OCT 24 11:45 PM ET
Pat McManamonESPN Staff Writer

The NFL recognizes that Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Jordan Whitehead should have been penalized for a hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield on Sunday, a source familiar with the league's thinking said Tuesday.

Whitehead could have been flagged for one of two infractions: unnecessary roughness for a hit to the head of a sliding player or unsportsmanlike conduct for using his helmet to hit a player, the source said.

The NFL is not commenting on the hit. Fines are typically announced on Fridays. If the league fines Whitehead, it will be public affirmation that the play should have been penalized.

The hit occurred in the Bucs' 26-23 overtime win on Sunday. Mayfield slid at the end of a 35-yard run on second-and-26 in the fourth quarter. Shortly after Mayfield's knee hit the ground, Whitehead's helmet hit the side of Mayfield's head.

Whitehead lowered his head to make the hit and used the crown of his helmet. Both are textbook examples of what the league does not want and are included in the descriptions of hits that could lead to a player being ejected.

Officials initially flagged the play, but after a conference, referee Shawn Hochuli announced that the flag would be picked up.

"The quarterback was still a runner and therefore is allowed to be hit in the head," Hochuli said to the crowd. "He had not yet begun to slide."

Mayfield was ruled down at the Tampa Bay 41-yard line with 7:47 left and the Browns trailing 23-16. A 15-yard penalty would have moved the Browns to the 26. The Browns moved to the Bucs' 1 on the drive but failed to score on a fourth-down quarterback sneak.

When Mayfield started to slide is a judgment call; hits to the head are not. Sliding players are protected by league rule from hits to the head. The league knows the penalty should have been called, according to a source.

"There's a lot of stuff being put out on protecting the quarterback," Mayfield said after the game. "Doesn't seem like the Browns are getting a lot of calls, but they can review it, and they can say I was a runner, but I started my slide. That's helmet-to-helmet contact."

Browns coach Hue Jackson said after the game that he did not understand why the flag was picked up. Other players complained. On Monday, Jackson said the team would ask the league for clarification.

"That was disappointing," Jackson said. "That is all that I can say."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/25066168/nfl-knows-hit-browns-baker-mayfield-flagged

Great. The best streak we can put together is consecutive weeks that we get an apology letter from the NFL saying they botched yet another call.

of course

Three letters of apology should = a win.

I am not one to complain about officiating, but it's to the point that this is happening every single week.

I would love the hear the explanation of why 5 officials didnt know that and didnt call that.

There was a flag thrown. Apparently 1 of 5 knew. He just got overruled by the other 4

Doesn't negate the fact that Baker needs to get down. We would be singing a very different tune if we got the flag and he was concussed for 4 weeks.

True, but that is a completely separate issue unto itself.

I bet that flag was for taunting

HaHa, good point. Except that would mean that they overruled a call to be in our favor. I'd have better odds of winning the powerball.

For what? Baker gave the ball to the ref.

The player lead with his helmet, which contracted with Bakers helmet.

They made the wrong call to pick the flag.

I don't normally complain about the officiating, but it has been down right criminal this season.

They literally took the Raiders game away from us.

Yes, on a judgement call.

But what is more blatant then not calling an obvious false start? That is not under the criteria of a judgement call.

If you are not going to call something, then at the very least you should be consistent and unbiased.

They have not been either imo ... But at the same time this team has not shown the disciplin that is required to play at a high level week in and week out.

Some of this can be contributed to playing so many rookies, but the Coach really needs to get this team to be more discipline. At least some signs to that effect.

The NFL, Roger Goodell and the officials (with their STUPID Twitter account) can kiss my rear end. They are BLATANTLY cheating the Browns. Everyone knows it. Just stop already. Tired of this crap.

Agreed. As usual too little too late from the league. The refs should learn to get it right the first time.

I'm interested to see if there will be a fine. I'm sure, if there is, it will be a fine without much explanation... or an apology.

DISCLAIMER: we have been hosed by the refs on calls they should not have missed .. its HORRIBLE and OUT OF CONTROL ... i am not defending EVERYTHING thats happenend to us ... this is NOT THAT ... this is simply an explanation on what happenend on this particular blown call ... as i said from the start ... they missed it ... some of u IGNORE that when replying to me when i do this ...

So lets do the math here ... in the other thread i said two things relevant to this statement ...

- if the refs on the field had the chance to see it on replay they would have called the penalty .... this sure looks like a confirmation of that ... i told u guys HOW HARD THAT IS TO CALL in realtime ...

