Mike Pereira, the Vice President of NFL Officiating, spoke to NFL Network's Rich Eisen on Wednesday night and the two discussed the placement of the ball after Donovan McNabb's sneak in the fourth quarter of last Sunday's loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
On a fourth-and-1 from the Dallas 45-yard line with 11:01 remaining in the game, McNabb lined up under center, took the snap and went over right guard Nick Cole. The referees spotted the ball short of the first-down marker. Head coach Andy Reid challenged the call. The referees deemed that the original spot was correct after looking at the replay and the Eagles turned the ball over on downs. In addition, the Eagles lost their final timeout.
After watching the tape, Pereira said that he would have made a different decision.
"I think I'd move it," Pereira said. "There was a camera angle that showed exactly where the ball was when McNabb's elbow hit the ground. The Eagles logo at midfield provided a reference point. The spot where the ball was when McNabb's elbow touched the ground did not match the placement of the ball by the referees."
However, Pereira does not necessarily believe that the spot where it should have been moved to would have earned the first down.
"I don't know that it becomes a first down ... I still think there was enough to move it up a few inches. Whether or not it becomes a first down, that becomes a tricky question because you're talking about moving it inches," Pereira said. "If you didn't have that Eagle (logo) there, I don't think you have any vantage point to move it at all."
-- Posted by Chris McPherson, 10:35 p.m., November 11
