By Bill Bradley, contributing editor
NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said Tuesday that the controversy after the blocked field goal by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their victory over the Green Bay Packers Sunday was correctly handled by the officials.
During his weekly visit on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access," Blandino discussed the illegal batting penalty against Pittsburgh defensive end Ziggy Hood and whether or not Steelers safety Ryan Clark had possession of the ball.
He said Hood did commit an infraction for illegal batting, which was properly called as Green Bay's ball for a first down because neither team were deemed to have to possession during the scrum in question -- and Hood batted the ball toward the opponents' goal.Â
As for Clark, Blandino said that had replay been used, it might have shown that he had possession.
"It's important to remember that this play is not reviewable," Blandino said. "The ruling on the field of whether Clark possessed it or not is not a reviewable aspect and that's something the (NFL) Competition Committee has looked at in the past, and I'm sure it's something they will continue to look at.
"Had this been reviewable, I think we could have overturned it. Again, (it's) not reviewable. The officials are looking at that action at full speed, live. It's very difficult to tell at full speed."
