Steelers Complaints About Clueless Officiating Are Valid According To Expert Referee Gene Steratore

Everyone surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers organization including players, coaches, fans, analysts, and casual observers seem to be outraged over the officiating in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. It went way beyond one or two blown minor calls, the officials in the Week 8 matchup potentially changed the trajectory of the entire game. It isn't unusual for Steelers fans to feel their team got the short end of the stick, it seems to happen to us a lot. What is unusual is how many neutral folks agreed. Now officiating analyst and former NFL referee, Gene Steratore, is speaking up about the matter, and he's supporting the Steelers.

Steratore's officiating career began in 2003 and he worked his way up covering numerous divisional championship games and a Super Bowl. After leaving the field as a referee, he took a position with CBS as a rules analyst. Frequently during games, the commentators ring Steratore into the conversation regarding a call that is made on the field. Steratore weighs in with his opinion on the ruling and offers explanations. 

Recently, Steratore appeared on 102.5 WDVE Morning Show and said that as officials, you "just don't go there" in regards to the offsides call that was made before the half. He said this is particularly true when it's a field goal versus a short-yardage play such as a quarterback sneak. 

"I know that they put some emphasis there because they want to make sure it [neutral zone] is completely clean and no one can cheat that inch or two in those scenarios. That's the art of the game, though. But this is a field goal, where someone's left pinky might be in the neutral zone. Is there a competitive advantage to that play? Do we officiate that field goal the same way we would officiate a fourth-and-inches at the goal line on a 'tush push'? No," said Steratore.

The play that Steratore was referring to was a field goal kick by the incredibly accurate Chris Boswell. As they lined up for the field goal, the referees threw a flag on offensive guard Isaac Seumalo. They said he was lined up in the neutral zone.  

"So get in the moment. Know what you're dealing with. This is an assumption from me, but that's where they went on that play. We've got to be aware of situational football in officiating. In my opinion, you just don't go there. You just don't go there," added Steratore.

The call canceled the 56-yard field goal that Boswell made and pushed it back to 61-yards, which he unfortunately missed. 

Steelers Suffered From Other Bad Calls That Day

The seriously questionable call against Seumalo was widely criticized. Seumalo defended his position by stating that is where he has always lined up for a field goal. Boswell posted photos of the line on Instagram showing that no one was offsides. Receiver Diontae Johnson was furious, stating the refs were "killing us the whole game" and that "they must've got paid good today or something." Head Coach Mike Tomlin said that he had never seen that call in the entire 17 years of his head coaching career. 

If it had been the only bad call of the game, then maybe it would not have stung so badly, but the Steelers could not seem to get Adam Eck and his crew to call the game fairly. That was also noticed by Steratore. There was a roughing the passer called on Keanu Neal that was excessive. The referee said that Neal drove his body weight into Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

To make matters worse, later in the game, Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett was tackled by Jaguars defensive lineman Adam Gotsis. If Neal drove his body into Lawrence, then Gotsis hit Pickett like a freight train. Pickett was injured on the late hit. 

"You had a really great tackle from a blitzing D-back [Neal] from Pittsburgh, that makes a textbook tackle. Is some of his body going to land on the other human that is standing still that he hits while going full speed? Yes. And then what we saw Kenny Pickett take is just going back to the '70s... I mean, that's just a foul. Because [Gostis] is adding additional punishment in that situation by driving himself regardless of how much of his body is on the person or not."

Steratore did say that there is the element of interpretation and human error that comes with officiating and, understandably, mistakes happen. On top of that, he added that you can't change physics and that when a body is moving rapidly and hits a stationary body there is a level of the stationary player being defenseless. 

"They are quarterbacks in the NFL, we should embrace the fact that that's the case. But you've got to be able to crank that up and say, 'Listen, he tried to brace himself and he didn't fully try to drive him through the ground. Leave it alone.'"

The anger surrounding the Steelers' calls is certainly justified, said Steratore. He said anytime that calls are being made or applied inconsistently, people will be upset. For many folks, the hardest pill to swallow is the apparent lack of repercussions. A little note saying "Oops, my bad" doesn't really amount to anything. If the bad calls impacted the game, there is nothing that can be done now. 

What do you think about Steratore's comments? What did you think about the calls? Click to comment below. 

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