DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 30: Referee Pete Morelli signals during action between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field Field at Mile High on September 30, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
If a good day for a referee is when he doesn’t get noticed, then Pete Morelli’s crew had an awful day on Sunday. Not only did they make several obvious mistakes, but the NFL took notice; the crew has been reassigned from the primetime Colts-Steelers game to the afternoon game between the Eagles and the Patriots.
The crew’s most notable blunder came when they shorted the Cardinals of a down following a penalty. “The officials were struggling,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “Mightily. They can’t count to three.”
He also said he received so many explanations for the mistake “that I got tired of them because they were just running out of them.“It was a FUBAR on their part. They can try to explain it. They’re wrong.”
The 49ers were also less than happy with the officiating, leading guard Alex Boone to simply say “those refs sucked” after the game.
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Photo: Referee Pete Morelli signals during action between the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field Field at Mile High on September 30, 2012 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
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