I have read the many blogs and comments on the bad call made by NFL Ref Ed Hochuli in the San Diego @ Denver game. Yes, it was a bad call. It also cannot be changed. Before anyone asks, I'd be upset too if it were my team. I just thought that someone should defend Mr. Hochuli as an NFL official and not base his whole career on one call.
This is Hochuli's 19th year in the league and he is a very good official and very well respected around he league. You don't keep your job that long if you aren't good at what you do. He has admitted that he was wrong and that alone makes him a standup guy. I know that doesn't satisfy the Chargers or their fans, but not many people would publicly admit a mistake they made on the job. Once he blew the whistle, he had no choic but to give the ball back to Denver by rule. The NFL is looking into getting that rule changed.
I hear that he has received "hate" mail. How childish is that? Do people think that will change anything? By the way, did I mention that Hochuli is also an attorney. Even though he choice to answer all the "hate" mail, I hope no one said anything that could be considered a "threat". Just get mad and then get ove it. My team lost the SB, and tha't worse. It's hard to make-up for that loss, but SD is 0-2 and has 14 more games to play. They have plenty of time to get things turned around and win the AFC West.
You can watch every game, on every Sunday and there will be a bad call in every one. Some will affect the outcome. If you want to talk about a bad call, how about the varies calls that gave Pittsburgh a SB win over Seattle in 2006?.!
P.S. If there is anyone out there who has never made a mistake....congratulations.
Cheney Larschied
Kim Cloutier
Yankees World Series Parade
Notable Cuban Defectors 
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Awesome blog, I totally agree.Thanks for putting this out there. Its ridiculous and cowardice that he is getting death threats from **** fans. Sheat happens. Get over it. Its week 2 and if your team was that great, one call should not effect the outcome. Ed said no one feels worse about it than him. He is also responding to all the emails he gets.
Agrippa GODSON
Austin, TX
Total Comments (27643)
^^^^^ Thanks, there has soon much negative about him I thought he deserved better.
Foxy's Back
Total Comments (11967)
The Refs in the Pitt/Seattle Super Bowl were horrible to both tams, therefore it really evened out. Both teams also played horribly, except Seattle played worse than the Steelers. thats life. the refs did not determine the outcome of the game in that SB, the Seahawks handed the Lombardi Trophy to the Steelers.
For the SD/Denver game, again, it was a difference making wrong call, but still, Denver had to finish it off and score and SD didnt stop them from doing so. San Diego lost that game, even if the call made a difference, it didnt change the score of the game, Denver did.
MetalDoc
Tiverton, RI
Total Comments (103)
^ Sorry, you are out of your mind. The Seahawks had 4 HUGE calls go against them
The offensive pass interference that took away a touchdown
The Steelers first TD (could have gone either way, but gave it to the Steelers)
A horrendous holding penalty in the 4th quarter that wiped out a play that had Seattle at the one yard line
The worst call of the night, the chip block on Hasselbeck
NYGiants: Get Your…
Rockville Centre , NY
Total Comments (4222)
Awesome blog. I chose not to post a blog on this, as I am a huge Broncos fan. I figured that I would be lambasted for being a homer. It would say basically exactly what you said. I was at the game, and, even though they never showed a replay, we all knew that we got lucky. Even the SD fans that were there, though, said that the call didn't give them the game.
As a side note, I'm always happy when I see that Hochuli is officiating a game. IMO, he is the best official in the NFL, and has been for a long time. Before you call me a homer, it has nothing to do with last Sunday. I know it was a bad call. The worst NFL official is Mike Caray.
wtnelson = Big Chief
Fort Collins , CO
Total Comments (3649)
Good blog smoothie. I completely agree with you. As a Chargers fan, of course I was plssed. But a bad call can happen at any time.
I was just as plssed at the team for being in the position for one call to hurt them.
Hochuli clearly feels horrible about it - He has take 100% responsibility for it, something that MANY other refs wouldn't have stepped up and done. He has chosen to make no excuses and he showed that he's a stand-up guy in how he's handled the aftermath. He's also been an exemplerary ref over his career - constantly rated by NFL coaches as one of the best - and one that they want to ref playoff games.
YODA
Total Comments (16908)
Metal Doc, When the refs take away a TD from one team with a bad call and not the other, how can you say they didn't effect the outcome of the game? If you are that dilusional I have a Golden Gate bridge for sale in New Hampshire. Here is a link to a non bias report of that game, if you have something that proves the refs blew calls against the Steelers please show it, I would like to see it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_to_officiating_in_Super_Bowl_XL
As for the blown call by Ed Hochuli. If any of those players on either team made a mistake that cost their team a game they would probably be traded, especially if they didn't make up for it. Ed has made quite a few mistakes and recieves no consequence for it, and he admitted he made the mistake and didn't correct it? And he wasn't fired? What would happen if most of us did that at work, we would be fired.
Oh and the comment made by Ed Hochuli at the Seahawks scrimmage at the training camp the year after Super Bowl 40 "See we didn't make any mistakes" toward the Seahawks fans was made in very poor taste. Ed should retire and all of you should quit defending the refs.
Just my opinion.
waynesworld19
Spokane , WA
Total Comments (2)
Yoda; you commented, "He has taken 100% responsibility for it, something that MANY other refs wouldn't have stepped up and done."
Taking 100% responsibility would be correcting the problem on the spot. Yes most refs wouldn't step up at all "aka SB 40". And the NFL backs them up. So the system is broke, and fans are pointing out that the system is broke. Yes a threat isn't the appropriate way to go, but what do you do, stop watching? Yeah like one person not watching will change the system.
As for him being wanted to coach games by coaches? Why don't we ask the Chargers coach or Carolina's coach? Yeah blown call last weekend. I doubt any coach in his right mind would want him to coach their game from now on.
Here is a comment from Dallas owner Jerry Jones fined $25,000 for criticising Ed Hochuli.
http://www.star-telegram.com/332/story/938854.html
Now do you want to post a link showing the comment from coaches that want him to ref their games? Never heard it, but would like to see it.
If people are getting fined for pointing out something wrong, obviously nothing will get corrected, and maybe the NFL commission doesn't want to have to fix it or think anything is wrong. Now maybe Jerry Jones was wrong in how he said it but what he said is on point, here is another game outcome changing blown call by Ed Hochuli.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080928/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_hochuli_call_2
By the way there were two yes two bad calls by Ed Hochuli in the San Diego game http://utube.smashits.com/video/Ck_spf9a_vQ/San-Diego-Chargers-ROBBED-by-O FFICIALS-Ed-Hochuli-vs-Denver-Broncos-Jay-Cutler-fumble-.html
The players and owners and coaches are being held accountable by the NFL, it's about time the Referee's and the NFL got held accountable.
waynesworld19
Spokane , WA
Total Comments (2)
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