Bruce Arians: Unsportsmanlike Conduct Penalty On Tom Brady Was “Totally Uncalled For”
January 24th, 2022
Remember when Von Miller launched his helmet into Tom Brady’s face and left it bloody yesterday?
You know the play. Tom Brady was flagged for complaining, known officially as an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. It was the first of Brady’s career.
Bucco Bruce Arians was asked about it this evening on his Buccaneers Radio Network show. The head coach didn’t hold back.
“Totally uncalled for,” is how Arians described the call, noting Brady’s bloodied face. “I don’t think any other referee in the league would have thrown the flag.”
The penalty was called by Shawn Hochuli, who explained himself after the game. “He got in my face in an aggressive manner and used abusive language,” Hochuli said of Brady. “As for the hit, we did not think that it rose to the level of roughing the passer.”
As Joe wrote earlier, it will be very interesting to see if the NFL fines or suspends Miller for launching helmet-first into Brady’s face — a strike that should rise to the level of a serious penalty.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:33 pm
The other question…is what happens to Hochulli? So tired of this kind of arbitrary BS from the refs. That was not the only call, but to me the most blatant. Seems nothing happens to the ref’s. Nothing other than a standard…you were right back to the team, like that makes everything better.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:35 pm
Isn’t this guys daddy (Ed) also an over officious jerk?
It runs in the family… D-bags.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:38 pm
Hochuli was getting back at Brady after the comment TB12 made about the refs last week. NFL will do nothing at all. Clearly payback by a lousy ref.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:39 pm
A very good time for BA to stand up for Brady…….even if it costs him some cash….and it probably will…..adding insult to injury (no pun)
January 24th, 2022 at 5:40 pm
Totally agree, Buc4
January 24th, 2022 at 5:40 pm
Sheese, it’s football. I watched several times and it looked like incidental contact to me. Tom has been bitching at the refs too often. Bound to catch up with him. A little blood on his lip? He could have bit it himself during the hit from contact to his chin. Over reaction? He does more bitching at the refs than any other qb I can remember. Man up dude, you are bigger than that.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:40 pm
Both penalties on Brady and Suh changed the flow of the game heavily in favor of the Rams. The nature of leaving calls strictly up to ref’s discretion and not being reviewable or challenged allows this type of bias to influence the outcome of games like it did on this one.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:41 pm
Hochulli’s last name on the application should have eliminated him from consideration for the job.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:46 pm
Hochuli should be fired. This was a playoff game, and he put himself above the game by making that petty call. If he so much as looked at Brady’s face (and I’m sure he did) he would have known he effed it up. If it wasn’t for daddy, he’s still be officiating Arena League football.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:46 pm
Bucs need to fix that defense. I would bring back JPP if healthy but they need to get a 3-4 DE. Also that secondary needs to be fixed.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Every day Tom Brady should wake up and ask himself, “What would Wild Bill do? How could I conduct myself like Wild Bill?” Brady should think, “Who cares if a player launches himself into my chin to concuss me out of the game, Wild Bill wouldn’t complain.”
January 24th, 2022 at 5:56 pm
Geeeesshhh even Hochuli has turned into a snowflake. Just because Brady hurt your feelings doesn’t mean a flag right away.
January 24th, 2022 at 5:59 pm
Wild bill
Everyone loves your horrible takes. 😂
Not sure we have seen a good one yet. Maybe keep trying 😂
I mean are you even a buc fan?
Sound more like a troll to me. Cause we got plenty here
I mean saintsfan59 is ndog. Aka the nutsmuggler cult brigade president
January 24th, 2022 at 6:00 pm
Maybe we should have had Shaq go up against their backup LT instead of JPP….
