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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Notes and observations from San Francisco 49ers headquarters one day after the season ended with a 20-17 overtime defeat to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game:

• That was Jim Harbaugh, not the 16th century privateer Sir Andrew Barton, assessing the state of his team this way: "Hurt but not slain, I'll lay down and bleed a while, then rise and fight again." Battle language appeals to Harbaugh. He also said the "football gods" had a different ending in mind than the one his 49ers envisioned.
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Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesJim Harbaugh disagreed with the penalty called following Vernon Davis' touchdown celebration in the first quarter of Sunday's game.
• Looks like Harbaugh and the Ed Hochuli-led all-star officiating crew for the NFC title game have some issues relating to the fumble that was not. Officials ruled that the New York Giants' Ahmad Bradshaw was down -- specifically, that his forward progress had stopped -- before NaVorro Bowman forced out the ball. Harbaugh: "In my opinion, that was a fumble. The play was continuing. There was still struggling by Bradshaw."
• Harbaugh, who spent the 2002-03 seasons with Oakland, said the forward-progress ruling was "analogous to the tuck rule" against the Raiders in the AFC title game. Harbaugh also referenced a forward-progress ruling from the Giants-49ers game in Week 10. The 49ers thought they forced a Victor Cruz fumble, but Tony Corrente and crew ruled forward progress was stopped. Harbaugh tried to challenge that call, but the play was not open to review.
• Harbaugh also took issue with the penalty against tight end Vernon Davis for using a prop during a touchdown celebration. Davis climbed a camera stand to celebrate his 73-yard touchdown. Harbaugh, perhaps unaware or overlooking special allowances the NFL makes for the Lambeau Leap, compared Davis' act with the one that is a signature celebration in Green Bay. He also said Davis was using a structure, not a prop. The rulebook makes only one mention of a prop, under rules for taunting: "Possession or use of foreign or extraneous object(s) that are not part of the uniform during the game on the field or the sideline, or using the ball as a prop."
• Strong safety Donte Whitner said the Giants' receivers smartly got to the ground before contact to avoid risking turnovers in sloppy conditions. The approach prevented the 49ers' hard-hitting secondary from putting a physical stamp on the game, as it had against New Orleans a week earlier. Two of the bigger collisions involved 49ers safety Dashon Goldson colliding with teammates as they tried to pick off passes. One of those collisions knocked out cornerback Tarell Brown for the remainder of the game. Brown said he did not suffer a concussion, but team doctors prohibited him from returning to the game as a precaution.
• The shoulder injury Kyle Williams suffered before his late fumble did not include a separation, according to Harbaugh. But Williams was very sore Monday.
• Alex Smith joined Harbaugh in putting off talk regarding a new contract. There should be very little drama associated with re-signing Smith. Both parties want to get a deal done. Harbaugh seemed bored by obligatory questions about a new contract for his quarterback.
• Frank Gore said he did not know if he would play in the Pro Bowl. He planned to meet with team doctors first. Gore said he felt good Sunday, brushing off suggestions that he was playing hurt late in the season. Harbaugh said one 49ers player told him about plans to skip the Pro Bowl. Harbaugh would not say which one it was. Seattle's Marshawn Lynch would be next in line as an alternate if Gore withdrew from the game.
• The 49ers punted three times on possessions after deciding not to go for it on fourth-and-1. I was thinking of the one in overtime when I asked Harbaugh about his thought process. He answered in reference to the two previous ones, noting that pinning a team inside its own 10 is generally worth about three points. The 49ers wound up getting no points from any of their fourth-and-1 punts (one came after a delay penalty set up fourth-and-6). The Giants were the next team to score after all three of them. That doesn't necessarily mean San Francisco made poor decisions. They can be interesting to debate.
• Two Pro Bowl players in the secondary area are heading toward free agency. Cornerback Carlos Rogers said he'll make re-signing with the 49ers his top priority over seeking paydays elsewhere. Rogers: "From the owner to the general manager to everyone in this organization, I like everything about this organization, all the players, the trainers. This ain't about me coming and saying now I'm free, let's get the check. I'm thinking about this team. This is where I want to be, first of all." Goldson can also become a free agent. I did not speak with him.
• Harbaugh joked his way out of answering a question about how he spent Sunday evening following the game. He called it a California thing when people want to know how he feels, what he was doing at a certain time, etc. He cited his status as a Midwesterner in declining to provide specifics. He did confirm where he planned to watch the Super Bowl: "On TV."

That's a wrap from 49ers headquarters. I'll be boarding a plane and heading home Monday night.

