The overly complicated NFL rulebook has struck again -- this time on Monday night in a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Detroit Lions.
Once again, instead of talking about the game, NFL fans are talking about the rules, specifically the rules surrounding Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright's decision to bat the ball out of the end zone after a Calvin Johnson fumble in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter.
Here are two different views of the bat:
According to the league's rulebook, Wright's move was illegal. Rule 12, Section 4, Article 1 clearly states: “It is an illegal bat if: any player bats or punches a loose ball (that has touched the ground) in any direction, if it is in either end zone."
But the illegal bat went ignored by the referees, and the Seahawks went on to win the game 13-10. People, especially Lions fans, were understandably upset that the referee had not made the correct call, but the larger issue is once again the league's overly complex rules -- and the impossibility of all refs adequately understanding them.
The main crux of this specific issue is that there are too many rules and apparently enough gray area in some of them to make sure problems like Monday night's can and will occur again. The NFL and their rules have become a real-life Onion article.
This is just another example of how complex the interpretations of these rules have gotten -- where a catch may not actually be a “catch.” Or where a declined penalty within the last five minutes of a game will still stop the clock.
After the game Wright admitted that he intentionally batted the ball out of bounds and that it looked that way, but the official at the back of the end zone did not see it that way. "The back judge was on the play and in his judgment he didn't feel it was an overt act so he didn't throw the flag,'' NFL Head of Officials Dean Blandino said.
This time, it's possible that the rules were not only confusing to players, coaches and fans, but perhaps to the officials, as well. Whether the back judge wants to say he didn’t think it was an overt act or not, it was clear to everybody watching that it was an intentional bat of the ball. Either the referee can't interpret the obvious, or he didn't know the rule.
And when the NFL rulebook is too confusing for the people in charge of the games, you know you have a problem, whether the league wants to admit it or not.
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