NFL Calls Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier To Talk About Officiating
By Sarita Kelly
Sunday’s game at Baltimore was crazy for the Minnesota Vikings, many fans feel that the officiating for the game was even crazier, and called on the higher ups in the NFL to at least take a look.
Nov 17, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier during the second half against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Minnesota 41-20. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports
Evidently the NFL and NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino were listening.
Minnesota Vikings Coach Leslie Frazier received an unsolicited telephone call from Blandino about the game and the controversy of some the calls.
Frazier declined to reveal any specifics of the call he did say the primary topic was the review of Toby Gerhart’s first-quarter fumble. Referee Pete Morelli agreed with the initial call of a fumble, despite replays that appeared to show Gerhart’s knees down before the ball came loose.
That fumble at Minnesota’s 25-yard line led to the Ravens’ initial touchdown in a wild 29-26 victory.
“It was a good conversation,” Frazier said. “When we got off the phone, I said if I were asked the question you just asked, I would reference any comments to the league office. But the fact that they called should give you an indication of how they felt about things on that day. (The call came) without any provocation from me, so that was encouraging that they wanted to talk about that game.”
It is nice to see that the powers that be our listening, but it does little for the Vikings or the fans who felt the bad calls and penalties led to Baltimore’s win.
The other penalties were the of pass interference penalties — one on linebacker Chad Greenway and the other on cornerback Robert Blanton — that extended a pair of Baltimore touchdown drives during a frenetic fourth quarter when the teams combined for 36 points in the final 2:05
A league spokesman said Monday “the discussions between our officiating department and the clubs are between them, and we do not publicly characterize them.”