We left too much time on the clock with our last TD……perhaps Lenny should have downed it at the 1……1st & goal at the 1 with the clock ticking……
January 24th, 2022 at 6:01 pm
I don’t think “roughing the passer” was the issue. It was a personal foul for leading with his helmet, targeting, unecessary roughness. take you freak’n pick. get your sh&^ together ref
January 24th, 2022 at 6:04 pm
Suh would have been ejected for that hit
January 24th, 2022 at 6:04 pm
Hi Julie
K
K Fencil
to me
0 minutes agoDetails
The reason Hochuli hates Brady is described here in an article from 2019:
abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/tom-brady-talks-nfl-listens-acts-65816376
In a game that Brady wasn’t playing in, that Shawn Hochuli was officiating on TNF back in 2019, Brady called out Hochuli for the egotistical d-bag that he is. You don’t be the first person to give the GOAT an unsportsmanlike penalty in 22 years unless you are the biggest d-bag on the planet.
Quote from the 2019 article:
“By halftime, Brady was tweeting, “Too many penalties. Just let us play!!!” and then, “I’m turning off this game I can’t watch these ridiculous penalties anymore.”
Analyst Troy Aikman noted Brady’s tweets on the game broadcast, saying, “Tom Brady is one of the least controversial people we have in our game. He is league royalty. When he makes a statement like that, that should get somebody’s attention.”
It sure did.”
NFL assigned Hochuli to the game to prevent the Bucs from getting through. NFL wanted the Rams just like they wanted the Chiefs to win back on Hunt’s 50th anniversary of the team in 2019-2020. Same year Jerome Boglar screwed Brady and the Patriots out of a home win that would have given the Patriots a top seed in the AFC and prevented them from playing in the wild card game they lost to the Titans.
What you Bucs fans don’t realize is that the NFL has been out to disparage and harm Tom Brady for many years now. It’s why Brady gave the fake high five to the ref in the playoff game against the Saints last year. That game was another horribly lopsided officiated game. Same as Referee John Hussey’s b.s. game against the Saints this year at home in Tampa.
The officiating in the Super Bowl last year against the Chiefs was the first time I can remember an NFL officiating crew favoring a Brady lead team. Carl Cheffers, you are a hero.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:11 pm
Beej, Suh just pointed a finger at Stafford and he got penalized for it 15 yrds.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:13 pm
He’s a spoiled entitled brat. How DARE the greatest player in NFL history is angry and yelling because he missed a blatant obvious Helmut to helmet hit that bloodied his lip. That was pure ego by the ref he thinks we came to watch him instead of the game. What a jack apple his dad needs to go get a switch from the yard and smack him apple bottom a few too many times
January 24th, 2022 at 6:20 pm
Could never stand Ed.
January 24th, 2022 at 6:40 pm
I dont think he had a good view of it is all. Missed call. No way he throws a flag 5 seconds late after he sees a bloody lip. But having said that it shouldn’t have been called on Brady either. Oh well on to next season
January 24th, 2022 at 6:44 pm
aggressive manner and abusing language. NFL penalties get worse with every game.
I understand the dead ball unsportsmanlike conduct on Evans, but they need to make that a first down with all the pansy flags they through and try to talk about player safety. Maybe (who knows?) Mike would have a better chance of catching the ball if he wasn’t doubled and looking at a helmet to helmet contact.
…But I’m not some crybaby GB or KC fan that will cry over injuries and flags all day.
January 24th, 2022 at 7:18 pm
1 penalty for 10 yards. Before the unsportsmanlike that was called when Mike Evans got hit which by the way is ruled after the play but was virtually simultaneous, that’s the extent of the penalties called against the Rams of which there should have been several. The officiating was total and utter BS. 2 BS personal foul calls and nothing on the Rams who were holding all day every play on offense. The refs should get b!tchslapped immediately following the Todd Bowles blanket party.
January 24th, 2022 at 7:23 pm
LOL @ PassingThru. Tomorrow when I go to my office I’m going to ask myself what would Wild Bill do? Would he just mic drop his way right out of the office and go home for the day? Probably. Sounds like a plan. Good talk self.
