Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

KRIEGER: Whistle-blower comes to Broncos' aid

By Dave Krieger, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 14, 2008 at 8:13 p.m.

Text size  

Poll

What was the most crucial aspect of the Broncos' win against the Chargers?


  • See the results »

Broncos quick links

Drew on the NFL
Drew Litton
Scores and statistics
Broncos inbox

Related Links

Related Stories

More Denver Broncos

More stories »

If the Broncos end up winning the AFC West by a game or a tiebreaker over the Chargers, they should vote referee Ed Hochuli a playoff share.

Maybe two, one for each of his impressive biceps. The NFL might want to suggest their famous body-building ref spend a little less time in the weight room and a little more in the film room. The Broncos, like Billy Joel, love him just the way he is.

Not that Sunday's shootout wasn't memorable enough without Hochuli's last- minute gaffe. All day, the former Mile High Stadium parking lot reverberated with echoes of the old AFL:

* More than 900 yards of combined offense.

* Two sensational young quarterbacks, cementing a rivalry that should last for years, throwing for 350 yards or more.

* One of them, Jay Cutler, completing 36 passes, tying the Broncos franchise record already shared by John Elway and Gus Frerotte.

* Wideout Brandon Marshall returning to action after his one-game suspension and catching 18 balls, a Broncos record and second only to Terrell Owens' 20 in NFL history.

* Trailing by one in the final minute, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan's gutsy, all-or-nothing decision to go for two, eschewing overtime to try for the win. That gambit has been successful just three times (in seven tries) since the NFL adopted the two-point conversion.

You don't have to deny the wonders of this game to admit, in all fairness, that the Chargers should have won it. When the ball slipped from Cutler's hand as he cocked his arm to throw on second-and- goal from the 1-yard line with 1:17 to play and the Bolts up seven, Hochuli not only mistakenly ruled an incomplete pass, he blew his whistle to signal the play dead rather than let it run just in case he was wrong.

As a result, when the replay booth correctly ruled it a fumble, it could not award the ball to San Diego, which recovered. Because of Hochuli's premature whistle, the ball was dead when it hit the ground and the Broncos retained possession, setting up their winning score. To his credit, even Cutler acknowledged afterward it was a fumble.

"It was a fumble clear to everyone on our sideline (and) I'm sure all the fans," said Norv Turner, the normally mild-mannered Chargers coach still steaming 15 minutes after it was over.

"Ed came over to me . . . and said he blew it. And that's not, to me, acceptable. This is a high-level performance game and that's not acceptable to have a game decided on that play."

"You expect more from the NFL," said LaDainian Tomlinson. "The NFL holds the players accountable for everything and I think it's time to hold the refs accountable, too."

Bad calls are part of life in the NFL, and every team can cite some that they believe cost them games. Instant replay is supposed to correct the most egregious, which brings us to the second fortuitous outcome for the home team in this one.

The Chargers were beginning their first possession when Hochuli's crew ruled that Champ Bailey intercepted a pass from Philip Rivers to Chris Chambers. Replays showed Chambers' elbow on the ground before Bailey took possession.

Both of CBS' game announcers - Dick Enberg and Randy Cross - predicted the ruling on the field would be overturned in the booth. Instead, Hochuli announced the replay system wasn't working and the call would stand. "Huge break for the Broncos," Enberg intoned.

"Chris has the ball," Turner said afterward. "It should never have gone to review."

As if that wasn't enough karmic assistance, there was also this: Commissioner Roger Goodell originally suspended Marshall for three games. Without explanation, he subsequently shortened it to one. It's not going too far out on a limb to say the Broncos might have had trouble getting to 39 points without Marshall's 18 catches.

None of this is to diminish the Broncos' remarkable performance against a very good Chargers team. The return of fireworks to their offense promises a season of entertainment the likes of which the Rocky Mountains haven't seen in a decade.

Sunday's classic can only add to a burgeoning Broncos-Bolts rivalry, especially with Rivers insisting afterward the Broncos are basically the same team they were last year, which made you wonder if his vision is any better than Hochuli's.

