Bumpus: NFL should have called pass interference what it was

Former Seahawks wide receiver Michael Bumpus of 710 ESPN said the Seahawks’ disappointing 26-21 loss against the San Francisco 49ers came down to a failure of communication — but a missed pass interference on the part of game officials did not help.

When the Hawks had the ball in their final chance of the game, it appeared to Bumpus that the team could still win. But after quarterback Russell Wilson spiked the ball, costing the team a penalty that set them back four yards, the game was over for the Hawks.

“In the game of football, you have to delegate a bunch of responsibilities, or your team is just not going to be effective,” he said. “And I think there was just a breakdown in communication right after Russell Wilson spiked the ball on the 1-yard line.”

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He does believe that a pass interference was committed against Seahawks tight end Jacob Hollister by a 49ers defender in the end zone, but is not surprised that the NFL did not define it that way in its official response, which stated that the incident had been reviewed but was not determined to be a foul.

“When I hear that type of talk and that type of language, I think two things — one, either the person who wrote this or the ref who was viewing this has never played football,” Bumpus said. “Or two, they’re just too prideful to say, ‘Hey, we missed that call, this is what should have happened.’ And I think if you’re going to give a response, you have to be truthful.”

Bumpus said that the the defender took Hollister by the shoulders to prevent him from going for the ball, a clear violation of game rules.

“When that ball is in the air, if the defender restricts the offensive player to try to make a play on the ball, it is a pass interference,” he said. “You can speed it up and watch it in real time, it’s a pass interference; you can slow it down, it’s pass interference.”

While he didn’t think the Hawks lost the game due to that one incident, he noted that it played a significant role in a close game where every move counted.

As far as the big news — the return of running back Marshawn Lynch — Bumpus thought the formerly retired player did well, but that the focus should have been on running back Travis Homer.

“For what he was asked to do, I thought he did great,” he said of Lynch.

With the loss of the NFC West title, the Hawks will be matched up against the Philadelphia Eagles in next Sunday’s game instead of against the Minnesota Vikings. However, Bumpus sees this as a better outcome; he called the Philadelphia Eagles “a wounded bird” because of the number of players who are out with injuries. He added that the Seahawks have done well in away games this season, with 7-1 for road games.

“I think the Hawks could have gotten it done against Minnesota, but if you had to pick who you want to play, I think most experts would have chosen the Philadelphia Eagles,” he said.

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