NFL head of officials: Tough to say if Jimmy Graham scored TD

Did Saints tight end Jimmy Graham score early in the fourth quarter on Sunday against the Falcons?

It sure likes it in this still image below:

OK. Finally, got a look at the Graham non-TD. I'm saying TD now. Position of forearms didn't help. Obscured the view. pic.twitter.com/RZKFj4wESX

— Nick Underhill (@UnderhillAdv) December 21, 2014

On Monday, NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino weighed in.

“This was very difficult,” Blandino said on NFL Network (via PFT). “We really struggled with this one because it's so close. ... Where is the ball in relation to the goal line? You really can't tell exactly where that ball is in relation to the goal line."

(Again, the still image above appears tells a different story.)

"The ruling on the field is it did not break the plane," Blandino continued. "Do you see indisputable evidence that it did break the plane? We even had a closeup look that the network gave us and it just wasn't clear cut, it wasn't obvious that the ball broke the plane, so the ruling on the field stood. ... Had they ruled touchdown, there was no evidence to overturn. Basically, the ruling on the field would have stood either way,”

The Saints are now out of the playoffs but it has nothing to do with a Graham touchdown that wasn't. And everything to do with all the losses leading up to Sunday.


(cbssports.com)