Falcons: The safety that magically was taken away

[NCFalconfan]

I thought the refs were doing a pretty bad job of covering their intentions all night by anytime Atlanta got moving on offense, a borderline "hold" or "hands to the face" penalty would stall us out. Conversely, anytime we actually made a stop on defense the drive would be prolonged by a equally borderline call vs our defense. I figured the league wanted the record to be broken in front of the entire nation rather than in front of a regional audience the next week - I figured this so much that I told my impartial brother (Chiefs fan) to pay close attention to the officiating before the kickoff. (He'd seen enough to declare the officiating "complete bullshit" and quit watching midway through the 4th qtr.)

But on the holding penalty in the end zone that probably would have ended New Orleans night offensively and made the nation wait for Brees to break the record next week, I'll say this: I've played 10 years of football, and watched 30+ years of it and I cannot ever remember seeing a holding penalty flag picked up on a play that was so obviously holding that even an honest Saints fan would admit that it was clear and blatant holding. The pick up of the flag and the comical "explanation" from the official was a major tip of the hand of someone in the league's intentions if you ask me.

I know the Saints have become a popular team, but honestly they don't need this kind of help from the officials because like it or not, they are a talented team. Be that as it may, I was pretty appalled at the officiating last night and firmly believe they disturbed the integrity of the game for a feel good story in front of a national audience and that bothers me worse than the outcome of the game.