January 24th, 2022 at 7:48 pm
If Eddy Jr. is that thinned skinned, he needs to find another line of work. I’ve been watching pro football for over 50 years, never seen an official make that call on a QB for giving it to him. Than to have the balls to say it didn’t rise to the level of a penalty with blood on Brady’s lip is bretty weak. He shouldn’t be allowed to call another playoff game this year. You flagged the GOAT in a playoff game for yelling at you? Snowflake, it’s a man’s game, get out if you can’t take some curse words.
January 24th, 2022 at 7:56 pm
Hey gang, I looked up Shawn Hochuli’s bio. He went to college in Clermont which is east of Los Angeles!! He was biased! That SOB shouldn’t have been allowed to officiate that game! I guarantee if different officials did the game, Tampa Bay would’ve won.
January 24th, 2022 at 7:59 pm
Why didn’t Tyreek Hill get flagged last night for throwing peace sign on the 20 as he scored? Hmmmm NFL
January 24th, 2022 at 8:01 pm
But Brady gets smoked under the helmet and argues and gets a flag for that
January 24th, 2022 at 8:07 pm
Mike Evans is a whole different story on the targeting/launching hit he took
January 24th, 2022 at 8:17 pm
NFL needs one ref to spot the ball. No other refs needed. No chain crew needed. NFL needs to update technology. Would make the game faster and much more enjoyable.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:19 pm
Gronk just posted this….
” Year 11 in the books What a ride it has been.
Grateful to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for giving me an opportunity to play another year.
To my teammates, thank you for giving it everything you had. The sweat we shed and the memories we made together will never be forgotten.
And finally, thank you to all the fans for all your support over this season! You guys are the best.
Year 12??? “
January 24th, 2022 at 8:27 pm
That call and the one on SUH for “taunting” were ridiculous.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:29 pm
Taylor
It was the first thing I thought of when I saw Tyreek flashing the peace sign as he ran past defender… How the @&*% is that not taunting?
And didn’t a defender launch himself crown of the helmet first and Evans when he was down already and there was no call there.?
But they call that on Brady and the taunting on SUH?
I usually don’t go off about the refs but those are 3 calls or noncalls worth a lot of yards that really affected drives.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:30 pm
If you really watched the video, it was obvious that Von Miller pulled up. It was a good playoff non call.
Brady gets that call in the regular season. But that was a playoff game.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:44 pm
Cheeseman, a little to conspiratorial even for Ben. Everyone thinks the league had it in for the Patriots. Spygate, deflate gate and the like. But it was the league who destroyed the spygate tapes. Yes Ed hocuhuli’s son only has a job because of his daddy and his guns, but to suggest that Tom Brady has been hosed by refs is just plain ignorant. For Christ sake, they made a rule up about going after QBs knees because of Brady. He’s had the benefit of favorable refereeing the vast majority of his career. Just because a few calls go against him, does not a conspiracy make. Brady also destroyed his cellphone, when all the league was looking for was admittance and cooperation. He would’ve gotten off with a one or two game suspension, but because of his stonewalling, they clipped him with four games. Need Ben remind you that Bill and the comish are friends. He squashed spygate, and the only reason deflate gate became a story was because Tom Brady wouldn’t cooperate.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:52 pm
Here is a crazy thought. How about if the play is over and somebody says something mean its not a 15 yard pentaly. Make it a fine and let the actual game of football decide the outcomes.
Ive progressively hated the NFL rule book and it just keeps getting worse. We are now to the point that peoples feeling are being officiated. These awful rules are taking the sport out of it.
January 24th, 2022 at 8:56 pm
As for the penalty on Brady, he was begging for it. Yes Miller hit him under the chin, and late. But give your two cents and move on. Brady had a hair across his ass all game. Partly because he knew the deck was stacked, and they couldn’t protect him.
