ESPN NFL

A confusing judgment call favoring the New York Giants enabled their comeback victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 4.

Was Giants receiver Victor Cruz really down when he lost the football late in the game? A fumble in that situation likely would have killed the Giants' chances for a comeback.

Who knows, an Arizona victory might have changed the course of NFL history given that the Giants later sneaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, then won a Super Bowl title.

Would they have been a postseason team at all without that victory? Tough to tell, and irrelevant now.

But the issue relating to the Cruz play lives on. The NFL apparently had that situation and a few others from NFC West teams' games in mind when identifying officiating points of interest for the 2012 season.

Those points, distributed during the recently concluded NFL owners meetings in West Palm Beach, Fla, covered blows to the head, horse-collar tackles, sportsmanship/taunting, pre-snap movement, player alignment, runners declaring themselves down and deceptive substitutions.

I'll single out a few of them in relation to memorable plays from games involving NFC West teams.

Runners declaring themselves down

Memorable plays: Victor Cruz's non-fumble at Arizona after referee Jerome Boger determined Cruz had given himself up, ending the play. Later in the season, the Seattle Seahawks' Adrian Moten and Michael Robinson sandwiched San Francisco 49ers returner Kyle Williams after Williams went to the ground untouched, then popped up. The league later fined Moten for a late hit. Referee Ron Winter penalized Robinson for a helmet-to-helmet hit, but the absence of an accompanying fine indicated the NFL did not fault Robinson for his behavior on the play.

The issue: Were Cruz and Williams down? When is a runner down, anyway? And if they're obviously down, shouldn't officials blow their whistles?

Point of emphasis, from the NFL: "Rule 7, Section 1, Article 1 states that the ball is dead and the down ended if, among other items, a runner 'declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, and making no effort to advance.' This sometimes leads to confusion when a runner goes to the ground and is slow to rise to his feet. Has he 'declared himself down,' in which case the covering official should blow his whistle and further defensive contact is prohibited? Or is he merely slow to get to his feet, for whatever reason, in which case a defender needs to touch him to end the down?

"The Committee does not believe that there should be any change in the rule itself, but believes that education of players, coaches, and officials should eliminate any ambiguity. The proper application of the rule, that a runner who goes to the ground untouched will be considered to have declared himself down if he does not make an immediate attempt to advance, will be emphasized to officials prior to the 2012 season."

Pre-snap movement

Memorable plays: Referee Gene Steratore and crew flagged 49ers tight end Justin Peelle for a false start on a fourth-and-1 play against the Washington Redskins. Coach Jim Harbaugh disputed the call. The 49ers periodically used sudden movement by their tight ends, ostensibly to reset the formation. Cardinals defensive coordinator Ray Horton called the tactics "cute" (see final note here) after the 49ers drew the New York Giants offside.

The issue: Were the 49ers simulating a snap or making a legitimate adjustment to their formations?

Point of emphasis, from the NFL: The Committee reviewed video of pre-snap movement by offensive players and agreed that special emphasis should be devoted to acts that are clearly in violation of the existing rule for false starts. Prior to a snap, any quick, abrupt movement by an offensive player, or several offensive players in unison, which simulates the start of a play, is a foul.

"These acts include (a) a quarterback in shotgun formation thrusting his hands forward in an exaggerated manner when there is not a simultaneous snap, (b) abrupt movement of the ball by the center, (c) abrupt movement of the center’s head or other body part, and (d) a quick abrupt shift by two or more players in unison. Non-abrupt movement that is part of normal pre-snap action will not be prohibited, including pointing and signaling among offensive players."

Deceptive substitutions

Memorable plays: The 49ers tricked the St. Louis Rams with a touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree on a fake field-goal attempt. Crabtree went toward the sideline as if leaving the field, but he stayed on the field and was uncovered near the sideline. The play was deemed legal.

The issue: Undetermined. I do not know whether the following point of emphasis applies to how the 49ers used Crabtree in this example. This one requires more investigation. I'll include the point of emphasis here, then follow up when I have more information. League officials are returning from the meetings Wednesday. Update: This point of emphasis does not affect the 49ers' tactics against St. Louis. That play is still legal.

Point of emphasis, from the NFL: "The Committee addressed the concern that some teams are abusing established substitution rules in a deliberate attempt to confuse opponents. Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1(k) of the Playing Rules clearly states that 'using entering substitutes, legally returning players, substitutes on sidelines, or withdrawn players to confuse opponents' is unsportsmanlike conduct. The Committee reminds clubs that this practice has no part in our game, and officials will be instructed to closely watch for violations of the rule.

