Dean Blandino, NFL VP of Officiating, Discusses Odell Beckham Jr.'s Conduct

Everyone seems to have an opinion on Sunday's back-and-forth between New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman, but NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino’s carries plenty of weight when discussing the league’s referees.

According to Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com, Blandino said Beckham should have been ejected from the Week 15 contest. Blandino offered some comments to NFL Network on Tuesday, via Seifert:

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The crew was doing a really tough job of trying to keep the game under control. They had spoken to both head coaches. They had spoken to the players. There was a point during the game when I did get on the headset to the replay official to remind the referee that, "You can eject players. You'll have our full support. This thing cannot get out of control."

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Seifert also noted Blandino “spoke with an official in the MetLife Stadium press box to reinforce the opinion to eject.”

Blandino can access the wireless headsets the officials wear and can actually speak to them during reviews.

Blandino also added, “The officials, if you ask them, they would agree after looking at the tape that ejections were warranted,” via Seifert. The vice president of officiating implied the officials should have established control much earlier than they did, via Seifert:

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For me, looking at the tape, there were two or three opportunities early in the game to throw a flag and set the tone. We always want to set the tone early. Not make something up, but when something rises to the level of unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct, we can't miss those opportunities, because that sets the tone of the entire game. There were a couple there that we missed early on.

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The NFL suspended Beckham one game for his actions during his team’s 38-35 loss to the Panthers (although he will appeal). He and Norman jawed back and forth with each other throughout the contest, and Beckham picked up three personal-foul penalties. However, he also put Norman in danger when he launched himself at the cornerback and made contact with his head well after a play was over in the third quarter.

Norman retaliated and also drew a flag, but it was largely out of anger because Beckham could have seriously hurt the superstar defender.

Perhaps none of it would have happened if the officials had established control in the early going when it was clear there was underlying tension between the two players and teams.