NFL officiating crews have largely stayed in the background in the playoffs this season.

ESPN's John Clayton, in putting together his weekend preview, thinks the New York Giants could be in line for more holding calls with Ed Hochuli assigned to the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers. Count @DLucasTaylor among those wondering what the Hochuli assignment might mean more broadly.

Before taking a look at potential tendencies for Hochuli, we should note that the NFL switches to all-star officiating crews beginning in the championship round. As much as Hochuli seems to relish making calls, he cannot make all of them. Having a different crew could affect tendencies.

Referees do tend to be the ones calling holding against left tackles and roughing the passer.

The 49ers defeated New Orleans last week even though they declined the only penalty John Parry's crew called against the Saints. New Orleans declined two of the five penalties called against the 49ers in that game. Parry, who also worked the 49ers' game at Baltimore this season, appears in line to work the Super Bowl.

Hochuli's crew led the NFL in penalties for defensive holding. They also ranked high among the 17 crews for offensive holding and pass interference.

The chart shows where Hochuli's crews ranked among the others for various frequently made calls.
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The 2011 Official Playing Rules and Casebook of the National Football League devotes 1,127 words to the section on roughing the passer.

Twenty-two words near the end sum up the spirit:

"If in doubt about a roughness call or potentially dangerous tactic on the quarterback, the referee should always call roughing the passer."

That sentence pretty much absolves referees from blame for penalizing acts that seem to be borderline infractions.

We discussed one such penalty against the Arizona Cardinals' Calais Campbell earlier.

Campbell leads the NFC West in roughing-the-passer penalties since 2009 with three. Teammate Clark Haggans, the San Francisco 49ers' Ahmad Brooks, the Seattle Seahawks' Raheem Brock and ex-Seahawk Patrick Kerney have two apiece since then.

Instead of focusing on players, I've put together a chart showing how many roughing calls each of the 17 current referees has called since 2009. Note that Clete Blakeman was not a referee until 2010. Officiating crews change members from time to time, but the referees are the ones responsible for most roughing calls, so these numbers hold up better.

Some referees call more penalties than others overall. Some have surely encountered more instances of roughing than others. But if you're a defensive end eager to mete out some old-school punishment on the opposing quarterback, it wouldn't hurt to know which referee was working the game that day.
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SAN FRANCISCO -- It's time to revive the periodic "officially speaking" series heading into Week 5 games.

A few notes on crews led by referee Terry McAulay, who has been assigned to work the San San Francisco 49ers' game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Candlestick Park:

• Interference in focus: McAulay's crew has flagged teams 30 times for interference since the start of the 2010 season, more than every crew but the one Ed Hochuli oversees. It is quite possible McAulay's crew has simply worked games featuring more of these infractions. But with crews led by six other refs having called between 14-18 such penalties over the same period, it's also possible McAulay's crew calls these penalties more aggressively. These are judgment calls. The 49ers haven't incurred any of the 71 interference penalties called on offense and defense this season. They had only five last season, among the lowest totals in the league.
• Uncommon penalties: McAulay's crew has called only three of the 126 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties since the start of the 2009 season. His crew has called only two of the 93 penalties for intentional grounding and one of the 50 for horse-collar tackles over the same period. These are the lowest or among the lowest for any referee's crew, totals I'll revisit if these penalties come into play Sunday.

Thanks to Hank Garguilo of ESPN Stats & Information for providing penalty-related information.

An end-of-season look at where NFL officiating crews rank in a few categories where discretion and controversy tend to apply, listed by referee (with Walt Coleman scheduled to work Seattle's wild-card game Sunday):

The second chart breaks down defensive pass-interference numbers by crew for the last three seasons.

The next chart breaks down offensive pass interference by crew for the 2010 season only.
Note that Coleman's crew has called only one such penalty this season, second-fewest in the league behind Seattle favorite Bill Leavy.

The next chart breaks down the offensive pass-interference calls by crew for the last three seasons.

The final chart shows three-year totals for roughing the passer, by crew.

Seattle fans might remember the controversial roughing penalty against Seahawks defensive end Raheem Brock during the team's defeat at New Orleans in Week 11.

The pivotal play did not draw a fine, tacit admission that referee Mike Carey's crew erred on the call.

Coleman's crews have only four roughing calls over the last three seasons, fewest in the league among referees working continuously since 2008.

Note: All info from ESPN Stats & Information and includes declined penalties.

With apologies to St. Louis Rams fans trying to forget about the costly pass-interference call against safety Oshiomogho Atogwe in Week 10, I'll pass along stats showing interference calls by officiating crew.

