In theory, the NFL should be commended for mandating that officials talk to a pool reporter after games to clarify controversial calls.
Sometimes in practical use, it might be better for the NFL if the referees didn't speak.
The officials committed a major mistake Sunday night in the New York Giants' 24-17 victor over the Washington Redskins.
On the Redskins' last possession with less than two minutes left, quarterback Robert Griffin III completed a pass to Pierre Garcon on second down. Garcon was close the first-down mark, but referee Jeff Triplette signaled third down.
On the other side of the field, however, the referee told the sideline crew to move the chains and signal first down. So on third down - what the Redskins thought was first down - Griffin threw a deep middle pass that tight end Fred Davis dropped.
But then the officials clarified that it was fourth down, forcing the Griffin to throw a short pass to Garcon, who initially caught the ball but had it stripped by Giants safety Will Hill, sealing a New York victory.
According to a tweet from Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said after the game that he requested a measurement.
The tweet said, "Shanahan on that last sequence: "Well, I said I wanted a measurement and he said, 'You don't have to, it's a first down.' "
Triplette spoke to a pool reporter about the mishap after the game. According to washington.cbslocal.com, Triplette admitted that the down marker was moved incorrectly. He added that the reason play was not halted to correct the down marker because it happened in the last two minutes and Washington was out of timeouts.
Stopping play would have given the Redskins "an unfair advantage," Triplette said, according to the report.
The report did not say whether the obvious follow-up question, "Didn't the mistake give the Giants an unfair advantage?" was asked.
If Triplette didn't think the sequence was unfair to the Redskins, the NFL has some retraining to do.
Of Shanahan's claim that he was told the Redskins made a first down, "I can't respond to that," Triplette said. "I don't know what happened. I just know that we signaled third down on the play at the sideline."
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