Super Bowl LII: Refs Refreshingly Avoid Those Annoying Molecular Reviews

Doug Pederson, Philadelphia's victorious -- and innovative -- coach wasn't the only bright light not wearing pads on the field at Super Bowl LII.

Head official Gene Steratore and his crew had themselves a day, too.

They understood they were overseeing a football game and not a dissertation in physics.

 

With advanced replay technology comes increased scrutiny, and it's gotten to the point that the NFL's definitions of what is and what isn't can't keep up.

That's basically how the absurd phrase surviving the ground came to be.

 

So, opting to keep that deep thought dead and buried, Steratore & Co made decisions on football plays, the sorta stuff that fans understand without a law degree or PhD.

Two vital reviews went the Eagles' way, but dammit, they were football plays.

First, on the Corey Clements TD, splitting hairs would be asking what constitutes loose?

 

There are hundreds of precedents for receivers being granted catches for body parts other than hands possessing the ball. Thus, Steratore ruled that Clement made a football play as there was no clear evidence to the contrary.

This is why he announced the rule stands as opposed to being confirmed.

 

Secondly, former Stanford Cardinal Zach Erst met more than one definition of finishing a play by breaking the end zone's plane:

 

Steratore cited them:

• By taking steps with the ball in his possession, Ertz morphed from a receiver to a runner, so
• All he needed to do was break the plane of the goal line to register a TD.

In his play-by-play, Al Michaels compared this to the Jesse James catch/no catch in Week 15, which was ruled as an incompletion and for all intents and purposes, cost Pittsburgh the game:

 

Based on the premises cited by Steratore, James never established himself as a runner, and thus -- as a receiver -- dude had to complete possession all the way to the ground despite not completely controlling the ball as it broke the plane.

 

Yes. Yes, it does.

The NFL got 'way too full of itself years ago. Combining its pomposity with advanced replay technology might've made the gamblers happy, but it also created more distance between itself and everyday fans.

That can happen when they think they know the rules and then have to wait forever to have a video review tell them they don't.

 

Exactly.

With all the other issues that are denting The Shield -- starting with concusions, first and foremost -- it doesn't need to create more that don't have to exist.

What the league needs is more common-sense refs like Steratore and his crew.