Referee Ed Hochuli's crew worked the Rams' game in Week 10. His crews have called the most penalties of any kind over the last three seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. His crews rank tied for the most defensive pass interference calls.

The Rams might have picked the wrong officiating crew to tempt with a close call on interference. They might have had a better chance if, say, John Parry's crew were working their game. Parry's crew was off in Week 10, but it has called 15 defensive pass interference penalties since the 2009 opener, compared to 14 for Hochuli's crew this season alone.

Officials are calling more penalties per game overall and more for defensive pass interference, as the final row of the chart indicates.

Former NFL officiating director Mike Pereira took issue with the pass-interference penalty that put the San Francisco 49ers in position for the winning field goal against the St. Louis Rams in Week 10.

Pereira thought the pass should have been ruled uncatchable. That was my feeling upon seeing the play live. The more I studied replays, the more I understood the call.

The 49ers' Troy Smith threw the ball from his right hash to between the hash and the yard-line numbers. Tight end Delanie Walker was standing along the yard-line number on the same side of the field when he tried to make a play on the ball. Rams safety Oshiomogho Atogwe was not looking back at the ball when he and Walker collided. Had neither player been looking for the ball, the collision could have been considered incidental contact. Walker was clearly looking back at the ball and trying to catch it.

Officials must classify the ball as "clearly uncatchable" when deciding against calling interference in such a situation. Walker would have had to cover about five yards quickly for any shot at catching the pass. Could he have done so if Atogwe hadn't knocked him down? Probably not, in my view. Smith appeared to be avoiding a sack as much as he was trying to target Walker.

The difference between "probably" and "clearly" might have cost the Rams a shot at their first road victory of the season.

These situations can often help refresh our understanding of the rules.

On a side note, referee Ed Hochuli and crew entered the Rams-49ers game tied for the NFL lead this season in most interference penalties with 12, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Hochuli's crew called 17 last season when the league average was about 12 per crew. Numbers for Hochuli's crew were more in line with league averages in other recent seasons.

The NFL is increasingly concerned with protecting quarterbacks.

Sometimes that concern makes it tough for a defensive player to carry out his job aggressively. Sometimes a borderline roughing-the-passer penalty can influence a game's outcome.

When the St. Louis Rams' Oshiomogho Atogwe and Fred Robbins drew roughing-the-passer penalties during a 16-14 defeat at Oakland in Week 2, the plays wound up factoring into the outcome significantly. The foul against Atogwe sustained a Raiders drive to a field goal. The foul against Robbins, which seemed like a borderline call from the Rams' perspective, allowed Oakland to run out the clock.

What if Robbins in particular had known that the referee that day, Tony Corrente, called far more roughing penalties than some of his peers? Might Robbins have backed off instead of giving Raiders quarterback Bruce Gradkowski a little shove? I'll try to ask Robbins Sunday following the Rams' game against Seattle.

It's entirely possible the referees with more roughing calls witnessed more cases of roughing. It's also reasonable to think referees apply slightly different standards when determining whether to call roughing the passer. Crews associated with Corrente and Ed Hochuli call more non-roughing penalties than other referees, so it's no surprise to see them near the top of the list for roughing, too. Al Riveron ranks tied for first in roughing calls and 10th in non-roughing penalties since 2008.

The chart, put together with information provided by Hank Gargiulo of ESPN Stats & Information, shows how many roughing-the-passer penalties each referee's crew has called (including declined penalties) over the last three seasons. Note that Clete Blakeman is a first-year referee. The others listed have worked as referees since at least 2008.

Referee Bill Leavy's surprise admission stands as the most notable officiating-related development in the NFC West this offseason.

A smaller one slipped through unnoticed -- almost, anyway.

Don Carey, the rookie referee San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Singletary confronted at halftime of the 2009 regular-season opener, has been reassigned to work as a back judge under Ed Hochuli.

"You don’t want to hear what I said (to Carey)," Singletary told reporters in the aftermath of the game against Arizona at University of Phoenix Stadium. "It was very positive. He may not say that."

Singletary was joking about the "very positive" part.

"Really, what it came down to, when you’re making calls out there, have somebody over there near me that can relay some kind of information and I’ll be fine," Singletary explained at the time. "And that’s what we talked about. That happened in the second half. It worked out a lot better."

Carey suffered two replay reversals in the 49ers' game at Arizona and three more the next week. He finished the season with 11, tied for second-most among NFL referees behind Al Riveron (13). In Week 3, Carey's sixth reversal of the season returned possession to the Chicago Bears following Matt Forte's fumble at the Seattle 1-yard line (David Hawthorne had recovered for the Seahawks). I remember thinking replays did not appear conclusive.

