The overturned OPI on review was a very succinct and direct injustice from the NFL to New Orleans. (1 Viewer)

[insidejob]

Agreed.
No FU to the city of New Orleans could be bigger than the one in the NFCCG.

Last season they came into our home, ate our food, slept with our significant others, then defecated on the floor on their way out.

Apologies if this sentiment has already been shared, but...last year's NFCCG no call is the impetus to US particularly getting screwed by the officials this season because they don't appreciate that we had the audacity to change the replay on PI after getting the shaft that cost us a shot at a Super Bowl title. Yes, last year's no call will probably go down as the biggest screw job by officials in an NFL game, but they're taking it out on the Saints in particular for having the rules changed in the first place. They don't appreciate their incompetence being put on blast by having the rules changed to challenge their incompetence. It couldn't be more obvious in their changing the call in Carolina's favor - which was much less blatant than the call we challenged in the first half that they did not overturn.

 

[0rion]

It's more than clear to most people that we're getting treated a certain way by every ref crew in the league. It started early this year with the fumble recovered TD that was blown dead. It hasn't changed all year. I'm not sure how much more of it I'm willing to tolerate. For the first time today I said out loud that I'm about done with the NFL. Not sure how much I mean that because I love the saints but it's getting really hard to sit here helpless while a crooked system takes advantage of them. The only tool I have is to turn off the TV and that's starting to be an option.

 

[Bethany Muddcooter]

Until fans stop watching or stop buying merchandise nothing will change.

So, I can only do so much, but I bootleg stream any and every NFL game I can that I can't get directly. Screw you Redzone and NFL League Pass, Reddit has all I need.

Also, I only buy bootleg Saints gear. There is some amazing stuff from personal designers on Etsy. Everybody asks where I get my Saints gear when they see it because it's super unique and cool. But it sure as Fork don't buy anything licensed by the league where they get a 30% cut.

That's my small protest.

 

[SaintsSupremacy]

Ima just leave this right here:

Al Riveron on New Orleans DPI call: Replay showed "clear and obvious" evidence

The first 11 weeks of the NFL season taught a pretty clear lesson for coaches using challenge flags to try for pass interference penalties that weren't called on the field.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

That is ****ing RICH... How, with a straight face, can he reverse the incomplete pass call on the field when so, so many, far more egregious calls have been allowed to stand as called?

 

[dooce]

Your point is nonsensical. It's like blaming the gun for a murder. A rule is only as good as its enforcement. The ability to challenge PI calls is a good thing. It gives power to the teams to correct a wrong judgment call based on video evidence so that the NFL can't mistakenly put the WRONG TEAM in the Super Bowl again. This HOPE presupposes that the NFL WANTS TO GET IT RIGHT. I, for one, am certain that they do NOT WANT TO GET IT RIGHT. They want as many judgment calls as they can get so that they CAN CONTROL the outcomes of games especially which teams get into the biggest TV event of the year.

The rule is great. The people running the NFL are aholes.

I am not saying righting a wrong is a bad thing, I’m just saying that situations like what happened today are just a different form of the same problem.

I do not believe there is a conspiracy to control the outcome of games, I find that nonsensical. In this age of leaks, hacks and incompetence, I don’t believe these people have the ability to orchestrate this type of operation in secret. Especially if only to protect a part time job. I could be wrong, hope I’m not. I would never watch again if I believed that.

 

[NewOrleansFan]

They need to change it so that PIs are review by a committee. Maybe 3 officials sitting in 3 different offices without talking to each other. Should never have left it to one guy with big ego like Al Riveron.

 

[where yat brah]

Same referee, Alex Kemp, for both calls in videos. I looked it up.

LMAO.

Does anybody have info on what this guy's crew had been like in previous Saints'games?

 

[wnelson]

Fun Fact: every Superbowl that doesn't showcase the saints, not just the game in new orleans, should be a boycott bowl.

 

[sfidc3]

Wow. W O W

Another EGREGIOUS non call

I think it is rather obvious the refs have been instructed to change these calls as infrequently as possible....because the NFL wants to be able to say they have reviewed this rule change and upon their expert analyzation (or something) they can do away with the rule next year....

 

[26ISTHEMAN]

It is impossible to dismiss the notion that the refs, and Al Riveron in particular, have it out for the Saints. It is not something that can ever be proven without someone breaking ranks and admitting it, but my eyes tell me what my eyes tell me, and I'm not blind.

