If you want to get an early jump on complaining about the officials for Saturday night, it probably won’t go to waste. The sad-faced, oft-blundering Pete Morelli is referee for the AFC divisional playoff game at Foxboro between the Patriots and Texans.
The NFL goes to “all-star” crews for the postseason so Morelli won’t be surrounded by his usual cohorts. There are, however, three officials from Carl Cheffers’ crew working with Morelli and two from Jeff Triplette’s crew.
Former VP of Officiating, Mike Pereira, has pointed out the stupidity of breaking up officiating crews that spend six months working together so that the biggest games are officiated by guys who may have never met before the week of the game.
Meanwhile, as to Morelli, while all officials will stub their toes occasionally, Morelli’s 2015 season was a shipwreck.
There have been some bad days as well in 2016 for Morelli, including calling a defensive player from Detroit for being illegally downfield in a game against the Eagles. They forgot which team was on offense.
One of his blunders in Foxboro was a victimless and amusing crime. He left his mic on during the Bills’ 16-0 win at Gillette and opined that, while the game was pretty good, “One big hit and this s**t could explode.”
So there’s your solace. Improv.