I can understand the National Football League wanting Los Angeles in the Super Bowl instead of New Orleans due to the fact that Los Angeles is a much larger market than New Orleans, but I never thought he NFL would stoop as low as allowing officials to decide the outcome of a game.
It happened with 1:45 left in regulation of Sunday’s conference title game on the Saints’ sideline in the Superdome.
A Rams defensive back committed an obvious pass interference penalty and officials, from the on the field crew to the review crew to officials in NFL headquarters in New York failed to call it. It was a no-call.
Saints coach Sean Payton was irate. I’m glad I am not still on the Saints’ administrative staff. I would have probably been fitted with a straight-jacket and gagged! It was so obvious. Had it been any other game, the Rams player would have been ejected for targeting as it was a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless Saints receiver. I have always said the Saints are the only team NFL team that can get violated on its home field.
There is an NFL rule that states the commissioner has the authority to overrule the decision and declare the hit illegal and award the game to the Rams. Look it up: it is Rule 17, Section 2, Article 1 and it declares that the Commissioner has the authority to overrule any action that is deemed contrary to fairness of any action taken on the field of play. It’s there in black and white!
Current NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will never invoke that rule; especially in this case because he knows that Los Angeles is a bigger business market than New Orleans. In his position, he must allow the Rams to go to the Super Bowl and that is what the no call was all about.
Money!
Payton protested to every game official on the field to no avail. Of course, they didn’t see the play. They realize the financial implications for the league. They are no dummies when it comes to their paychecks!
The officials made a pass interference call against the Rams a few minutes later. In my opinion, that was a “makeup” call to benefit the Saints as I didn’t see any interference on that play.
It’s a shame that the NFL felt it had to stoop to that level to keep the Saints out of the league’s showcase game.
If Roger Goodell had any backbone, he would utilize that rule and reverse the call and let the game proceed from that point. It would be the right thing to do. But, he won’t. The league has apologized and it will end there. The Rams are in the Super Bowl. There should be an asterisk placed beside their name in the record books. It should resemble this: Super Bowl LIII: LA Rams* vs. New England Patriots *Due to Blown Call by Officials.
A blown call that cost the Saints a trip to a Super Bowl.
Back when I was with the Saints, there was a dentist in New Orleans that sent NFL Commissioner a diamond tie pin for Christmas shaped like a donkey’s hind quarter with the name “Pete” in diamonds below it. The thing must have cost at least $5,000. It was worth it to the dentist!
After the blown call, I can only wonder what the dentist would have sent Goodell!
