R 52 Bill Vinovich 3 WC, 5 DIV, 5 CC, XLIX, LIV U 128 Ramon George 1 WC, 1 DIV, 1 CC DJ 9 Mark Perlman 6 WC, 10 DIV, 3 CC, XL, XLIII, XLIX LJ 45 Jeff Seeman 5 WC, 5 DIV, 2 CC, XLIV, LI FJ 97 Tom Hill 9 WC, 3 DIV, 8 CC, XL, XLIX, LII SJ 86 Jimmy Buchanan 3 WC, 1 CC BJ 30 Todd Prukop 3 WC, 3 DIV, 3 CC, LI ALT R 62 Ron Torbert 3 WC, 5 DIV* ALT U 124 Carl Paganelli 5 WC*, 5 DIV, 5 CC, XLVIII ALT DJ 79 Kent Payne 4 WC*, 5 DIV, 8 CC, XLV, LI, LIV ALT LJ 68 Tom Stephan 5 WC, 2 DIV*, CC ALT FJ 50 Aaron Santi 1 WC, 3 DIV*, 1 CC ALT SJ 120 Jonah Monroe 1 WC, 2 DIV* ALT BJ 38 Greg Yette 2 DIV* Replay official: Mark Butterworth Replay assistant: Chris Scott Alternate replay official: Jimmy Oldham
You have to watch closely, but line judge Jeff Seeman dropped his bean bag on this scrum. He had to get the spot, but he also had to settle down some amped players.
So he dropped his bean bag at the spot, then went to getting players broken up.
Replay correctly reversed a catch and run by Chiefs' receiver Tyreek Hill following a Bills challenge. Hill was ruled to have tightroped the sideline on his way to a 31 yard gain, but in actuality, stepped out of bounds after gaining 16 yards.
This was a good challenge by Buffalo and a correct reversal.
Down judge Mark Hittner moved into first place by himself with his 23 postseason games by an active official during the NFC Championship Game. Field judge Tom Hill works his 23rd in the AFC Championship.
The all-time record is 29 held by the AFL and NFL umpire Al Conway, which includes 6 Conference Championships and Super Bowls IX, XIV, XVI, and XXII.
Post by exhockeyref on Jan 24, 2021 22:01:16 GMT -5
Lots of extra-curricular activity at the end of the game. Refs seem to be alert and are hopping in to separate players, but maybe an earlier penalty or two might have helped calm things down.
Buffalo's quarterback is in the grasp and Bill Vinovich properly blows the play dead. The Chiefs defender finishes his tackle on the quarterback.
A Bills lineman takes umbrage and levels the Chiefs player, as the quarterback flips the ball at the Chiefs.
Flags fly.
Note the alternate officials swinging into action to help restore order.
At this point, centralized replay steps in to make sure all players pick up a the fouls they deserve, and issue ejections if needed.Field judge Tom Hill acts as recording secretary and helps Vinovich with his announcement.
On the field the crew did a 3.7 - 3.9 performance.
But, a serious rule misapplication on a replay that shouldn't have happened, forces me to give this crew a 1.5
From Football Zebras:
A major failure by centralized replay as a review was made of a play that was not reviewable.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen stepped out of bounds while he threw an incomplete pass landing out of bounds. Referee Bill Vinovich, trailing the play, and not with the best vantage point, ruled that Allen stepped out of bounds prior to releasing the pass. Inside the 2-minute warning, the replay booth stopped the game for a review, which transfers the ultimate call to svp/officiating Al Riveron in the New York headquarters.
But an out-of-bounds call can NEVER be reversed to a subsequent action with the exception of a fumble or loose-ball recovery. In this case, an incomplete pass cannot be ruled, because that presumes additional action beyond the originally ruled dead ball. This could not be a completed pass, so we cannot rule an incomplete pass.
Even though the multiple people in the replay command center dropped the ball, the replay official, the replay assistant, and the alternate replay official in the replay booth AND all 7 officials and the 7 alternates on the field missed this. Someone needed to speak up.
Last Edit: Jan 24, 2021 22:19:10 GMT -5 by FredFan7
So, who's to blame? New York? the replay official? Obviously if no one picked up on this, it's probably a infraction that needs to be looked at further. The rule book probably has gotten out of hand with these type of rules. Thoughts?
Responsibility starts all the way at the top, as Al's sole responsibility is replay now. He must know what is reviewable and what is not. I hate to skewer him, because in officiating, we are not infallible. However, as officials we file our mistakes away, because the next time we have to get it right. And the fact that Al got this wrong as a referee just doesn't sit well with me. He would be livid if an official made the same mistake twice, especially in an unusual situation such as this.
To be honest, I wasn't sure how this 3-headed approach in leadership was going to work. The only thing Al is doing is replay, which means he has very little responsibility for a SVP. Perry Fewell is going to go back to coaching the next opportunity he gets. I'm just not sure how the Monday morning meeting goes at 345 Park Avenue with the commissioner and all the executives. It doesn't look good. I think you will have Walt in charge next year, although I don't know how he runs everything (presumably) post-pandemic from Sugar Land, Texas. But in short order, he will be the sole one in charge, I think.
There is plenty of blame to go around, and I am surprised that Russ Yurk didn't say anything with "replay" in his title. They have trained replay assistants in New York as well, beyond the moderately trained video operators of previous years. You had 2 replay officials in the booth plus an assistant. All of these people know that the dead ball is extended ONLY for a fumble/loose ball recovery or the "one-step rule" when ruled short of the goal line. That's it. I can understand the crew of 14 not being fully versed on replay specifics, but I am shocked that none of them picked up on it.