January 24th, 2022 at 9:05 pm
Jimmy the refs are horrible, that we agree on. The league is so cheap and the owners are so such slim, that they won’t pay for full time employees. The vast majority of them have other jobs. It’s just plain stupid. You have a company worth tens of billions of dollars, and the people enforcing the rules are part time employees. Ben’s no fan of refs, especially legacy ones like Shawnee boy. It’s a simple fix, make them full time, pay them well, and get rid of these all-star crews. It’s bad enough when you get a bad crew. But to mingle them together is even worse
January 24th, 2022 at 9:06 pm
I ment the owners are such slime
January 24th, 2022 at 9:08 pm
Just re-watched game. Cause i was at game and you see a lot more on TV honestly
First of all. Rams were better team with all our injuries
Stafford had all day. Brady took a beating all game
They caught everything. We dropped way to much
Calls seemed heavy negatively toward bucs
We started slow And they were on fire early
Honestly , i think we need to draft 2 corners. Or draft one and FA one. Done with our guys. Seems injured a ton too. Smb needs to leave this team immediately. Sorry his performance was absolute hot garbage. We cant rely on a few good games in playoffs last year. Also , i think team played better with him on bench last week
Let WR Johnson go too. Its time for him. Showed up out of shape. Drops everything. Falls down. Routes all over the place. Once scotty came in for johnson , scotty had some big plays. Shame on coaches for letting him continue to play poorly.
For the coaches to stick with Darden , is literally a crime. Special teams coach needs to go but arians is chicken and wont pull trigger.
Bowles really crapped the bed at end of game. Crapped the bowl 😂 What a disaster …blitz and cupp single coverage. My 7 year old nephew knows better
I think brady comes back though. I do. Watched post game. Watched interviews. Well as long as team makes effort to make another run. Let brady recruit a few guys he wants on offense. He will need some tight ends with oj and brate gone. Heck on defense too. Let him put some feelers out. Look at rams. Von miller destroyed Smith. Everyone destroyed wells. Honestly , brady had happy feet and it was obvious why. Both tackles sucked. The whole line played crappy each at different times.
And curious what lavonte meant on turmoil. I think their is more then AB and injuries. He threw helmet down after one play getting flagged. He is ticked at somone/ some players on defense i think.
January 24th, 2022 at 9:14 pm
Start fining the refs.
January 24th, 2022 at 9:17 pm
But fans again were Awesome. It was crazy live. People screaming at top of lungs. Sounded loud on tv too
January 24th, 2022 at 9:21 pm
Buc 1987, that’s a little to draconian. Then you’d have refs that were afraid to make a call, which means no calls get made. I hear the frustration, but it would invite more problems. Pay them, make sure all they do all year long is officiate. Ben is in favor of some kind of promotion/demotion based on pay. Call it a fine if you like, but you must incentivize and not punish.
January 24th, 2022 at 9:35 pm
Ben for me the game has become way to overcomplicated. Youre never going to get consistent officiating when the rules have gotten complictated to the point where ever broadcast crew needs a paid rule book scholar to explain whats going on.
And now its to the point where they can change the game over something that nobody watching in the stadium or on TV knows what happened. Alls we know is Tom Brady said something. It doesnt matter who is making the call if thats a rule.
January 24th, 2022 at 9:54 pm
How about the hose-job rule that impacted the outcome of the vicious direct strike to ME13’s face. Absolute hogwash of a rule and/or its interpretation by this crew. It must be changed in the off-season…as officiated there zero real consequence for teeing off on an opponent, so long as you do it a nano-second later than the ball arrives. Total nonsense.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:01 pm
You could read Brady’s lips on TV he said are you Fn kidding me? And pointed to his lip .. flag goes up.
How many games have you seen where a defenders hand grazes the WBs helmet and they call roughing ..?
If it was 2002 that’s not close to a penalty, but that was then.. this is now.
All Suh said was “ do that again Ima F you up “ that’s not taunting.. that’s fair warning.
Let’s see how the calls go for LA this weekend.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:11 pm
*QBs
January 24th, 2022 at 10:23 pm
Brady’s quotes from his podcast are ominous. Sounds like he’s going to retire. Damnit. Say it ain’t so, Tom!
January 24th, 2022 at 10:24 pm
@cheeseman
Interesting take. I believe the refs to a degree get pretty tired of Brady trying to show them up. It just took that one special douche bag to actually pull the hanky out and throw it.
