'They should get rid of all of them'

Bills end season with familiar complaint: bad officiating

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Posted: Sunday January 03, 1999 09:47 PM

Wade Philips and the Bills were stung with questionable officiating throughout the season AP

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) -- The Buffalo Bills cleaned a season's worth of junk out of their lockers on Sunday. But they couldn't dispose of the bitterness.

There were plenty of suspects in a 24-17 wild-card loss to Miami, including Buffalo's turnover-plagued players. Still, a day later the Bills were left with that familiar feeling of having something stolen from them.

"I've never seen officiating this bad," Pro Bowl guard Ruben Brown said Sunday, referring to dubious calls around the NFL, including two crucial calls in a Buffalo loss to New England in November, and yet another in the Miami defeat.

The Bills were penalized nine times for 93 yards in Miami. They most vehemently objected to a ruling that took an apparent touchdown away from receiver Andre Reed late in the game.

The day punctuated an NFL season in which the referees have come under intense scrutiny, rekindling player angst and owner debate about instant replay.

"I don't know if they have other jobs or what, but I think they need to devote full time to what they do," Reed said. "And they need to go back to school or do something, because some of the calls they made this year are some of the worst in 20 years."

"I don't know what the answer is, but I'll tell you this," Bills guard Joe Panos said, "there has to be a change for the better. Because it can't get any worse."

Not even one full day and a pile of snow back home could cool the Bills off.

"I think they should get rid of all them," veteran running back Thurman Thomas said of the officials.

The play that most infuriated the Bills came in the closing moments. They drove deep into Miami territory and Reed caught a pass at the 1 and tried to extend it over the goal line as he was tackled with 1:47 left.

But the officials spotted the ball inside the Miami 1-yard line; replays indicated Reed's upper body and the ball were over the goal line. Reed jumped up and bumped into field judge Steve Zimmer and was ejected; the penalty forced Buffalo to settle for Steve Christie's field goal and a 24-17 score.

The Bills, who started the season 0-3, recovered an onside kick and drove back. But a sack of Doug Flutie, causing a fumble, ended the threat and their season. The Bills lost a touchdown, Reed and 15 yards -- all on one call.

"I thought I was clearly in the end zone," Reed said Sunday. "I was waiting for the call and I didn't hear it. I got up and said a few things, like I can't believe this, and the guy just happened to be right there."

"The thing about it is that when I got back up, I didn't know if that was a ref or a player or whatever," Reed said. "My emotions came out, and to be kicked out of a game because of that, it just was uncalled for."

The Bills still smarted from bad officiating they say robbed them of a win in New England and gave another win to the Jets, depriving Buffalo of the homefield advantage in the playoffs.

In the Seahawks-Jets game on Dec. 6 a replay showed that the Jets' Vinny Testaverde came up short of the goal line on the final play, but he was awarded a touchdown.

"And his helmet wasn't even on the goal line," Reed said. "Yeah, it gets the blood boiling, but I'm not going to say that's the reason why we lost."

The Bills, who lost the ball just 20 times -- including a team-record low of six fumbles -- fumbled the ball away four times, while the normally reliable Doug Flutie tossed an interception.

"There's a lot reasons we didn't win the game," Reed said. "They made some good plays. Jimmy Johnson coaches that team well. You have to take something positive out of it and come back next year. It was a complete turnaround."

But the Bills weren't ready to let go of this year, in which Flutie replaced injured Rob Johnson and became a Pro Bowl backup; Antowain Smith rushed for more than 1,000 yards; Eric Moulds as one of the league's top receivers; and John Holecek was an able replacement at middle linebacker for Chris Spielman. Buffalo finished 10-6 in Wade Phillips' first season as coach.

Asked if the officials robbed them of a trip to Denver for the next round, Panos said, "What do you think? I don't want to get fined, but I think we should be preparing for Denver right now."

 

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