I have long considered Jeff Triplette one of the worst officials in all of sports. Along with Ron Winter, Triplette's crew easily calls more penalties than any other crew, and there have been several instances - an F-bomb heard on national TV during the preseason among them - of Triplette's mistake-prone officiating.
↵Browns fans will certainly remember Triplette for throwing a penalty flag that struck T Orlando Brown in the face. The flag caused an eye injury that forced Brown to miss over 3 years of his career. After the incident, in 1999, Brown was legally blind in the eye before it eventually healed itself. It took over 3 years before Brown returned to the NFL in 2003.
↵Triplette nearly had a bad case of deja-vu last night in Arizona. Triplette was the referee during the Cardinals 27-26 win over the Cowboys. With Jon Kitna already lost to injury, the Cowboys were forced to play Stephen McGee. During a 4th quarter drive, Triplette, or someone in his crew, threw a flag that got a bit too close to the quarterback's face:
↵
via @Worstfan
↵To his credit, McGee rallied to throw a touchdown pass on the drive.
↵