Following up on whether the officials were bunglers on Sunday. The video is Rex Ryan’s reaction, with a Lou Piniella-like flourish, to the hit on Mark Sanchez:

Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com:



Vikings quarterback Brett Favre and Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez both took hits during Sunday’s conference championship games that should have resulted in penalties but were not flagged, NFL V.P. of officiating Mike Pereira says. “They’re missed calls,” Pereira said during his “Official Review” segment on NFL Total Access. On a Favre interception against the Saints, Remi Ayodele hit Favre high while Bobby McCray hit him low, and Pereira said McCary should have been flagged for getting Favre in the lower leg. “It is the kind of hit that we want called because, clearly, we’re trying to protect the knees,” Pereira said.

Mike Florio, Smith’s colleague at ProFootballTalk.com, had more on Pereira’s post-mortem.

a) Robert Meacham’s catch in overtime: Florio said the ball appeared to hit the ground and move. (For what it’s worth, a few of us in the Times sports office thought we saw the same thing). But Pereira said there was insufficient visual evidence to overturn the call.

b) Fourth-down run by Pierre Thomas in overtime: Insufficient visual evidence — again — to allow an accurate re-spotting of the ball, according to Pereira.

c) Pass interference on the final drive. Florio wrote: “Pereira said nothing at all about a pass interference call on Vikings linebacker Ben Leber on a ball that seemed to be uncatchable — unless Saints tight end David Thomas were 10-feet tall.”

Florio concluded his post: