Ball don’t lie: 3 worst calls from Week 7 in the NFL

Another week, another set of unthinkably bad officiating decisions in the NFL

NFL officials are notoriously bad at explaining themselves. Unlike the NBA, which often releases a two-minute report or at least some sort of defense for those who dare to wear the black-and-white stripes on a weekly basis, the NFL leaves just about every call up to interpretation, and expects the head official to explain themselves postgame. It’s similar to MLB, but with more controversial decisions up for debate.

In baseball, bad decisions by umpires can be overturned, minus the obvious strike zone. The NFL tried something of this merit last season with the pass interference review system, but officials never went against their original word, making the coaches’ challenge obsolete.

The one surefire way to at the very least make things right after the fact is a system of fines against player transgressions that might not catch the eye of the officiating crew in the moment. That is, fines and suspensions for personal fouls and/or ejections. It doesn’t even matter if the act is called a penalty on the field. If it’s picked up by a replay, that player might be found guilty by the league office. Yet, the NFL has found a way to screw up even this most basic of systems.

3. No justice for Andy Dalton

Jon Bostic played like here was a hit on for Dalton. The Cowboys signal-caller did everything right, sliding early in an attempt to signal that he was giving himself up. The result should’ve been a short gain in a blowout of a game. The Washington Football Team should’ve gone to the locker room thrilled with the end result, not with the shadow of controversy looming over them. Instead, Ron Rivera had to personally apologize to Mike McCarthy thanks to the actions of Bostic.

But that’s not the travesty we’re discussing. Rather, after reviewing the tape, the league office opted not to suspend Bostic despite his obvious ejection going against everything the NFL has preached in regards to protecting its own players — especially quarterbacks. Dalton is in concussion protocol, the very injury that’s caused so many retired players to eventually lose their collective minds. It’s a tragic tale, but one the NFL ought to have learned from by now, rather than letting plays like Bostic’s be answered with solely on-field punishment.