"As much as we can complain about it, it's not going to change the record," Rivers said of Hochuli's memorable flubs. "We're 0-2 and those guys are in the driver's seat very, very early in the season. I think it's too early to get carried away with the 0-2, 2-0 record. Because I think we let 'em escape one today.

"We'll get another shot at them later in the year. Hopefully, it'll be for all the marbles."

If they can come close to matching this one, the season finale should be something to see.

Comments

  • September 14, 2008

    8:46 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Spider writes:

    I'm thinking that both teams need to think about firing their DC's:-)
    BTW, what's LT crying about? He was no factor in this game.

  • September 14, 2008

    9:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bagwan writes:

    Norv Turner: "Ed came over to me and said he blew it. And that's not acceptable to me. This is a high level performance game and that is not acceptable to have the game decided on that play." Two thoughts: the game was not decided on that play but on 2 plays that followed it --- and --- a lecture on the high level of performance in the NFL would have more impact if the source wasn't an 11 year coaching veteran with a 44% winning percentage.

  • September 14, 2008

    10:22 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    bronco4428 writes:

    YEA THEY CAUGHT A LIL BREAK AT THE END ...BUT THE BOTTOM LINE IS CUTLER HAD TO SCORE A TD AND THEN HIT A 2 PT CONVERSION...THE CHARGERS HAD 2 MORE CHANCES TO END THE GAME

  • September 14, 2008

    10:27 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Midnight127 writes:

    Norv Turner, "mild-mannered"? Since when? He's about as passive as John Gruden vs. the officials.

    If you watch Turner during games, he's always complaining to the refs about something. Does he really think his team is bad enough that they can't overcome a 1st and 15? Geez...Just let it go.

  • September 15, 2008

    12:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    RockyV writes:

    r_u_shtn_me,

    Don't get too bothered yet. If you go back to the 97-98 seasons that ended with superbowls - I think you will find that the first few games one phase of the team struggled the first few weeks - one would be the defense struggling where offense & special teams carried them, the next special teams struggled while offense carried them while the next the offense struggled and the defense kept them in it. It wasn't until the 4th or 5th week before they were running on all cylinders so to speak.

  • September 15, 2008

    5:52 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    JimmyTheSaint writes:

    Yeah, and I find it funny that everyone screams about a play or two 'deciding' a game. Watch that runback by Sproles. One of our defenders gets flattened from behind--no call. And they're long touchdown from Sproles, our guard gets legwhipped and there's also no flag.

    So a couple of correct calls there and it's a blowout and no one's talking about Hochuli's gaff at the end.

  • September 15, 2008

    8:07 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    FareWeatherFan writes:

    "If the Broncos end up winning the AFC West by a game or a tiebreaker over the Chargers, they should vote referee Ed Hochuli a playoff share"

    Broncos have a shot now. with lots of offense. and its fun to watch em now. (but we still need to work on defense and special teams) Let eddie royal return. we need an answer to sproles.

  • September 15, 2008

    9:58 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    elgin99 writes:

    Stories Krieger could have covered
    : Broncos offense
    : Gutsy call by Shanahan
    : Eddie Royal
    ; Revenge of 2007
    ; Great play of ten rookies
    ; Cutler nerves of steel
    : return of Marshall, 18 catches.

    What do we get? Bad call wins game.

    Funny, last year when the Broncos lost to the bears they had a 90 yard fumble recovery called back by a ' blown whistle.' Not a word was ever mention of this the next day.
    Denver has more home team hating reporters then any city in the usa.

  • September 15, 2008

    11:51 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    marine76 writes:

    That ref should be fined whatever he got paid for that game and possibly suspended for subsequent game(s). I also think he should be forbidden from doing any other Bronco or Charger games this year. At that level you can't make a stupid mistake that affects the outcome of the game. Yeah, the Bronco's still had to score and get 2 to win, but it would have been a hell of a lot harder if the Chargers had the ball with a minute left. 2-0/0-2 is great for those of us in Denver, but both teams should be 1-1 right now. 1-1 is a lot different than 2-0 or 0-2. Glad that went our way, but what would we be saying if it went the other way?

