Ed Hochuli is a man

[eanelson4]

For the 2 people who may not have seen or heard of it, on Sunday, NFL referee Ed Hochuli made what will probably be the worst call of the season when he blew a play dead after Jay Cutler of the Broncos fumlbed in the red zone of the chargers with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game. He ruled it as an incomplete pass. The chargers would have been able to kneel the clock out and it essentially cost them the game.

 

Chargers fans are obviously outraged, so they flooded Hochuli's email with hate messages (which is really stupid if you ask me). Ed Hochuli, is such a man and he feels so bad about the call that he is actually responding to these messages. That takes some serious cojones to write these people back 1 by 1 with apologies. I have always liked Ed Hochuli and he is a great referree. This makes me like him even more.

 

story here

[lcbj68c]

I absolutely have to agree. As an umpire myself, we are human and we make errors. From his angle with the quarterback's hand and arm shielding his view, it was difficult for him to tell when the ball came lose and therefore he initially ruled an incomplete pass. Then, once he reviewed it, he correctly reversed the call and applied the rules as they should have been. What else can you expect out of the man? I think Hochuli is one of the top 4 officials in all of the NFL (regardless of position) and his conduct and application of the rules in this situation only enhanced that for me.

[MHgb]

I agree he is owning up to his mistake, and that's a good thing. But if he was indeed shielded, he should not have been ruling it incomplete. Premature on the whistle. Same thing with DeSean Jackson dropping the ball before the end zone. Don't blow the whistle if it's close and you're not sure (although in this case the stupidity level caught everyone off guard). Someone will eventually recover the fumble after hearing no whistle. Then go back and decide what your call is going to be so you have a proper resolution when or if it's reviewed.

[RyDogg66]

Id like to see the CHargers defensive players send emails to their fans apologizing for the rest of the game. They looked pathetic.

[lcbj68c]

You can't do that in football. It's similiar to law enforcement. You need to make a snap judgement on what is happening at the moment. Can't wait and make sure that it's a toy gun or a real gun. Football is a violent game. Your brain tells you what your eyes saw and you blow the whistle and make your call. Can't stand there with your hands in your pockets and sort it out after the fact. There is no erring on the side of caution because that would give one side an advantage. Each call has to be independent of any other and made quickly.

[JJHardy7]

I agree he is owning up to his mistake, and that's a good thing. But if he was indeed shielded, he should not have been ruling it incomplete. Premature on the whistle. Same thing with DeSean Jackson dropping the ball before the end zone. Don't blow the whistle if it's close and you're not sure (although in this case the stupidity level caught everyone off guard). Someone will eventually recover the fumble after hearing no whistle. Then go back and decide what your call is going to be so you have a proper resolution when or if it's reviewed.

 

The only problem with this is that the NFL is already looking into 'cheap shots' by players when the whistle isn't being blown fast enough. I can see it both ways.

[1992casey]

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