NFL Spokesman Greg Aiello says that official Ed Hochuli will be given a lower grade following his blown call during the Denver Broncos-San Diego Chargers game last Sunday. A lower grade can result in Hochuli not being allowed to ref the NFL Playoffs and/or 2009 Super Bowl.
“Officials are held accountable for their calls. They are graded on every play of every game,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. “Ed has been an outstanding official for many years, but he will be marked down for this call. Under our evaluation system, an official’s grades impact his status for potentially working the playoffs and ultimately whether or not he is retained.”
The play occurred with the Broncos at the Chargers’ 1-yard line in the final minute. Denver quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back to pass, and the ball slipped out of his hands, bounced off the grass and into the arms of San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins.
Hochuli ruled it an incomplete pass. Replay ruled it a fumble, but it was spotted at the 10-yard line, where the ball hit the ground, and given to Denver because the rules did not permit possession to be awarded to San Diego because the whistle had blown.
Denver went on to score, convert a two-point conversion and win 39-38.
Hochuli blew the call, plain and simple. And did he cost the Chargers a win? Absolutely. But so did allowing Jay Cutler and the Broncos to march up the field before the blown call and score like they were playing against air. San Diego could have stopped Denver from scoring on fourth down, but they didn’t. They could have stopped them on the 2-point conversion play, but they didn’t. And hey, how they could have stopped the Broncos from scoring 31 first half points, too. But they didn’t.
The Chargers and their fans have every right to be pissed. Hochuli can’t blow the whistle in that situation. He blew it (the call that is, not his whistle). But the bottom line is that one blown call doesn’t make or break an entire game, either. The blame doesn’t fall solely on Hochuli.
