NFL: Joe Staley should not have been flagged on Clay Matthews skirmish

We all like to bag on NFL officiating at times, but the NFL does sometimes step up and at least say the right thing. NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino acknowledged Joe Staley was in the right Sunday afternoon when he got into it with linebacker Clay Matthews:

From the league: Dean Blandino reviewed it & determined that Staley should not have been flagged. It should have been 1st & goal from the 3

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 9, 2013

The whole thing was a cluster-[site decorum] given the mix-up on the off-setting penalties. Packers fans might complain about that, but given this official NFL position, I think it more or less evens things out. We can move forward and know the NFL understands that players are going to defend their own when something crazy like this happens. Jim Harbaugh emphatically stated that he felt Joe Staley was in the right, and engaged Matthews properly.

Now we get to wait and see who is next in line to challenge Colin Kaepernick in such a manner. I don't think we'll see much more quite so blatant, but it will be something to keep an eye on week in and week out.

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