Ed Hochuli's Christmas card list keeps getting shorter

Since the second week of the season, Ed Hochuli and his crew have been under scrutiny because of blown and/or bad calls. That game was when Hochuli ruled that Jay Cutler's fumble wasn't a fumble because he ruled the obvious, (to Charger fans but not Bronco fans) fumble by Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler an incomplete pass, likely costing the San Diego Chargers a victory.

In last nights Saints-Vikings game Hochuli and his crew missed another couple of calls that have Saints fans more than a little ticked.

The first was a second-quarter no-call on a lost fumble by Saints running back Reggie Bush on which Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway clearly grabbed Bush’s facemask and pulled it down. However, the call was not reviewable under instant replay rules. Saints coach Sean Payton was livid on the sidelines, after the play seen yelling at Hochuli and the side judge. It didn't help Hochuli or his crew that the replay was shown repeatedly on the SuperDome's JumboTron. The picture on the left is on the Saints official website and PFT.com.
In the second quarter, the officials’ blew a play dead when the ball came loose from Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Saints defensive end Charles Grant recovered. Replays showed the ball starting to come loose just before Peterson’s knee touched the ground. In explaining his decision to uphold the on-field ruling, Hochuli acknowledged that the ball was starting to come loose, but that Peterson’s knee was down before he lost control.

This one was alot tougher and was one of those that could easily go either way. Peterson was maybe losing control of the ball before his knee went down and despite ESPN replaying it several times, it was hard to decide if it was a fumble or not. Neither call directly affected the outcome of the game, but 2 Reggie Bush fumbles, 2 Drew Brees INTs, a blocked FG returned for a TD and 11 penalties for 102 yards, did affect the outcome.

So the question will continue to be asked; are Hochuli and his crew doing a bad job or are they just getting more scrutiny? They certainly aren't the only crew making bad calls, the crew working the Titans-Vikings game certainly helped the Titans with their phantom roughing the passer call, Bills fans can certainly wonder why no penalty was called on the Cards Adrian Wilson on the hit that knocked out Trent Edwards.

But Hochuli is different, he's the only ref most casual football fans recognize because of his physique, and because of his high profile within the league. Hochuli has worked several Super Bowls, numerous playoff games and more than his share of national games. As long as the NFL has Hochuli working high-profile games he will continue to receive increased attention and will have to answer each time it looks like he or one of his crew members have missed a call.