Officiating video, week 4: The much-talked-about batting incident

The NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino discussed some important calls and penalty enforcements from Week 4 in the NFL.

• Everyone’s been talking about the no call on illegal batting during the Monday night game, and Dean gives us another explanation about why the call was not made. We’ve been covering this rule and no call all week, which you can check out our coverage here.
• A muffed punt came into focus during the Seahawks at Lions game when the receiver took a kick in the endzone and ran out to avoid a safety. If the receiver were to down it, then a touchback would’ve occurred. However, the receiver, TJ Jones, is not the reason the ball went into the endzone, therefore he can pick up the ball and attempt to run back. The crucial component of this rule is figuring out who put the ball in the endzone, the kicker or the receiving team.
• We saw an interesting scenario Sunday between the Jaguars and Colts when the kicking team, Indianapolis, touched the punt first. Because they touched the ball first it is a violation, not a foul. Therefore, the receving team, Jacksonville, has the option to take the ball at that spot, provided no fouls occurred. After the Colts player touched the ball, it was touched by a Jaguar receiver, muffed, and then recovered by kicking team. Because the Colts player touched the ball first, the ball belonged to the Jaguars at their first touch.
• In New Orleans, we saw a Cowboys receiver step out of bounds, come back in bounds, and then the first player to touch the ball. On the field, this was ruled an illegal touch. However, Blandino explains how this call was wrong because the Cowboys player was out of bounds while touching the ball, and because he doesn’t reestablish in bounds, it should have been called incomplete.
• Using the football as a prop is prohibited in the NFL after a touchdown, which is exactly what Panther Josh Norman did after a touchdown. He was flagged for it, but when Rams Stedman Bailey did the same thing, he was not flagged. Blandino reiterated that officials are being reminded to enforce this penalty this season.
• The infamous “process of the catch” discussion happened in Cincinnati this weekend as well. After reviewing a call of a catch on the field, Chiefs receiver Jeremy Maclin was determined to have control of the ball with of both feet in bounds, and make an effort to avoid contact (such as a runner would), therefore it was ruled an incomplete pass.