Richard Sherman: NFL admitted multiple officiating mistakes in Seahawks-Saints

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During a 15-minute press conference that touched on a wide variety of topics and concerns, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman dropped more than a few intriguing nuggets.

Here’s one: Sherman said the NFL admitted after Sunday’s loss to the Saints that the officials made three mistakes that hurt the Seahawks, including a pair of illegal picks from the New Orleans offense and a holding call on cornerback Deshawn Shead.

The league typically bristles when teams disclose the content of communications regarding in-game errors. In this case, coach Pete Carroll didn’t directly cross the line; he apparently told Sherman and possibly others about what the league said privately.

Sherman separately suggested that the league is trying to keep the Seahawks from winning, and he pointed to the constant pipeline to the league office.

So how does he account for the fact that the Seahawks usually thrive during Monday night games?

“Maybe because they don’t want the refs to control the game in those games,” Sherman said. “Too many people watching in prime time. They can’t make it look that obvious.”

Plenty of mistakes are made in prime time and beyond. The Seahawks have benefited from some mistakes in the past, and they have been burned by others.

There’s no conspiracy against the Seahawks or any other team. However, the prevalence of mistakes invites scrutiny and speculation as to why and how they’re happening. Regardless of whether there’s a conspiracy to help a given team or to hurt a given team (there isn’t), there’s an inclination to assume that errors don’t happen as a result of periodic incompetence but conscious design.

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