Bill Belichick wasn’t exactly impressed with the officiating during Sunday night’s game against the Denver Broncos.
The New England Patriots head coach spoke to the media via conference call Monday, and while he didn’t directly criticize the referees, he said the excess timeout the Broncos received in the final seconds for an injury to defensive back Malik Jackson wasn’t properly explained to him before the play.
“I think that’s been covered and I’m sure that the league would give you the same explanation they gave to me the way they handled the play,” Belichick said. “I think the way that it was ruled was right. The communication and so forth involving the play and all that probably could have been handled better somehow in the process.
“But I mean, let them explain it to you. They’re the ones who write the rules, they’re the ones who interpret them, so they can talk about it. It’s no problem.”
NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino agreed with Belichick’s assessment that the call was right but the communication was unclear. But what was clear was that Belichick wasn’t about to tear apart the refs, and he said as much when answering a question about another controversial call involving tight end Rob Gronkowski.
“Well, again, I think any of those questions should be directed toward the league,” Belichick said. “It doesn’t really matter what I think, so that’s really more something they should comment on.”
Thumbnail photo via Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports Images
