Troy Aikman was a little too literal when he said he didn’t see much of the contentious Calvin Ridley non-interference.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have more pressing matters to attend to while they manage Trevor Lawrence’s ankle injury. However, a non-interference call from the Cincinnati Bengals’ 34-31 victory on Monday night will never be forgotten.
Lawrence hit Calvin Ridley with a downfield pass late in the first quarter. Cornerback Jordan Battle of Cincinnati attempted to contest the pass, but not before draping himself all over the receiver and completely obstructing Ridley’s vision. Although it’s kind of gray area technically to block a pass-catcher’s eyes, in this instance it seemed like guaranteed interference.
Regretfully, there would be no penalty called for the Jaguars.
Ironically, Troy Aikman stated he didn’t “see a whole lot there” when he reviewed the call after it had been replayed. Well, that’s convenient, because Ridley was blind as well!
I am aware that this was not Aikman’s intention, but had I known the receiver had his eyesight blocked, I would have likely come up with a different method to evaluate a call made by the officials.