And here’s how the convo went menZas ... i’ll gaurantee it ... they focused the convo on weather he was protected as a qb and they determined he wasn’t protected cause he slide to late .... then they decided it wasn’t a helmet to helmet hit ... AGAIN ... that’s VERY ERY HARD to determine in real time ... it’s WAY WAY WAY EASIER from the tv highlights ...

If u wanna argue he started to slide ... thats a JUDGEMENT call ... they ruled he slide to late ...

They didn’t blow it then IMO ... they did miss the helmet to helmet the video makes that clear ... but like i said this isn’t no where’s near as easy of a call as a false start ...

- i also said the league would say it was “in the officials judgement” in there statement ... well i was wrong ... they came out through BACK CHANNELS and admitted they were wrong ...

This RULE is hard to judge .. they’ve made it TO HARD on the officiate ...

Why do u think they made SEVERAL VIDEOS explaining the rule MULTIPLE times in MULTIPLE DIFFERENT WAYS .. and there not done “tweeking” it ... there not gonna come up with public videos but the officials are getting something periodically more than likely still ... there STRUGGLING with this rule still ... there having a hard time DEFINING it in terms that make it easier for the ref to officiate ...

It basically came down to a series of if, then’s ... most rules NEVER get an explanation video ... the ones that do usually get one video that runs for 3 - 5 minutes ... and once in awhile a rules explanation will need a 30 second correction video ...

With this rule ... they came out with 4 or 5 and each was 5+ minutes ...

There STILL SORTING THIS ONE OUT ...

Its a MESS ... i told u guys this and the QB landing rules would cause a ton of PROBLEMS ... not even 1/2 through the year and its all ready come true in spades ...

U notice theres been no qb landing issues in the last 3 or 4 weeks ... U GUYS THINK THAT JUST HAPPENEND CAUSE THE OFFICIALS GOT BETTER .... .. no ... LIKE I SAID 3 or 4 weeks ago .. the league will get word out to the refs on how to change what there suppose to call and guess what .... IT APPEARS THEY DID ...

This one isn’t such an easy fix ... there hosed on this one ... gonna be an issue til they revert back to the old rule and i don’t see that happening for liability reasons ... we‘ll see on that one ...

Not bad for a ... what was it one of u guys reffered to me as .. A POP WARNED LEGEND OFFICIAL or some slam close to that ... not bad for a pop warner official ...

Dude, I apologize for my response in the other thread. I understand what you are saying 100%. Most of these calls for late hits, helmet to helmet, DPI, etc... are not always easy.

My contention then and now relates to how the NFL has tweaked the enforcement of some of these rules. I APPLAUDED the NFL when they relayed that helmet contact would be a "point of emphasis", not because of the rules them self, but because of the protocol for enforcement. They said, in no uncertain terms, that plays should be reviewed to establish punishment and enforcement.

That was the big failure Sunday. It was made even more obvious when the official openly statement that there was contact to the head. Regardless of whether or not I've ever been an official, I clearly understand the rule. Seems that Sunday, five guys in stripes, obviously did not. When a group of officials talk it over and the result is 100% ignorance or just plain arrogance towards rules and protocol, that is the definition of INEPT.

+1 they saw it, they said they saw it, they said it was ok.

You are right Diam.

My issue with it is that typically, when the flag is throw, much like a review, they should need irrefutable proof to withdraw it.

Unless one the refs can say "I saw it and it was a shoulder, not a helmet hit", then the flag should stand. And I have to presume that the head-to-head hit was the reason for the flag, based on the refs comments about a -paraphrase- "blow to the head is therefore allowed."

Another thing that sticks out to me is the pass interference against Calloway. The official closest to him saw it and dismissed it with what looked like a laugh until another official threw a flag. That looked like that official had an agenda against the browns with those action. I wonder if this same official threw questionable flags during the game.

Let's not forget, "one official" did see the hit and threw the flag.

What that official saw "was a penalty"..maybe he had a better view than the others who didn't seem to know the rules or maybe those who didn't flag the play didn't see the play as well as the official who threw the flag.

Now, the entire 5 man officiating crew looks bad for getting the call wrong, even though there was one official who got it right.

Maybe this trend of huddling to question another officials view of a play needs to become much more rare in the NFL. There was one official who had a good enough view of the play to make the call and throw the flag. The other 4 officials need to sent back to the minor league.

I agree, I've never seen it as much as this year. Penalties aren't a negotiation process. Makes them look dumb, especially when they "decide" on the wrong call.

Actually, Baker jumped up and got in the face of the player that hit him... he might have given the ball to the ref but he went immediately to get into the defenders face.

