NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can give all the pep talks he wants, but the fact is that there have been an awful lot of bad calls by NFL officials this year.
So it's really saying something that the officiating of a Tony Romo fumble by referee Pete Morelli in today's Cowboys-Cardinals game might have been the worst call of the year.
In the first quarter, Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett grabbed Romo and knocked the ball loose. Cardinals linebacker Travis LaBoy pounced on it, and the Cardinals celebrated, thinking they were about to take over deep in Dallas territory.
Except that Morelli then signaled that it was still the Cowboys' ball. Why? Who knows. He didn't explain it. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt dropped the challenge flag but was told he couldn't challenge. That apparently means that for some bizarre reason Morelli ruled Romo in the grasp, even though he wasn't. And although Morelli did turn on his microphone and call for more time to be put on the clock, he never explained what he had called.
It's no fun spending our Sunday afternoons griping about the officials, but increasingly that's what we find ourselves doing. Maybe Goodell needs to stop doing so much back-slapping and start doing some firing.
