FanHouse JamieWinborn

Yesterday, I got up on the well-worn FanHouse pedestal and wondered why the league would fine Saints head coach Sean Payton for making vague comments about crappy officiating that directly affected the outcome of last week's Saints-Broncos game, when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones frequently -- and publicly -- ripped Ed Hochuli after he gifted the Broncos a win against the Chargers two weeks ago.

From Sunday NFL Countdown's Chris Mortensen:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell sent out a memo this week basically clarifying to all clubs that any criticism -- public criticism -- of officials is unwarranted. Sean Payton of the Saints was fined $15,000 -- he was going to appeal because others had been critical and hadn't been fined, but guess what? Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones fined $25,000 for his public criticism of Ed Hochuli from two weeks ago.

So it sounds like Payton has decided to drop the appeal, even if he has a legitimate gripe. Like I wrote previously, rules are rules, and if the NFL stipulates that you can't ridicule game officials, even if it's OBVIOUS TO ANYBODY HALF-PAYING ATTENTION that Jamie Winborn was offsides.

Fine, whatever. But I'll say it again: it's one thing for Hochuli to inadvertently blow the whistle -- that happens -- but to not call a neutral zone infraction is much, much worse than pointing it out in a Monday press conference. At least for those of us not in the league office.

Look, I understand that the league has rules about publicly criticizing officials (feel free to rip away behind close doors, however -- it's encouraged, even!) but fining Saints head coach Sean Payton for some vague comments about a humongous no-call in last week's loss to the Broncos -- Denver's Jamie Winborn was absurdly offsides on a critical 3rd and 1 late in the fourth quarter -- is sorta dumb.

Particularly since Jerrah Jones ripped Ed Hochuli several times after the Week 2 Chargers-Broncos debacle, and I'm pretty sure the Cowboys didn't even play in that game.

First, the $15,000 comments (from Payton's Monday press conference):

"There are some things that are frustrating about the game that don't sit well. When you guys take a peek at the television copy and I see a no-call, that's that much of a violation, I have a hard time swallowing that, because at some point there's a decision made to say I'm just not throwing the flag. At least that's how it appears to me. It's not a judgment call. You're either offsides or you're not. I have a problem with that."

And this was after Jones went on a Dallas-area radio show to tell Hochuli to "keep that whistle out your mouth."