And good for him. We know the guy has the fire to go facemask to facemask, and he has a hard head.



What bothers me is I didn't see a group of our players in the punks face, and a coach who didn't stick a finger in a refs face.

Sometimes as a coach you need to do what is right, even if it means taking a penalty.



My wife is right, Hue is a weak man.

I'm sure the refs got a free pass on this. If they can't make textbook calls, maybe they shouldn't be refs.

The officiating is either criminally fraudulent or incompetently stupid. One of the two. Either way, it should be investigated.

Officials suck.....

There is a reason, especially at the high school level, that officials, umpires, and ref's are getting out of it, and new ones aren't coming in. Just watch, at the h.s. level, the nest 5 or so years.

Now, I agree, at the nfl level it would be nice to have competent officials that know the rules and don't make mistakes.

It would also be nice if a qb didn't throw any bad passes.

You know what, NFL?

I don't care about your apology. It's the same kind of hollow apology that comes out of every abusive husband's mouth when he knows he's gone too far- again.

You know what I'd rather hear from you, NFL? This:

"We acknowledge the substandard level of officiating at recent Cleveland Browns games, and are committed to improving the quality of our officials' performance. We are implementing several measure to bring about said improvements, including..."

..and finish this with a list of positive changes (fines for blatantly bad calls, increased training, full-time status for all refs...)


That's what I want to hear from you, NFL.
And then, I want to see it happen.

If all you plan to do is to continue issuing weekly apologies for your systemic abuse of an entire fan base, then kindly stfu.

Because we've heard it all before.

I'd like that, but then I remember the NFL was never tough on domestic abuse either.

How many times must we get recognition of penalties not called and apologies on games - this still disgusts me.

http://www.footballzebras.com/2018/10/nfl-fires-down-judge-hugo-cruz/

Thanks for the memories HUGO, and for giving a free TD to our opponent.

You suck.

How many are they going to have to fire for the helmet hit to Baker?

Next question: which games did he work this season?

Is that the guy who blew the call in the San Diego game? The guy who blew the same call in the Tampa game might be sweating it out this week.

Yes, that is the guy that blew it in the Chargers game.

I had the same question - here is a list I was able to find:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/officials/CruzHu0r.htm


September 9, 2018
Green Bay Packers
Chicago Bears

September 16, 2018
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders

September 23, 2018
Kansas City Chiefs
San Francisco 49ers

October 8, 2018
New Orleans Saints
Washington Redskins

October 14, 2018
Cleveland Browns
Los Angeles Chargers


Not sure if it's good or bad that he's only worked one of our games lol

Diam,
Thanks for the breakdown, earlier.

The only thing I can't wrap my head around is that the ref explicitly stated over the loudspeaker that the runner can, under the circumstances as he saw them, be hit in the head. To my knowledge, that is hilariously wrong.

I don't envy the job these guys have to do. They could ref a perfect game, pure artistry that would bring tears to Diam's eyes... and nobody would say a word. They mess up one time and people jump down their throats. That, and it seems the rule-makers are hell-bent on making their job as difficult as possible.
That said, there is a line of competency. It's a subjective line, but one that definitely falls to the one side of enforcing pretty much the exact opposite of a rule, and announcing it to the world.

I don't think they would fire a guy like Hocchuli (main ref), so instead they made an example of this Cruz guy, in order to send a message. As I've stated before, I don't understand this impenetrable shroud of protection historically given to NFL officials. That shroud is either starting to tear, or Cruz was the blood sacrifice to keep it going amid all the negative press.

Just curious, I know the apology letters.. well, they aren't really an apology.. more of a "we screwed up, oh well" letters from the NFL to the Browns all get posted on here and discussed.. Are other teams getting them too?

Only the other losing teams.

I want to know why the official who picked up this flag wasn't fired.

I have never seen an apology letter to any other team...we got around 7 of them??? Just too fishy if you ask me.

I have heard them quite frequently in the past. I don't "remember" them specifically because they don't affect the Browns, but if I had to guess I would say at the very least 4-6 times a year,. My best recollection is they are normally brought up on Monday or Thursday night games after the league has time to review.

Again just my memory and if someone takes the time to look it up I could be way off.

One of my all time favorites was from years ago when Pittsburgh was playing Detroit on Thanksgiving, I think. OT coin flip and I am pretty sure it was Jerome Bettis who called it heads or tails and when the coin came up matching what Bettis said, the official said over the mic, "No you said the other side".

I normally want anything possible to make Pittsburgh lose, but not that time. I felt bad for them.

