The fire is still burning from the blown call in the NFC Championship, and everyone is spouting about the pass interference that wasn’t in the closing minutes of regulation in a Rams win over the Saints.
Everyone except the NFL.
The league still has not said anything publicly about Los Angeles cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman’s early hit on New Orleans receiver Tommylee Lewis in the final two minutes, which led to a Saints field goal and a Rams comeback.
Immediately after the game, the league apparently acknowledged the massive error, as Saints coach Sean Payton said the league office called him and told him “they blew the call.” Lead official Bill Vinovich told a pool reporter after the game he hadn’t even seen a replay, unaware of the controversy. Pro Football Talk then reported the NFL would publicly admit to the error. That has not happened.
Commissioner Roger Goodell will meet with reporters in the prelude to the Super Bowl, and it will be interesting to see how he answers the questions that come, including whether the league will change its replay rules to ensure these types of bad calls can be rectified in the future.
The silence so far has been made more curious by the Saints fans’ reaction. A New Orleans attorney filed a suit Tuesday against the NFL, demanding the league act on an article in the rule book that states the commissioner can overturn game results “in the face of a grossly unfair result.”
This, obviously, will not be settled before the Rams and Patriots face off in the Super Bowl, and the NFL has another controversy on its hands.