@jimmyjack
I would give anything to snap my fingers and go back to an NFL where Roger Goodell never existed. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the game before he got in his position. The game was governed by “football” people, then they put the lawyer in charge.
No offense to any lawyers on these boards, but Goodell and his tribe have judiciated all the common sense out of the game.
January 24th, 2022 at 10:31 pm
@FrankPillow
The ball was still rolling around on the ground, that hit was 100% part of that play. You are right.
Punching someone in the face on the way back to the huddle is a dead ball foul. Yes.
Smoking someone on the sideline as the incomplete passed ball is hitting the ground. That is still part of that play.
Bucs have plenty of grievances to take to the NFL after that game, all of which will fall on deaf ears.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:04 pm
Helmet to helmet against a quarterback is a penalty. Period.
Hochuli can go choke on his dinner. Him and his dad have always fkn sucked as refs. Always. They, along with Gene sterator (sp?), just love to insert themselves into the game and influence it or make it about them. It’s disgusting.
January 24th, 2022 at 11:59 pm
I have got to laugh at all you Brady like crybabies. It sounds like you believe Baby Brady’s crap don’t smell. He is THEE SINGLE BIGGEST BABY that plays football.
January 25th, 2022 at 12:38 am
Bucs need to sign Von Miller and have him play opposite Shaq. That would be a huge upgrade for a final Super Bowl push with Brady and this roster!
January 25th, 2022 at 4:19 am
Bqen Green..
Let Hochuli get busted in the Chops and see how calm and cool he is. lol
Yeah it is football but getting your lip busted when someone runs their helmet into your chops tends, to piss you off lol
And the way we have seen people just graze Qb’s head area, with their arm, and out comes the flag so quick.
I can also see where Hochuli did not realize the actually impact of Millers hit, but he would not even look at Brady as Brady was venting , he could have easily seen the blood as an evidence that a penalty was actually committed by Miller.
You win some and you lose some, oh well life is still moving on
GO BUCS!!!!!
January 25th, 2022 at 7:54 am
The lack of holding calls on the Eagles was crazy. Are you telling me NO coaches ever got into a refs face aggressively and swear at them? How about EVERY game. His old man was a dick to, wearing the tight short sleeves to show off his arms. Game changing call.
January 25th, 2022 at 9:44 am
We have the Rooney rule for coaches, it just makes sense that in the one other position where POC have been held back, that rules should be different based on race.
I have no problem with a white QB getting some extra calls against him, or some non calls on roughing because he has a historical race based advantage already. Let’s face it TB is kind of the poster child for white QB privilege.
January 25th, 2022 at 10:39 am
No need to whine now. Our rear ends have been properly kicked. Unnecessary or not, the penalty stands as does the lost.
January 25th, 2022 at 11:14 am
Someguy, you’re a moron. Go protest a statue somewhere.
January 25th, 2022 at 11:16 am
@Listnfrmafar I have just changed my opinion on some things because of the ads I see during NFL games, the things I hear players, coaches and owners say and things on the NFL’s website.
I don’t do name calling, but if you disagree then you are out of touch with today’s NFL.
January 25th, 2022 at 11:53 am
Someguy, Mahomes $55mil a season, Wilson, Watson $40 mil a season, Brady $25 mil a season. Who is repressed? Trying looking at the cup half full for a change.
January 25th, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Suh flagged for pointing a finger in staffords face, vin Miller not flagged for launching himself in Tom Bradys face, Tom Brady flagged for yelling in refs face.
Makes complete sense.
I hope the players union starts to fight for fines on refs. I’m pretty sure that hit on Brady will have some weight on Brady’s decision to return.
January 25th, 2022 at 3:46 pm
Why did any player on the field stand up for Brady!!!! They all tucked their jerseys in their panties and looked the other way. That showed what they think of brady.
January 25th, 2022 at 6:02 pm
G, my guess is they already got hit for 15 another 15 wouldn’t help the cause. I think the icing on the cake was I think that was to series Succop missed the FG.