Hurley's Picks: Patriots Due For A Loss In Denver -- But First, A Rant About NFL Officiating
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- The NFL and its officials are just the best. The best!
And fortunately for us, they've saved some of their best work for the biggest stage, blowing major calls on Monday Night Football not once, not twice, but thrice through 11 weeks of the season. Thrice!
The first was when K.J. Wright batted a ball out of the end zone, thereby costing the Lions an almost surefire victory (they would have had first-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 1:45 left to play and two timeouts). The next came the following week, when the side judge in charge of monitoring the clock didn't notice 18 seconds running off before Pittsburgh mounted a winning drive (the error cost the Chargers a chance, however slim, at mounting a drive in response).
(We could also add the officials who missed a false start two weeks ago, thereby allowing the Jaguars a chance to win the game, which they did. Those officials were not punished in any way because who cares, right?)
And the most recent blunder came Monday night in Foxboro, when line judge Gary Arthur inexplicably blew his whistle because he ... lost sight of the football? That's an outstanding excuse, really. We need more officials who are brave enough to blow their whistle as soon as they can't see the pigskin. That's what officiating is all about!
While the impact* of that gaffe has somehow turned into an idiotic Twitter debate that's only ever been surpassed by the great Halloween Candy Power Rankings that spring up every October, the embarrassment for referee Gene Steratore and, by extension, the NFL was apparent immediately. Steratore asked his line judge what the heck happened, and you could almost see the referee's face contort in ways that said, "How in the hell am I supposed to explain this to these 68,000 angry people ... let alone Bill Belichick?"
And so Steratore did what he could, fibbing by saying the whistle blew after the catch, because really, if they had taken that obvious completion away, there would have been some serious issues. The NFL rulebook (Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1, n) states that "when an official sounds his whistle while the ball is still in play, the ball becomes dead immediately." By rule, the down should have been replayed, because here's where the ball was when the whistle sounded:
But that's also where things got very NFL. Not only did Steratore temporarily disregard the rulebook in order to follow common sense (not the worst idea, really), but he also added on a brand new charge in order to remove all accountability from his co-worker by adding a penalty on Rex Ryan for obstructing the line judge from doing his job.
"The ruling on the field ... is ..." Steratore said, readying himself for the lie, " ... that when the receiver caught the football, there was an inadvertent whistle by an official on the field. By rule, the ball is dead at the spot of where the reception was made. That is where the receiver gained possession when the whistle was blown."
As a reminder, this was not true. But it was a fair ruling, so we'll sort of let it slide.
Steratore continued: "There was also a foul for interference with a coach from the Buffalo sideline. That 15-yard penalty is going to be added to the 45-yard line, which is the spot where the inadvertent whistle took place."
Look, as you can see, Rex was clearly a step into the white boundary line, but the line judge had a clear view of Brady when he lifted his whistle to blow ... for no reason.
You'll also notice that a flag was never thrown. It was only when the officials went into panic mode and had to think on their feet as to how they could dig out of a bad situation (which they created themselves) that this penalty of Rex Ryan appeared out of thin air.
That is why this situation is a perfect picture of the NFL and those in charge. A person who holds himself accountable for his own actions is simply not someone who could ever work for the NFL. At the NFL, if you screw up, it's somebody else's fault. That's the name of the game.
You blew a whistle 1 second after you saw a quarterback throw it? Blame the coach standing next to you!
You screwed up when you only suspended Ray Rice for two games? Call him a liar and increase the penalty!
Your dummy employees badly botched a sting operation, knew nothing about basic physics and failed to record proper measurements? Just invent a "scheme" and take that quarterback to court!
You're the NFL -- you can do anything you want, and that includes blaming other people for all your mistakes.
Sure, if Steratore played that one by the book, there would have been a lot of angry people in a confined space. Maybe something bad would have happened. So I don't blame the guy for saying the whistle blew after the catch, just to quell the angry masses.