  • September 15, 2008

    11:55 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    JYP3500 writes:

    Ed Hochuli is arguably one of the best refs in the league. From his angle, Jay's pass attempt/fumble absolutely looked like a botched pass, and Ed called it and blew his whistle appropriately.

    Sure, with the hindsight of replay, it was shown otherwise. But during any game, one play does not decide the outcome. San Diego had plenty of opportunities to win, including stopping Shanahan's 2-point conversion attempt.

    Kudos to Ed for immediately admitting his mistake. And shame on Turner & Tomlinson for blaming the ref for their loss. Carolina out played them last week as well and so did the Broncos this week.

    Memo to the Broncos: I love your offense, Cutler rocks, but you need some serious work on defense. Defense wins super bowls.

  • September 15, 2008

    12:35 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    kris writes:

    This one play did not cost the Chargers the game. They had 60 minutes to win that game. Ed is still a great referee. Unfortunately referees are human too.

  • September 15, 2008

    12:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Squatch writes:

    "The NFL might want to suggest their famous body-building ref spend a little less time in the weight room and a little more in the film room." has to be the dumbest line i have ever read. Ed Hochuli is the best and most unbiased ref out there. The replay system has nothing to do with him and the NFL should be making sure this stuff works before the game has even started. He blew the whistle like every other ref does when they feel the ball was incomplete they do this to keep players from getting blasted after the play. He made a bad call that gave the ball back to the Broncos but the Chargers also had 2 chances to end the game one on 4th down & the other the 2 point conversion.

    Norv Turner should be upset LT should keep his trap shut since he has no problem pulling himself out of the game or important playoff games. The Broncos got lucky yesterday.

  • September 15, 2008

    12:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    paperboy writes:

    This is far, far sweeter revenge than a 42 to 3 buttwhipping would have provided. All that luck and divine intervention, plus a one point, last second victory...

    Hey Philip, why is it that the football gods, the refs and Murphy himself (equipment failure) all colluded to make sure you lost?

    Norv Turner is a great offensive coordinator. Mike Shanahan is a great head coach. Phillip Rivers is a talented punk, and Jay Cutler is a stud. That's why the Broncos won.

  • September 15, 2008

    1:02 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    paperboy writes:

    What the hell, Elgin? They won the damn game! Can't you be a little bit gracious and classy? You gotta whine about Krieger pointing out the objective truth?

    They won. Shanahan is a genius, again. Cutler looks like Joe Montana with an arm. Enjoy this!

  • September 15, 2008

    7:23 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    eddoggie writes:

    There were blown calls on both sides. However neither team could stop the others offense. That's what is great about football games. I hate watching defensive struggles. I think it is a shame that Ed Hochuli had to get in the way of a great game.

  • September 15, 2008

    8:55 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cutlers_the_bomb writes:

    I think that this is getting blown WAY out of proportion. I mean, honestly, if it happened to any other team, than this wouldn't be talked about at all. I agree it was a botched call, but from Hochuli's standpoint, it looked like an incomplete pass, and he was trying to defend the players. Marine76, you need to be a little less cynical, as well as pull your head out of your a&%, and get over it. If he was paid, he wouldn't have said WHY he called it the way he did. Honestly, it was in the rule book that he had to do it that way, and THAT'S THAT! Besides, they don't "fine" refs, that's one of the most juvenile suggestions I've ever heard of. What are you, a 3rd grader? I mean, come on. They also don't suspend the refs, it's their means of money. Hochuli is one of the best, most unbiased referees the NFL has ever had. He's human, too.
    As for LT, he just needs to put his "big girl panties" on, and get back to PLAYING football, and he has no reason to be upset because he had NOTHING going for him on the ground. He was shut down like no other. That's an incredibly juvenile response and statement, because the NFL DOES hold the referees accountable for mistakes. They all get graded every week based upon their performance in every game they officiate. What he needs to do is admit that they didn't outperform us, and while that play wasn't right, realize that he and his team has some work to do, especially if they plan to beat us this season's end, because our defense is going to keep getting better, and they won't be able to come even close to stopping our offense the next time because they want to roast them alive in their home stadium like they did to us last year.