Prime Time says no time is right time for NFL review on pass interference non-calls
Deion Sanders knows a thing or two about defending passes. And he’s not in favor of the popular groundswell for making pass interference reviewable in the aftermath of the Great Non-Call in New Orleans.
“No, there shouldn’t be any review of a play that wasn’t called,” he said Thursday. “So holding is now going to be reviewed? No, you can’t take the game off the field and take it up into the booth. That’s not football.”
He was speaking to USA TODAY Sports as a spokesperson for Mint Mobile, a lesser known wireless company that will have a commercial in the Super Bowl. Sanders isn’t in the ad, but he’s making appearances for the brand.
That’s just one of his roles. Sometimes it seems like Sanders is everywhere. Thursday night he’ll be the subject of Deion’s Double, an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary about the time he attempted to play in an NFL regular-season game and an MLB playoff game on the same October day in 1992, for the Atlanta Falcons and Braves.
And Thursday morning Sanders was the subject of a major feature in The Washington Post about his superstar status in Atlanta. The story says Sanders, through numerous intermediaries, declined to speak to the paper.
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“We’re very, very busy this week,” Sanders said. “So we just declined the time that they desired to do so. So that was it.”
And then he added: “You got it,” apparently meaning an audience with the pope of Atlanta.
The difference is this quickie interview was secured through the brand. Does that mean Neon Deion needs to be getting paid if he’s going to talk?
He said the question made no sense, dismissing the very thought.
The Post story begins with a quote from an appearance Sanders made a couple of years ago on ESPN. “Every time I go to Atlanta,” he said then, noting his number hangs in the rafters, “I can’t even watch the game because I’m looking up at me.”
So, will he be able to watch on Super Sunday?
“Well, I’m not going to that extent,” he said. “You know, I’m working, man.”
Sanders is an analyst for the NFL Network, and a good one.
“So I’ll probably be at the hotel watching the majority” of the game, Sanders said. “And then I’ll probably go (to the stadium) at the conclusion, because I have to conclude the game with my analysis.”
He declines to predict a winner, other than to say, “I would side with Tom Brady on being the favorite.” He has no rooting interest because he has friends on both sides, just as he has friends on many sides in the host city.
“Atlanta is dear to my heart,” he said. “I mean, this is the place which I call home. I love the city. I love the fans. I love the town, the political figures here, the police force here, I love every bit of it.”
He promotes Atlanta, he promotes Mint Mobile — and he promotes the NFL.
“We’re the biggest thing going in professional sports,” he said. “I think we’re doing a good job in what we’re doing. That’s why our game is called super.”
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