WE WUZ ROBBED

Jerry Gilbert
Having watched the New Orleans Saints destroy the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the NFL playoffs, I am reasonably certain that the Green Bay Packers also would not have prevailed over the Saints on that day. Nevertheless, in the wildcard round of the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers deserved a chance to see if they could win the game in overtime. A non-call of an obvious penalty prevented that chance. Adopting a lament I often heard as a young baseball fan, "we was robbed."

Usually I am philosophical about referee blunders. A team that deserves to win should make enough plays so that they are not subject to the last second missed call. There is an obvious example in this game. Had Aaron Rodgers put some air under the long pass to an open Greg Jennings on first down in overtime, the game may have been over, or at least the Packers would have been in field goal range. Making a tackle here or there would also have helped.

Professional football does not always lend itself to philosophy. The guys on the other team also get paid to make plays. The Cardinals played a great game on offense, and their defense made life difficult for the Green Bay offense Many games are in doubt till the final minutes, and may come down to a single crucial big play. The Pittsburgh game this season is one painful example.

Packer fans have had many similar plays go their way. Matt Hasselbeck can identify with Aaron Rodgers. We were pretty happy when All Harris scored his pick six against the Seahawks a few years ago. Seahawk fans were stunned just as we were this year. Then there was Brett Favre's last second touchdown in his first game against Cincinnati, with many more late game heroics to follow.

Still, the finishes that involve a controversial call or non-call by an official are the hardest to accept. Older Colts fans still claim, with possible justification, that Green Bay kicker Don Chandler actually missed the winning field goal in the 1965 championship game even though the officials called it good. In Minnesota this week as the Vikings awaited Dallas, there was much talk about the uncalled push off by Cowboy receiver Drew Pearson in 1975. These plays stay with fans. It is fairly easy to accept a loss when a player makes a great play. Malfeasance by a referee is harder to forgive or forget.

This week, we heard the official post mortem from the supervisor of officials. It was a minor facemask incident, they said. You were mistaken if you think you saw the neck of Aaron Rodgers being stretched unnaturally on the replay. You are seeing things. The official NFL position is that the call was just fine. What else would they say?

I must be mistaken in one sense. I thought that when they eliminated the minor facemask penalty, the objective was to assess a major penalty for every facemask infraction. The idea was to protect players. That is they way I have seen it called. Now the officials are telling us that a minor grabbing of the mask is a no call. The referee will decide on the spot whether the neck is twisted or stretched. This, of course, is assuming that there is no fumble or near by holding that distracts the attention of that official. Heaven help us if a corner back touches the facemask while the official on the spot is determining whether a receiver is out of bounds or possesses the ball as he goes to the ground. What is an official to do with so much going on at one time?

Once again, there have been many situations this season where a momentary touching of the facemask has incurred a 15- yard penalty. The explanation by the supervisor of officials in this case strains credibility.

The real message here is that officials have too much to worry about to call every play right. That is why instant replay has been instituted. The problem is that the reviewing officials cannot review penalties that are called or not called. In the last two minutes of a game or in overtime, the review should include a consideration of whether the wrong penalty was called or an obvious penalty was ignored. We have been assured, that this play was called correctly. I have trouble accepting that conclusion because of the delay. If the call had been immediate following a review, it would have been easier to accept, because we would have known that the decision of the official facing sensory overload had been subject to a review of the film. Until that rule becomes part of accepted practice, fans will have a reason to stay upset for 20 to 30 years. Not me, I will get past this. Writing this has been therapeutic, but the rule should be changed.