But tacking on the penalty to Ryan is such a cop-out from a guy who just couldn't admit that he messed up. It had to be somebody else's fault.
(I could go on about how they blew the final play of the game, thereby costing the Bills a shot at a Hail Mary to tie or perhaps win the game, but we don't have all day.)
Instead of issuing punishments, Roger Goodell will probably give pay raises to both Steratore and Arthur. Way to protect the shield, boys.
So before any other NFL official botches another basic call, let's get into some Week 12 picks.
(Thanksgiving picks are here.)
*(Ronald Darby was more than likely going to tackle Danny Amendola, by the way.)
(Home team in CAPS; Wednesday lines)
Minnesota (+2) over ATLANTA
Last Sunday, Matt Ryan's last-second Hail Mary came down at the 5-yard line. The five-stinking-yard-line. Nothing takes the wind out of your sails quite like watching your quarterback fail to get the ball into the end zone on a Hail Mary. That's more of a Glory Be than it is a Hail Mary, if you ask me.
Anyway, that team's dead now. Whoever could have seen that coming?!
CINCINNATI (-9) over St. Louis
When Wes Welker announced to the world that he wanted to return to the NFL, the world responded with a collective concerned groan. We've seen that man absorb so many hits, we really don't want to see him suffer any more concussions. But of course, he is his own man, and so he has the right to choose to do what he wants to do. And for Wes, that involved signing with the St. Louis Rams.
Well, I hope Wes was paying attention on Sunday afternoon when his team's coaching and training staffs were blatantly ignoring their quarterback, who could not climb to his own two feet after slamming his head off the turf in the game's final minutes. Those are the people looking out for Wes Welker -- people who think, "Eh, we could go in there and check him out ... but we've got a game to win. Let's see how he does."
Case Keenum did eventually find a way to stand up, and he threw an incompletion over Welker's head before fumbling away the ball -- and the game.
And on Tuesday, the world woke up to this headline: "Rams hoping to get Case Keenum on the field today."
The NFL has a serious concussion problem.
Oakland (-2) over TENNESSEE
Charles Woodson is tied for the league lead with five interceptions. Charles Woodson won the Heisman Award over Peyton Manning at a time when "Barbie Girl" by Aqua was at the top of the charts and "Titanic" was dominating the box office. Nomar Garciaparra led the AL in hits and Ken Griffey Jr. socked 56 dingers. Adam Vinatieri is the only active player who's been in the league longer than Woodson. Of the other five cornerbacks taken in the first two rounds of the '98 draft, nobody played past 2009.
Charles Woodson left Michigan after Tom Brady's sophomore season. And people talk about the remarkable things Brady is doing at his age. Where's the appreciation for Woodson?
Here goes: Nice job out there, Charles. Way to go.
Tampa Bay (+3) over INDIANAPOLIS
Note to any coach who intends to take the Indianapolis job this offseason: Watch this video of Chuck Pagano's locker room speech. Look at the two men -- GM Ryan Grigson, owner Jim Irsay -- over his shoulder, looking like the weirdest dudes. Remember that they will be your bosses -- men who traded a first-round pick for Trent Richardson and men who desperately needed offensive line help but opted to draft a wide receiver and a cornerback with their first two picks. (It's no coincidence that their franchise quarterback is currently sidelined after getting pummeled like a ragdoll for a year-and-a-half.)
Watch that video, watch those two guys, remember that they're letting Chuck Pagano take all the blame for their own poor management, and think long and hard about what you're willing to deal with over the next three years.
(I know that I vowed to not speak of the AFC South anymore, but for one, the AFC South won three games last week! Secondly, I couldn't let that video go ignored.)
Buffalo (+5) over KANSAS CITY
Can we relax on Kansas City here for a minute? Five points? Yes, they've won four straight, but that's a stretch where they faced Landry Jones, an awful Lions team, a dying Peyton Manning, and a terrible Chargers team. I'm taking those points, thank you very much.
