Happy Monday Ed Houchli

That's the nicest thing being said about Ed Houchli in Chargerland this morning. Most know about Houchli blowing an early whistle which changed a fumble by Jay Cutler to an incomplete pass. “I think it was a fumble,” Cutler admitted. “It's one of those plays that just happens. We get some good calls every once in a while.” The blown call allowed the Broncos to go on and score the winning TD and 2-point conversion. Charger fans are not taking this lying down, they spent Sunday evening posting Ed Houchli's work email and phone number all across the internets, which should make for a fun work week at the law offices of Jones, Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C. in Phoenix.

Here is a sample of the comments about the game:

Norv Turner: Not happy. “It was a fumble, clear to everyone on our sideline, and I'm sure all the fans,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said. “Ed came over to me and said he blew it and that's not, to me, acceptable. This is a high-level performance game and it is not acceptable to have a game decided on that play.”

Chargers fans: A bit peeved. "Please add (I'd say zebra, but that would give innocent animals a bad name) Ed Hochuli to pioneer Don Denkinger's Sports Officiating Hall of Shame. If the NFL had any integrity, which it does not, the final score would, and by right, should be: Chargers 38, Broncos 31."

How Hochuli would explain it during the game: "The ruling on the field was that it was an incomplete pass. We went to replay. It should have been ruled a fumble. By rule – by the instant replay rules – on that particular play where there's a pass/fumble, a quarterback pass/fumble – the rules do not permit you to give the ball to the other team. All we can do to fix it is put the ball at the spot that it hit the ground"

It's hard to tell if Charger fans are more upset with Hochuli or with ESPN sock puppets Chris Berman and Tom Jackson for talking mindlessly about the guts Shanahan showed in calling for a two-point conversion instead of the PAT and overtime.

From RumorsandRants.com

"And why was Trent Dilfer the one person on ESPN to openly criticize the officiating? Could it be that ESPN doesn’t want to piss off the brass at the NFL by calling the officiating into question? For an answer to that last question check out this book. All Berman and Tom Jackson could talk about was how “gutsy” it was of Shanahan to go for two after the Broncos scored following the fumble play. Yeah, real gutsy to make the obvious move and go after the team that just had its heart ripped out. Billy Bob in the 47th row knew they should have gone for it. Here’s a local San Diego reporter’s take on the blown calls, since we couldn’t get anything from the “experts” at ESPN.