By Bill Bradley, contributing editor
A reception by Minnesota Vikings tight end Chase Ford last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins was a tricky call because it involved three aspects of the replay review, according to the NFL's Dean Blandino.
Discussing the play during his weekly video for the media, the vice president of officiating said Wednesday that Ford's play hinged on whether he caught the ball, if he made it into the end zone and that it was an immediate booth review during the final two minutes of a half.
"In replay, we have to assume that the ruling on the field is correct," Blandino said. "You have to see indisputable evidence that it's incorrect in order to overturn the ruling on the field.
"So you're not looking at it with a clean slate, per se. You're starting with the fact that they ruled he was out of bounds."
He said the key was if Ford's foot was ruled inbounds at the 1-yard line, which was ruled out of bounds by the side judge. While Ford appeared to have possession of the ball, there was not enough replay evidence to overturn the referee's call that he was out at the 1.
"The (right) foot is right up against the sideline," Blandino said. "Can we see indisputably that he didn't go out of bounds? You cannot in our view and so the ruling on the field has to stand.
"If we got another look that showed clear green between the black shoe and the white sideline, we would be able to reverse it."
