in the 2018 season, we were the best team in the league in December, but in January because of injuries, we were hurting. I am convinced that 2017 was our year because we were peaking at the right time. Because of our collapse on defense in the final seconds in the Minnesota playoff game and at the end of the 2018 NFC championship game, I have been less impressed by Dennis Allen as a defensive coach than some of you are.

 

[SweetT]

Didn't he ref a playoff game yesterday.

Yes

 

[saintfan1972]

I agree with Bill. I would take Vinovich in a game any day than some of these guys now. The white hat won't throw that. When I officiated high school, I was an umpire. I would turn to help with catches. I was told real quick PI is not your call. Stay in your lane. Vinovich would never throw that from where he was. Just like in baseball, if the home plate ump sees 1st baseman pull his foot too early, he wont say anything unless he's asked. The no call was one of the worst ever. Just wasn't Vinovich fault.
Sign up to officiate some football. Go to some clinics. It will open your eyes on things.

 

[Snakehead]

The WWE picks entertainers for a heel turn on a regular basis. The NFL does the same with a ref for their crew. Each season a new "infraction" is selected to be a point of emphasis and that is used through the season to turn games along with the "judgement" call penalties. The refs who were selected for the heel turn are put in place in crucial games to ensure the desired outcome. These guys are characters. Why else would a ref need to juice up the guns to force there way into the spotlight of a game that has nothing to do with them, but is between the 2 teams on the field. Roger Goodell is Vince McMahon on a larger scale.

 

[mr.t]

I agree with Bill. I would take Vinovich in a game any day than some of these guys now. The white hat won't throw that. When I officiated high school, I was an umpire. I would turn to help with catches. I was told real quick PI is not your call. Stay in your lane. Vinovich would never throw that from where he was. Just like in baseball, if the home plate ump sees 1st baseman pull his foot too early, he wont say anything unless he's asked. The no call was one of the worst ever. Just wasn't Vinovich fault.
Sign up to officiate some football. Go to some clinics. It will open your eyes on things.

I reffed soccer and swimming and basketball and we were told to call what we obererved

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

I agree with Bill. I would take Vinovich in a game any day than some of these guys now. The white hat won't throw that. When I officiated high school, I was an umpire. I would turn to help with catches. I was told real quick PI is not your call. Stay in your lane. Vinovich would never throw that from where he was. Just like in baseball, if the home plate ump sees 1st baseman pull his foot too early, he wont say anything unless he's asked. The no call was one of the worst ever. Just wasn't Vinovich fault.
Sign up to officiate some football. Go to some clinics. It will open your eyes on things.

So there was no way for Vinovich of the crew to rectify the situation before the next play?

 

[504gks]

I can only applaud Bill's post above.

Bill Vinovich is one of the best officials in the NFL. Except for the no-call, the 2018 NFC championship game was very well officiated (though I recognize that is like saying except for the entrance of John Wilkes Booth, Mrs. Lincoln had a grand time at the theater). Except for league intervention or a strong protest by the other official in the area, Vinovich could not have overruled Gary Cavaletto, who not only failed to make the call but apparently waved off the other official from making the pass-interference call.

The 2018 no-call was a horrible decision. I was in the end zone away from the play and saw the interference clearly. But the Saints would have won had they stopped the Rams in the last two minutes or scored in overtime, and then they failed to stop the Rams in overtime after the Brees interception.

Once in the Super Bowl, who knows what happens. But in the 2018 season, we were the best team in the league in December, but in January because of injuries, we were hurting. I am convinced that 2017 was our year because we were peaking at the right time. Because of our collapse on defense in the final seconds in the Minnesota playoff game and at the end of the 2018 NFC championship game, I have been less impressed by Dennis Allen as a defensive coach than some of you are.

U mean the breese interception when he was struck in the face throwing, didn't call that either

 

[Bill]

So there was no way for Vinovich of the crew to rectify the situation before the next play?

I believe that he’s much more likely to question a guy who worked with him on his regular crew than another senior official who may not have appreciated someone challenging his ruling with millions watching.

But it might have been fun watching Vinovich & Cavaletto bowing up at midfield.

 

[KingBarkus]

So there was no way for Vinovich of the crew to rectify the situation before the next play?

I heard Florio speak on this very issue. He claimed some official including Vinovich should have dropped a flag well after the play. What was someone going to say? It was an obvious penalty. I don’t agree with any of this and Vinovich lied about not seeing the play when cameras caught him looking at it.