League of Extraordinary Rules

NFL’s arrogance is to blame for Chargers debacle

When is a fumble not a fumble? When it’s dictated by a foolish, largely unknown rule, buried deep in the rulebook at NFL headquarters.

By now, we’ve all seen the replay. Columnists and football experts all over the country have weighed in on the incident. Leading 38-31, our beloved Chargers were robbed of a victory over Denver on Sunday, when Broncos QB Jay Cutler clearly fumbled in the last minute of the game. The ball was scooped up by Chargers DE Tim Dobbins, who fell out of bounds.

Everyone in the stadium knew that it should have been San Diego’s ball. However, because of an inadvertent whistle by referee Ed Hercules, I mean Ed Hoculi, and because the fumble occurred on a “passing” play, Denver was able to retain possession. Two plays later, Cutler found Eddie Royal in the end zone to make the score 38-37. Denver then went for two, converted, and escaped with a win in a game they clearly should have lost.

To his credit, Hoculi admitted that he had missed the call, and should not have blown the play dead, even if he initially felt the play was an incompletion. After the game, Chargers head coach called it “unacceptable.” And Hoculi’s admission does nothing to squelch the fact that it is the second consecutive heartbreaking loss for the Bolts.

But the real issue isn’t the referee’s mistake. It isn’t the fact that San Diego still had an opportunity to win the game by simply stopping the Broncos from scoring. Twice. The real issue is the staunch arrogance of the NFL, to abide so stringently to their abstract rules.

The rule states that even though replays confirmed that Cutler had fumbled, San Diego couldn’t get the ball because the whistle had blown? My question is, why the heck not?

The purpose of having replay reviews is to get the call right. Why can’t the NFL, in all of its high-and-mightiness, allow the referees to confer together and actually make the right call? Why couldn’t Hoculi’s call have been overturned? In baseball and basketball, calls are overturned all the time, and in 99 percent of the cases, they are overturned correctly. It isn’t a case of this specific play being an exception to the rule. It’s a case of the rule lying in direct opposition to what it should.

Let me explain: If it had been another ball carrier (running back, wide receiver, etc.) who had fumbled, then San Diego would have been able to keep the ball, because Hoculi would have never blown the whistle. But because it was a quarterback, he accidentally blew the whistle, thinking Cutler was trying to pass.

My question is: what if Cutler decided at the last minute that he wanted to pump fake, pull the ball down and try to run? It’s only speculation that he was indeed going to pass. It’s only speculation that the Broncos stopped playing when they heard Hoculi’s whistle. In watching the replay, I certainly didn’t see anyone stop. The only facts that we know are that Cutler fumbled, and that San Diego recovered. That’s it.

The NFL’s ridiculously written regulations about trying to “protect the quarterbacks” because they are the “face of the league” are outdated and unfair. One of the best players on the field Sunday was the Chargers' Darren Sproles, who is “listed” at 5 foot 6, 180 pounds. But anyone who has stood next to the man knows he’s probably smaller than that. Jay Cutler is 6 foot 3, 233 pounds. Why should he get more “protection” from angry, snarling, hard-charging linebackers than the slightly Sproles?

The sad fact is that in the NFL, its rules are law. Even if those rules are poorly written and even more poorly interpreted by the referees on the field. The league has promised to readdress this kind of controversial play in the offs-season. Why wait? Why not do it TOMORROW. Let’s hope that another team, or even worse, the Chargers once again, will not be victimized by this kind of arrogance and stupidity this season.

Eric Yates, much like the rest of the city, isn’t a native San Diegan. He’s been here for the past eight years and has adopted the Padres and Chargers as his own. Serving as a full-time and freelance sportswriter while in San Diego, he’s covered the beat for both the Padres and Chargers. A sports fanatic, his crowning achievement as a fan was appearing on the ESPN game show Stump the Schwab and coming within one question of toppling the big guy.

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