 

[insidejob]

It is impossible to dismiss the notion that the refs, and Al Riveron in particular, have it out for the Saints. It is not something that can ever be proven without someone breaking ranks and admitting it, but my eyes tell me what my eyes tell me, and I'm not blind.

Seconded!

 

[Hedon James]

I think it is rather obvious the refs have been instructed to change these calls as infrequently as possible....because the NFL wants to be able to say they have reviewed this rule change and upon their expert analyzation (or something) they can do away with the rule next year....

I think sfidc3 nailed the bullseye! Looking back at league meetings, there was discussion about this potential rule change, but Roger saying there wasn't a consensus amongst owners yet, so didn't think it would happen, but they'd continue to "study it" to come up with something. Next thing you know, Coach Payton is on TV discussing his proposal and apparently lobbying behind the scenes with other coaches....none of whom want to be the next powerless victim of a non-call in pivotal moment. All of a sudden, there's a consensus and TADA....rules change passes.

This couldn't have sat well with Roger. Once again, Coach Payton went around him; once again, refusing to kiss Roger's ring. But instead of implementing the rules change with proper intentions, Roger has once again co-opted an NFL process to suit his ego-driven agenda. Please don't quote me on EXACT numbers, but I read an article in the past week regarding coaches PI challenges and something like 6 out of 76 have been successfully overturned. The coach only has 2 per game, so he is saving his PI challenges for apparently egregiously WRONG calls that he'd like remedied in pivotal situations. Statistically, I'd think reviews of EGREGIOUSLY INCORRECT calls would be successful no less than 50% of the time; for a 38-38 ratio of overturned/upheld calls. Instead, the ratio of overturned/upheld is 6-70. Given the scenario, and the implied strategy of only challenging the most egregious errors, how is this possible?

I can only think of 2 scenarios. 1 is that coaches are challenging "less than egregiously obvious" incorrect calls. But this defies logic. Given the scarcity of challenges (you only get 2!), why waste it on an iffy scenario? Much like the limited number of timeouts, it's often best to save them for the most advantageous moments, and live with the delay of game or similar penalty, than waste a precious timeout. Consider how reluctant coaches are to call timeout, instead preferring out-of-bounds and other "stop the clock" strategies; then consider that PI challenges are even more valuable than timeouts. So I don't think coaches are being frivolous with them, IMO.

The 2nd scenario is that the refereeing really IS that bad, necessitating a challenge. But instead of viewing the challenge/replay as a tool for the opportunity to "get it right"...which would be a beautiful thing for the integrity of the game...the NFL and the referees view it as a challenge to referee competence, which they view as a threat to the status quo. Generally speaking, I don't think referees are corrupt or incompetent; I think they're human, and humans make mistakes. I would have NO PROBLEM with a referee calling it as he sees it on the field, even in a "bang bang" moment, and reviewing the play in slo-mo real time if challenged with the intent of using technology to get it right. But when you start denying the technology in order to support your "bang bang" judgement in the moment, then I start to question their integrity and competence.

So, as the self-appointed protector of the shield and the integrity of the game, why would Roger allow this contradiction to continue? IMO, it's not about protecting the shield nor the integrity of the game. Those are just cute buzzwords that Roger utilizes as tools for his ego-driven power-mongering. And once again, Sean Payton has refused to kiss Roger's ring; in fact, he even went AROUND Roger this time. Roger don't like that, and we're seeing the results of this in the numerous failed challenges, despite slo-mo video evidence to support the challenge. In the spring meetings, they'll cite the overwhelming ratio of upheld calls and decide that the lack of successful challenges, along with extended game times, do not warrant continuing this rule. Unless Payton works WITH Roger on this matter, and allow some credit to flow to Roger, it ain't getting any better...

 

[PAPACHUCK]

I believe the only route to a fix is through Ms Benson. The owners have the only power to rid the NFL of such atrocities that is Roger Goodell and Alberto Riveron.
We as fans only have the power to lobby the Saints organization and Ms Benson herself.
Blast the Saints Org with as many emails as possible.

 

[Houmaboy]

I wish more people could empathize with this but 31 other clubs are filled with mostly bitter haters.

I love the Saints, but it was pass interference by the rule!

 

[dr61258]

I love the Saints, but it was pass interference by the rule!

Was it PI by Jared Cook by the rule ? No way and they upheld the call. Total BS