Early this year, in the last game of the Titans' regular season, Chris Johnson broke through the Seattle Seahawks' defensive line for one of his "how far is he gonna go" sprints, picking up about seventy yards and inching closer to breaking the NFL's single season rushing yard record .
A controversial offensive holding call against fullback Ahmard Hall ruled the run null, and though Johnson still ended up with a 2000+ yard season thanks to this game, he came very very close to breaking the big record. Titans fans were, understandably, pissed.
Well, another season of football is about to begin, and wouldn't ya know it, the ref who made that call apologized to Hall last night, as the Titans took on the Seahawks in their first preseason match up. Maybe it cleared the air with Hall, but I for one am still pissed, and I am sure C.J. has an opinion about it. Here's the full scoop from today's Tennessean:
SEATTLE — Titans fullback Ahmard Hall walked out of Qwest Field back in January with mixed emotions.
While the running back he'd help pave the way for all season had eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark, a controversial holding call against Hall kept Chris Johnson from getting closer to the NFL's all-time rushing mark.
Hall returned to the scene on Saturday night with some closure, however. Hall said NFL official Ed Hochuli apologized to him and Johnson recently for making "a mistake."
"It is big of him," Hall said. "Some guys won't admit they're wrong regardless if they're dead wrong. So that is a big deal, with the record that could've been and him being a prestigious referee, to admit that he was wrong.
"I got over it, but I admit it hurt me for a while. You are getting replayed on ESPN as the guy who had the phantom holding call. But for Ed to apologize personally, that definitely added closure to the situation."
Johnson finished the game with 134 yards, which gave him 2,006 for the season.
Hochuli's holding call on Hall early in the fourth quarter wiped out a 62-yard touchdown run by Johnson. If not for the penalty, Johnson would have been within striking distance of Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards with plenty of time left.
Hall said the Titans would have pulled out all stops to get the record if not for the penalty. As things turned out the Titans had to be satisfied with Johnson being the sixth player to reach 2,000.
According to Hall, however, the call ended up costing Hochuli as well.
"He told us that call made him miss out on a big playoff game," Hall said. "He got a low, low grade for that call. He regretted it and talked to myself and C.J., and then talked to the team. He admitted it was a bad call. People make mistakes, and it was big for him to own up to it."
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