"The Committee also reviewed the procedures for an offensive player who comes into the game wearing a number that does not qualify him for the position he takes. These players must report to the Referee, prior to entering the huddle. The Referee and Umpire will then report the same to the defensive team. This rule prevails whether a player is already in the game or is an entering substitute and whether it is a play from scrimmage, an attempted field goal, or a try after a touchdown. If a player fails to report his change in eligibility, it will result in a five-yard penalty for illegal substitution."

INDIANAPOLIS — Watch out for offensive holding penalties in Super Bowl XLVI.

Officials have called only eight penalties for holding on offensive plays during the postseason, six of them against the NFC champion New York Giants. Three of the six were against Chris Snee, with two against David Baas and one against David Diehl.

John Parry is the referee for Super Bowl XLVI. His crew ranked third in most penalties for offensive holding during the regular season.

I've put together a chart from ESPN Stats & Information showing where Parry's crew ranked in various penalties during the 2011 season. Parry is working with an all-star crew, not his usual one. That could affect tendencies.

Parry's low ranking for unnecessary roughness appears offset, at least somewhat, by a higher number of calls for generic personal fouls.

.

Passing along: audio to my conversation Tuesday with Bernie Miklasz on 101ESPN St. Louis.

This was before Frank Gore pulled out of the Pro Bowl, clearing the way for Marshawn Lynch to replace him. More on that in a bit.

Bernie and I did discuss Brian Schottenheimer's hiring as the St. Louis Rams' offensive coordinator.

Bernie asked about potential concerns over elaborate terminology being tough for young quarterback to master quickly. I pointed out that teams running digit-based offenses tend to suffer more delay penalties because coaches and quarterbacks need additional time to communicate plays.

Schottenheimer said his offense is more concept-based than reliant on actual numbers for communication. I followed up by checking stats for delay penalties during Schottenheimer's six-year tenure with the New York Jets. The Jets ranked closer to the middle of the pack than the top. San Francisco and San Diego have the most over the three- and six-year periods. Both have run digit-based offenses, although the 49ers have switched to a West Coast system.

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.
[+] Enlarge
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.
.

Bernie Miklasz and I had much to discuss, including Jeff Fisher's hiring, during our weekly conversation Tuesday.

That audio is here.

One thing Bernie alluded to later in his program was the fact that Fisher's teams in Tennessee were known for playing through the whistle. Bernie was looking for a way to quantify that through penalty types. I've followed those trends for years and know Fisher's teams committed more personal fouls, specifically for roughing the passer, than most other teams in the league.

The chart shows the Titans with the most combined penalties for unnecessary roughness, roughing the passer, personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct from 2001-2010. Those are the years I could access readily via ESPN Sports & Information. Fisher was the head coach during those years. Seattle had the fewest; the Seahawks were among the least penalized teams overall under Mike Holmgren.

.

One NFL head coach rated John Parry as the league's best referee for a confidential survey back in 2008.

San Francisco 49ers fans might recall Parry for the disputed chop-block call he made against running back Frank Gore at Baltimore in Week 12. The flag wiped out a 75-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. in a game the 49ers lost, 16-6.

That call comes to mind this week after the NFL assigned Parry's crew to work the 49ers' divisional playoff game against New Orleans on Saturday.

Coach John Harbaugh called the ruling in Baltimore "unfortunate" and "unlucky" given what he considered that specific penalty's somewhat inconsistent enforcement.

That was the only chop-block penalty Parry's crew called during the regular season. The NFL did not fine Gore for the block. I thought the call was technically accurate, at best, but it did not fulfill the intent of the rule, which was to protect players. Gore had already committed to deliver a low block when tackle Anthony Davis shoved the defender high.

With an assist from ESPN Stats & Information, I've put together a chart showing where Parry's crew ranks among the 17 crews in various penalty calls. The NFL shifts to all-star crews for championship games and the Super Bowl.

Parry's low ranking for unnecessary roughness appears offset, at least somewhat, by a higher number of calls for generic personal fouls.
.
.

With the St. Louis Rams and Miami Dolphins waiting out Jeff Fisher, I checked available penalty records to see if these teams should have expected the interview clock to run out.

This was purely for sport.

