Apparently under the new rules of the NFL, you are allowed to tackle the receiver while the ball is in the air.  This was ruled to be not pass interference.  If this is the case, I do not see how another pass downfield would ever be completed in the NFL.  Why wouldn’t every single defensive player just tackle the receiver while the ball was in the air?  The only way to complete a pass would be if the WR got past the defender or quick WR slants or screen passes.  Chris Conte did the same exact thing on Sunday to a Ravens receiver in the end zone and it was ruled interference.  Did the rule get changed overnight?  Illegal on Sunday…legal on Monday night?  I’ve yet to see anyone that isn’t a Panthers fan or another referee sticking up for his fellow refs that have agreed with the call.  It’s pretty hard to get universal agreement like that on anything let alone a sports call.  The last time there was a call that bad in the NFL, it was replacement referees blowing the call during the Seahawks and Packers game.  Surprisingly, this time it wasn’t replacement refs.  It was people that were supposed to be the best at what they do.  Everyone can have a bad day but to refuse to acknowledge it is not alright.  It’s okay to admit that you made a mistake.  No one is perfect.  People would respect them if they just simply said, I’m sorry…we made a bad call.  Instead, they run off the field like cowards or thieves in the night and then steadfastly deny getting it wrong when confronted by the world.  Rob Gronkowski was getting inappropriately touched more than a stripper in the VIP room at 3 AM.

All that being said, if Stevan Ridley doesn’t fumble in the Red Zone early in the game or if the Patriots made a few other plays, that pass interference blown call would have been a moot point.  That doesn’t make the referee crew suck any less though.