“Hochuli Rule” Approved

As expected, NFL owners have opted to tweak the replay rules to permit possession to be awarded to the defensive team if indisputable visual evidence shows that an incomplete pass actually was a fumble -- and if indisputable visual evidence also shows that the defense recovered the fumble. Whether the league likes it or not, the new provision will be known as the “Hochuli Rule,” since it was passed in direct response to the blunder that referee Ed Hochuli made during a critical moment of an early-season game between the Chargers and the Broncos. As we’ve pointed out several times, but as multiple writers and broadcasters still don’t seem to grasp, the question of whether an incomplete pass actually was a fumble already was subject to replay review. The problem is that the prior rule made the ball dead at the moment it struck the ground, if via replay review the referee determined that the play actually was a fumble. So, frankly, it ultimately wasn’t Hochuli’s fault that the Chargers got screwed. Yes, Hochuli blew the call on the field. But the prior rule put in place by the league tied Hochuli’s hands. He reversed the call on the field, determined that quarterback Jay Cutler had fumbled, and awarded possession to the Broncos at the spot where the ball hit the ground. And then the Broncos scored a touchdown that cut San Diego’s lead to one point, and the Broncos won the game by converting a two-point try. This situation illustrates one of our primary criticisms of the league -- too many rules are changed in reactive mode. The goal should be to identify all possible situations that could create an embarrassing outcome for the league, and to fix those rules proactively.