Inconveniently, Fisher's teams did not rank all that high in delay-of-game calls since 2001. The best I could come up with was this: Fisher's Tennessee Titans had 30 total delay penalties during the 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2008 seasons. That was tied with San Diego for second behind the New York Giants (31) for those selectively chosen seasons.

The Rams will happily decline any penalties for delay this offseason, provided Fisher doesn't greet them with a stiff-arm.

What we learned from the NFL's decision to fine the Seattle Seahawks' Adrian Moten, but not Michael Robinson, for their hits on San Francisco 49ers return specialist Kyle Williams in Week 16:

• Referee off mark: Ron Winter penalized Robinson for what he described as a helmet-to-helmet hit. The league did not fine Robinson, which means the league did not think helmet-to-helmet contact was a significant issue in relation to this play. This was how I saw the play as well. The issue was hitting Williams late, not with a helmet.
• Why Moten was fined: The league levied a $7,500 fine against Moten for a late hit. Again, there was no mention of helmet-to-helmet contact. The hit was late if Williams had given himself up on the play, which appeared to be the case for several reasons (he was kneeling, he slapped one hand against the ball in frustration, he was not trying to stand up quickly). Moten and Robinson converged on Williams simultaneously. For that reason, I'm not sure why only Moten was fined.

More fine-related stuff in a bit, hopefully.

No play from Week 16 caused more confusion in the NFC West than this one.

San Francisco 49ers rookie Kyle Williams slipped and fell onto his right shoulder during a kickoff return with 6:38 remaining in a 19-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.

Williams slid and righted himself in one quick motion, winding up on his knees, facing backward.

Two Seahawks players, fullback Michael Robinson and linebacker Adrian Moten, slammed into Williams from opposite sides, knocking loose the ball and leaving Williams with a concussion.

Referee Ron Winter assessed a 15-yard penalty against Seattle, explaining that Robinson had struck Williams with a helmet-to-helmet blow.

I've heard from fans of both teams. Predictably, Seahawks fans tend to think officials erred in penalizing Williams for helmet-to-helmet contact, while 49ers fans tend to feel as though Seattle was taking cheap shots. Those lines of thinking miss the key issues, in my view.

All parties could have handled the situation better, starting with Robinson and Moten.

As noted following the New York Giants-Arizona Cardinals game in October, the rulebook calls for an official to "declare the ball dead and the down ended when a runner is out of bounds, or declares himself down by falling to the ground, or kneeling, and making no effort to advance."

Williams was kneeling and facing his own end zone when Robinson and Moten struck him. He had slammed one hand against the ball, clearly frustrated that his return had ended prematurely. He was no threat at this time.

At this point, the whistle should have blown. If one did, I did not hear it at the stadium or on the Fox broadcast.

But as the rules state, unnecessary roughness includes "running or diving into, or throwing the body against or on a ball carrier who falls or slips to the ground untouched and makes no attempt to advance, before or after the ball is dead."

That is what happened in this case. Yes, Williams was about to get up, but he paused while kneeling and facing his own end zone. He made no move to get up and run. The Seahawks should have tagged him down. There was no need to slam into him with full force.

Winter, the referee, emphasized helmet-to-helmet contact as the reason for the penalty. Replays showed what I would consider to be incidental, even minimal, contact between the helmets. The foul should have been for blasting a player who had slipped to the ground untouched and was making no effort to advance the ball.

Williams could have protected himself better by realizing the whistle had not blown and defenders could be charging toward him, misreading his intentions. But he was not at fault here. If officials were so sure Williams had declared himself down by "falling to the ground, or kneeling, and making no effort to advance the ball," then why no immediate whistle?

Robinson has not shown himself to be a dirty player. This was his first penalty of the season and his third for a personal foul in 86 career games. He and Moten obviously thought Williams was fair game. They wanted to force what would have been a pivotal fumble.

Frequent scuffling marked this game, but no 49ers players rallied to Williams' defense after Robinson and Moten converged on Williams. There were no indications any of them took offense to the hits. There was mostly confusion.

SEATTLE -- Veteran referee Ron Winter gets the call for the San Francisco 49ers' game against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.

My periodic efforts to find meaning in officiating stats have led to the following chart. Hank Gargiulo of ESPN Stats & Information provided the officiating data.

I singled out some of the more regularly called penalties and sorted them for Winter based on where his crew ranks in number of such penalties called this season.

