Sean Payton Picked A Great Time To Talk About Reviewing Pass Interference

NOLA- Payton said after the game he wished he could've challenged the penalty on Vaccaro, and he reiterated that desire Monday. He said coaches around the league have talked about reviewing pass interferences, but to this point, the NFL's Competition Committee has so far rebuffed the idea of reviewing penalties.

"It has been (discussed) and for good reason, and let's hope that that at some point is (addressed) sooner than later," Payton said on a teleconference Monday. "Listen, it's been brought up and discussed by a number of clubs, and I think the Competition Committee needs to spend a lot more time thinking about that specific call is so critical to get right."

​"These interferences that are at the end zone become 1-yard line handoffs," Payton said. 



Generally I don't like my head coach pleading for rule changes because - well - more often than not it comes off as sour grapes. That's why Sean Payton just picked the perfect time to do it. Can't say that his interest in correcting the most incorrectly officiated, game changing penalty is self serving when he's coming off a win! Granted, it was a win that was ultimately put in jeopardy by a laughably bad call that turned a turnover on downs into a guaranteed touchdown, but it was still a win. Sounds a lot more like genuine concern for the integrity of the game when it comes from the victor, as supposed to it coming after a Week 1 loss to Raiders where a 4th down pass that was closer to being caught by a fan than a wide receiver somehow continued a game winning drive for Oakland. 

Fact of the matter is that pass interference should be reviewable. As are most flags, it's a complete judgement call. However, instead of being a judgment call that costs a team 10-15 yards, it's a judgement call that can potentially gift teams 40-50 undeserved yards. Wide receiver is literally the only position on the field that benefits dramatically from the ability to pass a drama course. Find a player that's good at exaggerating contact and he almost doesn't even need to be able to catch the fucking ball that well. It's gotten to the point where I see a ball hit the turf - no matter what the circumstances are - and I have to withhold my excitement for 10-15 seconds. Now, that's probably part PTSD from having to watch Brandon Browner last season, but it's also an indictment of referees that more far too likely to acquiesce to whiny wideouts. If the NFL is going to review everything anyway then they might as well review the plays that have the biggest impact on the result. Then again, seeing how many yards are gained from passes that aren't anywhere close to being completed might put a sizable dent in their precious 'points scored' statistic so I wouldn't expect to see that change implemented anytime soon. Wouldn't want to reward half the players on the field for playing the game the right way or anything...