Belichick Explains Actions Towards Referee Following Sunday's Loss in Baltimore

Much has been said about New England Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick's actions towards a NFL official Sunday night following his team's 31-30 loss against the Baltimore Ravens.

After Baltimore's rookie kicker Justin Tucker narrowly converted a 25-yard field goal over the right upright, Belichick wasn't certain the field goal was good.

"On the final kick, after we took the timeout and rushed the kick, from the sideline I saw the ball go pretty close to the upright. I couldn’t obviously tell from where I was at where exactly it went, but I saw our players waving that it was no good and I saw the officials giving the signal that it was good," Belichick said. "I just wasn’t sure from where I was standing whether the ball – when it went over the crossbar, was above the upright or in-between or not in-between the uprights. By rule, if the ball isn’t over the crossbar and it’s either inside or outside of the upright, that’s reviewable. If it’s over the top of the upright, then it’s not reviewable, but I couldn’t tell from my angle when the ball crossed the crossbar where it was, so I didn’t know whether or not that play was going to be under review or whether it wasn’t."

Aware of the confusion on the field, Belichick attempted to get the attention of a referee to ask if it would be reviewed.

"So, when the game was over, I went out and I was really looking for an explanation from the officials as to whether the play was under review and I did try to get the official’s attention as he was coming off the field to ask that, but I really wasn’t able to do that," Belichick said.

None of the officials on the field appeared to acknowledge Belichick, which prompted New England's coach to grab a referee running by to get the official's attention. The referee did not stop and Belichick was left standing on the field frustrated and without answers.

"I’ve coached in this league a long time and never been penalized, never had any incidents with officials or anything like that," Belichick said. "I have never meant any disrespect or in any way tried to abuse or be disrespectful to the officials and the job that they do. I was just trying to get an explanation for obviously an important call, play, in that game. That’s the number one thing between coaches and officials; it’s always at the forefront. It’s just communication of what’s going on, what’s happening."

Belichick recalled a game in 2000 at Foxboro Stadium between the Dolphins that had similar confusion at the end of the game.

"As many of you know, I’ve been involved in a game like this before. In 2000, here in Foxborough, Johnny Grier was the referee when Drew [Bledsoe] was trying to throw a pass at the end of the game against Miami and the ball was ruled a fumble," Belichick said. "The clock ran out, the game was over and then as I was walking off the field with Johnny, at that time I talked to him about, ‘This seems like an incomplete pass, there should be more time on the clock, we should have another play here. [He responded] ‘No, that’s the ruling. The game is over.’ We go back into the locker room, 10 minutes or so later, Johnny comes back and says they’re reviewing the play, we may have to go back out and finish the game. About five minutes after that, when the players got dressed, we came back out for a final play in that game. I’ve been through a situation in the final play of the game where it’s over, but it’s not over, that type of thing. That was really the situation last night. So, I was trying to get the official’s attention to get an explanation on it and in no way was I trying to do anything other than that. I have nothing further to add about that situation, but that’s what happened."

The NFL is reportedly reviewing Belichick's actions following Sunday's game because the league prohibits contact with officials and could result in a fine.

Here's More from Belichick on the Officiating from Sunday Night's Game

Q: Could you describe your level of frustration with the replacement officials? It seems like it was written on your face.

BB: I’m trying to focus on coaching our football team and doing the best that I can with them. That’s my job and that will continue to be my job. We can control what we can control and that’s what we need to do. We need to do a better job of controlling the things that we need to control, starting with the coaching, playing, practicing, preparation, decision making, all those things. That’s what I need to do a better job of, that’s what our team needs to do a better job of.

Q: You talked about the end of the game. Was there frustration with communication in general, regardless of the officiating? It seemed like you had issues.

BB: Again, what we need to focus on is what we do. As it relates to the officiating, that’s always the number one thing. From the time when we meet with the officials in the spring, to when the officials come to training camp, to before every game when we meet with officials, both in pregame and on the field when we meet with the referee, the thing that we always communicate about is communication. We talk about communication – ‘Are there any special plays that we should be aware of? Is there anything you want us to be aware of? If there are any challenges or anything that happens on the field, we’ll let you know. If you don’t get the information, you go to the side judge or the line judge and he’ll come to me and we’ll communicate and all that.’ We always go through those things, from the beginning of the season, every game and then within every game. There sometimes are gaps in it that we need to close, but when you talk to them and say, ‘Who is the foul on?’ ‘We’re not sure, but I’ll find out for you and get back to you on it.’ ‘OK, great.’ Sometimes they have the information; sometimes they don’t. But when they don’t, then they usually get back to you as soon as they can get it, after a TV timeout or after they’ve had a chance to talk to whoever it was that made the call. That’s normal. That’s just the way it is.

Q: Do you feel like you needed some type of communication on that last play on the field goal?

BB: I just explained the whole situation. I just went through the whole thing.

Q: For the most part, has the communication with the officials been good over the course of the season, regardless of whether people think make they make good or bad calls?

BB: I just tried to explain that. We go through it every game. Those are the procedures.

Call for comments: So, Wrentham, we want to know - Do you think Bill Belichick should be fined for his actions following Sunday's game against the Ravens? Tell us in the comments section!