For example, Winter's crews have called 16 penalties for delay of game, most in the league. But his crew has called only two penalties for roughing the passer. That ranks 15th out of 17 crews this season.

Winter ranks relatively low in calls for pass interference and illegal contact. That is something to keep in mind for this game. Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner leads the league in penalties, with many for infractions during coverage.
.

Personal-foul penalties from NFC West games in Week 15 produced one fine: $15,000 against Cincinnati's Chris Crocker for a helmet-to-helmet hit on St. Louis Rams quarterback Kellen Clemens.

The most memorable play from that game involved referee Jerome Boger's microphone relaying Rams guard Harvey Dahl's profane protest over loudspeakers in the Edward Jones Dome. Boger called Dahl for holding, then added a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after the microphone mixup.

Other personal fouls against the Rams -- two against Chris Chamberlain, one against James Butler and one against Eugene Sims -- did not draw fines. Failing to levy fines for personal fouls can indicate the league did not see violations.

Boger and crew called five personal fouls against the Rams and one against the Bengals. Boger was back at work Thursday night and was particularly active in flagging the Houston Texans during the final minutes of their defeat to Indianapolis.

The NFL has told its game officials to err on the side of protecting defenseless players.

Blatant erring, the league could do without.

A roughing penalty Sunday against Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher for a hit on New England's Tom Brady played into perceptions the NFL offers special treatment for its prized quarterbacks. Would Alex Smith or Kevin Kolb or Tarvaris Jackson get such a call? I think they might, given the state of officiating. The seemingly clean hit Green Bay's Clay Matthews put on Minnesota's Christian Ponder comes to mind.

Fletcher was already moving in for the tackle when Brady attempted a late slide. Fletcher tackled Brady. Contact included a forearm to Brady's midsection, but no illegal contact. Matthews was not fined for his hit on Ponder. I doubt Fletcher will face a fine, either.

This was a bad call, I thought. Former NFL officiating vice president Mike Pereira, now an officiating analyst for Fox, agreed thusly: "He was sliding late and there was no hit to the head."

The league's emphasis on protecting defenseless players is a worthy one. This season could be one of over-correction. This will be a leading topic for the NFL during the coming offseason. I would expect some clarification of the rules and point of emphasis in an effort to find a balance.

The call against Fletcher was bad enough. Imagine if such a call moved a team into position for the winning field goal during a Super Bowl.

SEATTLE -- The officiating crew assigned to the Seattle Seahawks' game against Philadelphia has called 17 penalties for defensive pass interference this season, tied for the NFL high through Week 12.

That could be a storyline to watch given Brandon Browner's status as the most-penalized player in the NFL through Week 12. Browner, the Seahawks' starting cornerback, has 15 total penalties, including five for defensive pass interference.

Peter Morelli, the referee assigned to Thursday night's game, ranks tied with Terry McAulay for the most defensive pass-interference calls this season. Crews have called 9.7 on average this season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Morelli's crew ranked near the bottom of the NFL in defensive pass-interference calls last season, calling only seven of the 221 called across the league. That could indicate that Morelli's crew has simply officiated games featuring more defensive pass-interference violations than usual. We'll see if that trend continues Thursday night.

The Seattle Seahawks have welcomed physical play from their cornerbacks. They've demanded it, actually.

Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman have delivered. Both players picked off passes against the Washington Redskins last week. Both have used their size -- Browner is 6-foot-4, while Sherman stands 6-3 -- to great advantage at times.

Browner has gone too far in officials' eyes, however. Way too far. He leads the NFL in penalties with 15, four more than any other player. His total through 11 games already stands tied for the 14th-highest in a full season since 2003, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Browner averages 1.36 penalties per game, putting him on pace for 22 over a full regular season. That would be one more than the single-season record since 2003, held by offensive lineman Chester Pitts. Four more penalties would place Browner in sole possession of second place on the list.

The 15 penalties called against Browner include five for defensive pass interference, three for defensive holding, two for illegal contact, two for offensive holding on special teams, two for unnecessary roughness and one for roughing the kicker. The official play-by-play book from the Seahawks' game at St. Louis lists Browner as the guilty party for what would be a 16th penalty, but that penalty, for a helmet-to-helmet hit, was actually assessed against Kam Chancellor. The NFL corrects such errors within a couple weeks, usually.

Players sometimes change their ways. Browner's teammate, Robert Gallery, had 17 penalties in 2007. He has 16 penalties combined over the ensuing three-plus seasons.