I think the NFL has issued a lot of apologies. Mistakes happen. Some are worse than others.

After watching last nights game we know it's not just us, it only feels that way.

Exactly.

I just cannot believe in what universe do they throw the flag for actually TWO violations against BAKER OUR QB! which is overly protected throughout the NFL. Not only do they huddle to discuss what??? But they actually pick up the flag...if this isn't a blatant discrimination against a certain team I don't know what is...Everyone in that HUDDLE should be Suspended for either INCOMPETENCE or suspect of Bias towards a TEAM!

Can anyone tell me where this has occurred ANYWHERE in the NFL...a clear foul actually two fouls the flag thrown then they huddle and discuss and THEN PICK UP THE FLAG! And on a head shot to the Browns starting QB...where they over protect I don't care in the pocket or running the ball they over protect the QB throughout the NFL unless of course its a Brown's QB.

I see it time and time again. A couple of years ago, Kessler had to start and actually was doing ok against the Bengals. He got hit with almost an Identical hits. A defender running full speed horizontally...both occasions hitting the QB in the head, I think one time the flag was thrown the 2nd none was keep in mind the only part of the body hit was the QB's HELMET...nothing else of course knocking him out of the game with a concussion. Our QB...

I remember in the pocket...we were flagged twice for touching, TOUCHING mind you the QBs face mask. NO HIT. Then DA in the pocket Gets his head Turned violently by a face mask and nothing was called...Its in the pocket and was plain as day.
These are just things that I remembered, there were several that I did not remember.

There are rules protecting the QB for all NFL TEAMS "EXCEPT" time and again Browns QBs why its has been OPEN season on knocking out Brown's QBs...we would get what 3-5 QBs knocked out per season? Why was that? Just too fishy for me. Conspiracy or just a Coincidence...I have said more than once, I don't believe in Coincidences! Can't tell you why? Don't know, all I do know is it has been happening ever since the Bottle Throwing Incident on a new rule about challenges and a play was ran then after that play they reviewed the play...ever since then we have been jobbed by the refs! Its like some internal secret wink wink with the Refs vs. the Browns.

Conspiracy and I'm nuts...yeah maybe except for the fact that its blatantly True. And it does not happen around the League...no where close to what has happened to the Browns...Two obviously false starts one so blatant the guy got fired!

I don't like to get into conspiracies either but I have wondered several times about our fans reputation after the bottle incident. Does this affect officiating against and even more so , does the league harbor a grudge against Cleveland for refusing to allow Modell to leave for Baltimore before his obligation was up. If memory serves he would have has to wait another 2-3 years or so. Not sure his finances would have held out. Also when the announcement came, fans stormed the league office with letters, calls, faxes etc voicing their displeasure.

Getting back to officiating, I can recall blatant holds as far back as Jamir Miller having his jersey twisted and being spun around on a critical last drive of the game against the Steelers on a critical 3rd down that they converted and went on to win. This was before the bottle incident but I recall it clearly.

I know it sounds like whining but I hate it when incorrect calls affect games, even if the team I like gets the benefit.

Probably my all time worst was in the mid 70's we kicked off to the Steelers (there's that team again)in OT and their returner slipped and fumbled with no Browns player within 10 yards of him. The Browns clearly recovered and the Steelers were awarded the ball because the referee said the whistle had blown. Replay confirmed otherwise, unless he was using a Cracker Jack whistle.

Sorry to be all over the place but officiating matters. I know a team can't use that as an excuse, but if both teams play equally well, a bad call is most definitely what cost the team that game. Again , sorry for my rant.

Fine news: #Bucs S Jordan Whitehead was fined $26,739 for unnecessary roughness, a helmet-to-helmet hit on #Browns QB Baker Mayfield that was unflagged.

https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1056287908796207107

Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead lost almost an entire week's pay for his hit on Baker Mayfield. The NFL fined him $26,379. His base pay of $480,000 works out to $28,235 per week. But because of the fine, Whitehead will be paid $1,856 for last Sunday's... https://es.pn/2SoVThi

They should fine and suspend officials from that game as well.

That would not be fair or wise.

The fact that they all got together ( 5 of them ) and determined it was ok to hit a player in the head is inexcusable. Its not just a bad call it 5 officials not knowing two major safety rules the NFL has been stressing.

I think fining officials is unreasonable but would have no problem if they sat for a game.

It’s not just us, but it’s us more often and more egregious.

It’s also never the Steelers, Patriots, etc.

Could be coincidence for sure, but quite long odds.