Critics have been raised by the officiating of veteran referee Jeff Triplett who of late has been on the stand front in controversies and mistaken calls. This was evident on Sunday when he took charge of the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions game. It is in this game that careless mistakes, mind boggling dullness, absence minded on the pitch and explanation mess ups were evident by the NFL referee. He seemed to be a new student to the NFL rulebook which each football player has to his fingertips.
This time he failed to be contented and focused in the game when he made an insignificant call towards the end of first half. This happened when he called for a 15-yard penalty following the running back of Demaryius Thomas on a two yard splint after being hit by Peyton Manning. According to the NFL rule, the touchdown would be accounted for with the penalty being assessed at kickoff. However, this was not the case with Jeff Triplett.
Pointing at the penalty, he had a conversation with the Lions bench which prompted him turn it from a 33-yard XP to a 48-yarder which definitely goes against the law. It would be later corrected by one of the Triplett officials with the dead-ball penalty which comes after a touchdown being assessed at the kickoff.
The rule as per NFL says that if any player conducts unsportsmanlike conduct or any foul when the opponents are making a down, a penalty should be imposed on the subsequent free kick. However, this rule gives the scoring team a disadvantage as the touchdown would be eradicated and a 20 yard penalty accorded. This may be missed and the team misses the deserved points. Arguments have been raised that the penalty should be accorded as extra points.
Despite his repeated mistakes, Jeff Triplett has gained trust from the NFL and has been the stand out man to take the center stage on various high profile matches like the upcoming SNF contest that would see Peyton Manning feature.
However, with a review revealing that Thomas down was indeed a scuffle, not many would expect the veteran referee be called upon into action in any high profile match.
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