The NFL opened up a can of worms this week when they featured senior Vice President of officiating Walt Anderson to overrule and contradict ESPN rules analyst John Parry regarding what he believed was a missed intentional grounding penalty on Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football.
Usually, Parry appears on the broadcast to give fans a breakdown of calls the refs may or may not have missed during a game. However, on Monday, they brought in Anderson to rectify some of Parry’s comments regarding what he felt should’ve been a penalty. It is rare to see Anderson appear during a game, especially on camera.
The league has the power and ability to join broadcasts at their own leisure to communicate directly with the television broadcast crew if they feel it is warranted. On Monday night, it seems that the NFL felt it was warranted to step in and weigh in on the matter.
In other words, the NFL didn’t seem to agree with Parry’s assessment of the no-call which forced them to call upon Anderson to step in and explain why the refs indeed made the right decision to not penalize Goff.
Where does the NFL go from here? Do they begin bringing in Anderson more often? Do they only do so when they feel a network rules analyst didn’t properly evaluate the penalty and/or lack thereof?
It was a strange decision by the NFL and one that has left many questioning the transparency of the NFL and its rules. This is a situation worth monitoring moving forward and leaves us wondering when/if we will see Anderson again.