Miami (+3.5) over NEW YORK JETS
I don't really like the Dolphins here, being a bad team that's traveling up to New York in cold weather. But the Jets are in enough of a Jetsian tailspin right now, losers of four out of five games and coming off back-to-back losses against Buffalo and Houston, that even if you think the Jets manage to win this game, you can't expect it to be by anything but a score of 12-9.
This game's going to stink. I hope nobody is in the stadium.
New York Giants (+2.5) over WASHINGTON
As I have stated, the Giants are going to win the Super Bowl (it's just science; you can find it in a book), so this would be about the time of year when they start to randomly find some high gear that didn't previously exist. They're coming off a bye, they just stood toe-to-toe with the best team in the league, and they're about to face a team that lost by 28 points and then shared their conspiracy theory that referees call penalties on them because they're called the "Redskins."
JACKSONVILLE (-3.5) over San Diego
Not only are the Chargers 2-8 overall, but they're only 3-7 against the spread. Man oh man, the Chargers are bad.
Meanwhile, my Jags have covered four straight games, and they even handled the pressures of being considered a real NFL team and having to cover three points last week. My Jags are growing up right in front of my face. I remember when they were just wee big!
New Orleans (+3) over HOUSTON
Refusal to talk about the AFC South: I know this is controversial, but I don't care. I'm going to say it. I'm just that brave, people. So here goes ...
Cranberry sauce out of the can is delicious.
Fight me.
(On the pick, I totally would've taken the Texans if they hadn't switched to artificial turf. I don't know how this is possible, but the Saints can't play on grass. Alas.)
Arizona (-10) over SAN FRANCISCO
Can we just skip right ahead to the Cardinals-Panthers NFC Championship Game now or what? Let's get this show on the road.
Pittsburgh (+3.5) over SEATTLE
Here's a complete list of the impressive victories on the Seahawks' resume this year: ___________ .
(That's a blank space, in case you weren't quick on the uptake.)
Seattle has won five games against teams with a combined record of 16-34 (it's 13-27 if you don't count San Francisco twice).
Seattle has lost five games against teams with a combined record of 37-13.
In games against teams that currently own winning records, Seattle is 0-4.
Pittsburgh is currently 6-4 and would constitute as one of the few good teams in this godforsaken league. The pick is fairly simple.
DENVER (+3) over NEW ENGLAND
The streak is coming to an end. The Patriots are going to lose.
Of course, there's no team in any sport that manages to make such statements look ridiculous within 15 minutes of the start of a game, and I wouldn't be stunned if Bill Belichick and Tom Brady conjure up some dark magic to pull out an impressive road victory.
But the combination of an offensive line that could not protect Brady, a short week with travel to a place that's always given them trouble (the Belichick-Brady Patriots are 2-5 in Denver, including playoffs), and an injured Danny Amendola for an already depleted receiving corps will just be too much to overcome. The Patriots will do a much better job in stopping the Denver running game than Chicago did last week, but if Brock Osweiler can throw the ball better than Tyrod Taylor (many quarterbacks can do that), then the Broncos should be able to at least keep this one close.
I think it'll be low-scoring, a battle of two of the league's best defenses, but I think the Patriots come home with the first blemish on their record. They've flirted with an L for the past two weeks, and that has to catch up to them eventually.
CLEVELAND (-2.5) over Baltimore
This is it, folks. This is the one. This is the worst Monday Night Football game of all time. Even before Joe Flacco tore his knee and before Johnny Manziel chose to party with his friend Dom Perignon, this game was lacking any appeal. But now that we've got a Matt Schaub-Josh McCown quarterback showdown, whoa boy.
This may be the worst Monday Night Football game of all time. Or it might be the worst since the Bears visited the Chargers a few weeks ago. This league is in rough shape.
Last week: 8-6
Season: 74-83-3
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
