- Submitted by Long Ball, DOF

I have been watching, playing, refereeing and coaching football for over 50 years and I must admit that I have never seen a year where the officiating has been so questionable, whether in the high school, college or professional ranks.

Nevertheless, today has moved me to produce a blog that will no doubt piss off Mac and make his rankings seem more ludicrous than they already are.  I watched the Texans/Colts game today and for the life of me, cannot comprehend two of the most atrocious calls of the season:

• “Unnecessary Roughness” called on a block by Antonio Smith during the interception by Brian Cushing – I seriously doubt if the official was in position to make the call, but Smith’s head was in front of the body of the Colt he was blocking.  Did he knock him to the ground – yes – did he say “I’m sorry” – I don’t know – did the official know the rules and make the appropriate interpretation – HELL NO!!!

• “Interference” on Jacques Reeves – after multiple replays on my TiVo, I have yet to see any contact on that play.

Peyton Manning was hit and rattled throughout the game, and I am totally amazed that a flag was not thrown when he was hit on his interception (my facetiousness is only outweighed by my sarcasm!).  If I hear Tony Dungy refer to the Colts as “WE” one more time, I will seriously question whether NBC really and truly wants to be a player in the NFL broadcasting game – of course, when I see the cast of characters they have assembled for their Sunday night game, I know the answer to that question!