USA TODAY Sports’ Lorenzo Reyes ‘overreacts’ to some of Sunday’s best Week 6 games.
A day after securing a 25-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints to bring his team to 4-2 on the season, Mike Vrabel couldn’t contain his criticism of the game’s officiating.
When asked Monday during his appearance on WEEI radio about what could be done to improve officiating following several controversial calls in Sunday’s game, the New England Patriots coach had some direct words.
“I got a pretty tough job coaching this football team,” Vrabel said with a laugh. “There’s not much. There comes a point when it becomes comical.”
Vrabel added that he and Patriots vice president of football operations and strategy John Streicher closely analyze officiating videos sent weekly to teams that violate the application of certain rules. He said he doesn’t feel the message is getting through to game officials.
“And then I see something in the game and I’m like, ‘Did they even watch the video?’ For example, Stretch and I: we pause it, we rewind it, like, ‘Oh, I love these videos.’ And then I said, ‘Hey, did you see the video last week? “They talked about exactly this.”
Vrabel didn’t mention any objections to particular calls, but two offensive pass interference penalties against New England loomed large in the game.
In the first quarter, Patriots quarterback Drake Maye found DeMario Douglas open for a deep pass, and then the receiver evaded a would-be tackler and ran into the end zone. However, the 61-yard score was called back when officials called Stefon Diggs for offensive pass interference. Diggs had been in contact with Saints cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry out of action.
“On that play, we ruled No. 8 to block downfield at the beginning of the play,” referee Adrian Hill said after the game in a group report. “If there’s a situation where a player blocks downfield, it’s not a foul until a pass is thrown, so you bench it. And then the pass is thrown downfield, which creates offensive pass interference.”
Diggs later had a 51-yard reception called back when referees called him again for pass interference.
“To be honest, I’m not really stumbling. I’m trying my best to make plays and catch the ball when they come at me,” Diggs told reporters after the game, according to MassLive. “When I get back I hope I can send them to the league to see if he’s supposed to be called up or not. But I’m not crying over spilled milk.”