Clete Blakeman, a field judge under Leavy last season, has replaced Carey as referee for 2010. Carey's more famous brother, Mike, remains one of 17 referees (he has been one since 1995).

The NFL has shuffled multiple crews for 2010. Referee Peter Morelli's crew has a league-high seven members new since 2009 (each worked on a different crew last season).

Six officials from 2009 are not returning in any capacity for 2010: John Schleyer, who served as head linesman under referee Jerome Boger; Carl Johnson, line judge under Don Carey; Charles Stewart, line judge under Carl Cheffers; Bill Schmitz, back judge under Morelli; and Clayton Judge, video operator under Al Riveron.

A seventh, back judge Bob Lawing, died from cancer in May. Officials will honor him by wearing a memorial patch on their hats this season. Lawing worked under referee Walt Coleman.

Facebook friend Patrick sent a message to me suggesting the NFL erred in sending referee Bill Leavy to Seattle Seahawks training camp. He said some fans booed and called Leavy names when they spotted him on the practice field.

Also via Facebook, Rams fan Brian suggested Leavy's transgressions at Seattle's expense in Super Bowl 40 paled next to the errors another referee, Bernie Kukar, made at the St. Louis Rams' expense in their Super Bowl 36 game against the New England Patriots (Brian might not recall this, but Leavy's crew made a couple tough calls against the Rams, too).

I do recall Rams fans complaining about the Patriots roughing up Marshall Faulk and preventing him from releasing as a receiver out of the backfield, but New England played well enough to win that game, I thought. Similarly, I think the Seahawks did not play well enough to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl Leavy officiated.

With all these warm feelings for referees and officiating coursing through fans, I'm guessing the NFL will be a little more careful in assigning referees to future training camps.

Three pairings I'd like to see during 2011 camps:

1. Leavy and the Seahawks. Perhaps the team could invite fans -- or even former coach Mike Holmgren -- for a question-and-answer session. The league could sell highlight videos ranking Leavy's calls from best to worst.

2. Walt Coleman and the Oakland Raiders. Fans might remember Coleman for his controversial (but correct) tuck-rule interpretation in the Raiders' AFC divisional playoff defeat to the New England Patriots following the 2001 season. Coleman hasn't worked a Raiders game since that memorable ruling. Camping in Napa can't be all that rough.

3. Ed Hochuli and the San Diego Chargers. The referee famous for his muscled physique also became known for the whistle he blew prematurely at the Chargers' expense during a 2008 game against the Broncos. Ironically, Hochuli previously had not worked a Broncos game since flagging Denver nine times for 113 yards during a game against San Diego.

Previously: NFL officiating assignments.

Tari writes via Facebook: How would you go about researching which NFL officiating crews throw the most laundry? I am curious for the sake of pure argument, but my buddy wants to know for his fantasy league team.

Mike Sando: I have personally tracked assessed penalties and replay challenges since Mike Holmgren complained about officiating in Super Bowl XL. I also went back through records to include data since 2001. ESPN Stats & Information also tracks this information. My replay information is more detailed because it counts booth challenges, but its referee information is superior because it counts declined penalties, not just accepted ones. Its information also breaks down penalty types by crew.

Based on my records, Ron Winter's crews have assessed more penalties per game since 2003 than those headed by any of the 16 other current referees. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Winter's crew is calling more total penalties per game -- accepted plus declined -- than any other crew in 2009.

Scott Green is working the 49ers-Packers game in Week 11. Ed Hochuli is working the Seahawks-Vikings game. I'll check on the Cardinals-Rams referee once I get to the Edward Jones Dome a little later.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

CHICAGO -- The NFL needs to -- and probably will -- suspend Bears defensive lineman Tommie Harris after Harris punched Cardinals guard Deuce Lutui in the face.

Referee Ed Hochuli ejected Harris.

Harris and Lutui had tangled on the ground earlier in the game. Harris lost his cool the second time, slugging Lutui in the head while Lutui was on the ground. I'm not sure what Lutui did to enrage Harris. Either way, it was bush-league stuff from Harris.

Referee Since 2002 Roughing the Passer Penalties Ed Hochuli 68 Terry McAulay 57 Ron Winter 54 Tony Corrente 53 Jeff Triplette 47 Mike Carey 43 Walt Coleman 28 Bill Leavy 18

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

CHICAGO -- The Cardinals' defense naturally wants to punish Bears quarterback Jay Cutler in their Week 9 matchup at Soldier Field.

