Caldwell Says Refs Got It Wrong, Suggests NFL's Instant Replay Be Expanded
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell suggested Monday the NFL learn from what he termed a mistake by the officials in Sunday's first-round playoff game between Detroit and the Dallas Cowboys.
In the middle of the fourth quarter in AT&T Stadium, with the Lions leading the Cowboys, officials called pass interference on Dallas linebacker Anthony Hitchens. After a considerable delay, the officials picked up the flag and announced there was no foul on the play. Caldwell emphasized the Lions will not use the botched call as an excuse for losing, but he said instant replay should be expanded to include such plays in the future.
"The fact of the matter is that it's a controversial call, and I think without question that it was one that it was probably not officiated correctly, in my estimation," Caldwell said, "but nevertheless, I do think in this day and age with modern times where we have technology that can take out the human factor in certain key situations, in big games, that we should use that technology to do so, to kind of set the record straight and take the human error out of it, so perhaps from this endeavor we'll find a way to maybe improve that portion of the game.
"It may have to be [limited] for the sake of time and those kind of things in a game, how long a game lasts, that you have to have some boundaries ... but I do think that particularly in big games and down the stretch, in playoffs and things of that nature, I'm not certain there should be a limit on when you can review, when you can look at to make certain that you got the call right," Caldwell continued. "I just think that we're all human, and we're all affected by our surroundings and environment, big game issues, noise, et cetera, and it's going to be hard for anybody to convince me otherwise, and I think in that particular case we should try to take as much of the human factor out as we possibly can."
Known for his levelheaded nature, Caldwell rarely shows emotion, but he spoke strongly Monday on his feelings about the de facto reversal of the original call - the one that would have given the Lions a first down.
"I'm angry about it and trying to keep my composure here, but I'm probably more angry for our team, the fans, that's the thing that stirs your blood," Caldwell said. "Our organization, the Ford family, that's hard to swallow. I've been there a couple times before, but I'm here now, and this team is important to me, and the best for these men is what's important for me as well. In that particular case, it's tough. It's difficult."
The league recognized the gravity of the call long before NFL vice president of officiating Blandino conceded Monday afternoon that Dallas got away with defensive holding earlier on the play that ultimately resulted in the pass interference call that turned into a no-call.
Caldwell said the NFL reached out to him immediately after Sunday's game concluded.
"They made contact, reached out right away after the game was over, very shortly," Caldwell said. "The plane hadn't even taken off yet. There was some communication there and then followed up further today."
Caldwell said he was not allowed to relay what was discussed in those conversations but noted that Blandino would answer questions soon.
Lions linebacker Tahir Whitehead said that an apology from the league would mean nothing at this point.
"Absolutely nothing," Whitehead said, "because at this point we're out of the tournament and we can't do anything about it, so I wouldn't want to hear any apologies at this point because they wouldn't mean anything to me."