A little advice: Make sure those quarterback hits fall within the rules.

Ed Hochuli, the referee assigned to work this game, leads all 17 referees in penalties for roughing the passer this season. He also leads all referees in roughing calls since 2002. The chart breaks down the numbers for all officials who have worked as referees continuously since then.

Hochuli leads the NFL with six roughing calls this season.

The Cardinals' Chike Okeafor led all NFL players in roughing penalties with eight from 2001 through the 2008 season. Safety Adrian Wilson and defensive lineman Darnell Dockett combined for five. Arizona has committed only one such penalty this season, by linebacker Karlos Dansby in Week 7.

Referee 2009 Replay Challenges 2009 Replay Reversals Don Carey 13 6 Al Riveron 11 6 Scott Green 9 5 Walt Coleman 10 4 John Parry 10 4 Mike Carey 9 3 Jerome Boger 7 3 Carl Cheffers 7 3 Gene Steratore 7 3 Terry McAulay 5 3 Ron Winter 16 2 Ed Hochuli 8 2 Jeff Triplette 6 2 Walt Anderson 5 2 Tony Corrente 5 1 Peter Morelli 5 1 Bill Leavy 2 1

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

NFL officiating director Mike Pereira made no mention during his "Official Review" show of the dubious tripping penalty called against the Vikings in Week 7.

I'll try to pick up the slack.

Referee Ron Winter and his crew are almost never wrong, apparently.

Head coaches and the replay official assigned to Winter have challenged his crew 16 times this season, a league high. Winter has reversed only two of those calls. The other referees have reversed 41.1 percent of calls put under review.

The 17 officiating crews have worked between five and seven games this season. Winter's crew has worked six. His crew has faced 2.7 challenges per game. The other crews have faced 1.4 challenges per game.

Winter's crew is calling 16.8 penalties per game, including declined penalties. Only the crews of Jerome Boger (17.7), Ed Hochuli (17.2) and Walt Coleman (also 16.8) are calling as many. Winter's crew has previously ranked among the most prolific in calling penalties.

The tripping call against the Vikings' Jeff Dugan was one of only 13 tripping penalties called in the NFL this season. The Vikings thought it was a horrible call and I thought it was horrible as well.

Posted by ESPN.com's Mike Sando

Referee 2009 Replay Challenges 2009 Replay Reversals Don Carey 11 6 Al Riveron 10 5 Jerome Boger 7 3 Scott Green 6 3 Gene Steratore 6 3 Terry McAulay 5 3 John Parry 6 2 Carl Cheffers 5 2 Ron Winter 14 1 Mike Carey 6 1 Walt Coleman 5 1 Tony Corrente 4 1 Jeff Triplette 4 1 Ed Hochuli 3 1 Peter Morelli 3 1 Bill Leavy 1 0 Walt Anderson 0 0

joe_cool585 sized up the referee breakdowns from Week 5 and said, "The real question is, how many of each referee's challenged calls have been overturned?"

Easy enough.

Rookie referee Don Carey still holds the league lead for reversals, but the field is gaining on him. Carey suffered two reversals in Week 1, three in Week 2, one in Week 3 and none in Weeks 4 or 5. He is one of eight referees -- there are 17 -- to work each week this season.

Carey, second-year ref Al Riveron and veteran Ron Winter have faced a combined 35 coach- and booth-initiated challenges this season. Veteran Walt Anderson has faced none. Winter's stat line stands out for its unusually low reversal rate. Winter has reversed only one of the league-high 14 challenges he has faced while working only four games. Weird.

I've asked officiating director Mike Pereira about these sorts of disparities in past seasons. He has basically said he doesn't care about the numbers as long as officials are making the correct calls. I like replay stats because reversals document those errors referees acknowledge.

Pereira covered a few controversial plays from Week 5 in his weekly Official Review segment. I thought his explanation for the weird taunting call in the Patriots-Broncos game held up better than expected. It sure looked "fishy" (Pereria's words).

I've been tracking replay stats for years. ESPN Stats & Information also tracks penalty stats by crew. Terry McAulay's crew has flagged offensive linemen only six times this season. The crews of Jerome Boger, Anderson, Winter, Walt Coleman, Ed Hochuli and Scott Green have each called at least 23 penalties against offensive lines. That's an aspect of officiating I'll explore in the coming weeks.

The crews of Coleman and Hochuli have each called 10 penalties for offensive holding against offensive linemen. The crews of McAulay (3), Don Carey (3), Riveron (3) and Peter Morelli (2) have combined to call just 11.