Arians: 'Madder' after NFL review

ARIZONA COACH Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals' 24-21 loss at Philadelphia.

Of particular concern were three plays near the end of the game.

One was a holding call on safety Tyrann Mathieu that negated Patrick Peterson's interception. Another was a holding call on linebacker Matt Shaughnessy on the Eagles' final possession. A third was a no-call when the Cardinals felt there was pass interference on a fourth-down incompletion to Michael Floyd the last time Arizona had the ball.

Arians said he sent "about 15 plays" to the NFL for review by Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating. Arians said Blandino "does a great job. He's very honest with it.

"I've already gotten most of the answers. I got them before I left the locker room yesterday."

Arians declined to share what he was told, but asked if he gets any satisfaction from those answers, he said, "No, I just get madder."

The Cardinals had rallied from a 24-7 deficit to cut the Philadelphia lead to 24-21 when Peterson intercepted Nick Foles' pass at the Eagles' 43 with 4 minutes to play. But Mathieu was called for holding on the play. Arians said "there's no doubt in my mind" that the Cardinals would have scored had Peterson's interception stood.

"We [had] just put a good drive together," Arians said, "and only needed 10 yards for a field goal to tie it."

Even if mistakes are acknowledged by the crew headed by referee Tony Corrente, nothing can be done about it now.

"As long as everybody owns up to it, you move on," Arians said. "It's part of the game. We're here working our tails off this week. Those guys [the officials] are back at their other jobs."

In related developments:

* Tennessee coach Mike Munchak says the NFL has told him officials erred on three plays in the Titans' 22-14 loss to Indianapolis.

* The NFL said officials should have stopped play Sunday on the Redskins' final drive to eliminate confusion about the down and distance at the end of the Giants' 24-17 win at Washington.

* Houston defensive end Antonio Smith apologized for using the word "spying" about New England, but didn't exactly backing down from the accusations he made after the Texans' loss.

On Sunday after Houston's 34-31 loss, Smith told reporters that the Texans had some new wrinkles in their defense and it was "miraculous" how the Patriots changed their offense to key on the defense. He said then: "Either teams are spying on us or scouting us. I don't know what it is."

Yesterday, he said: "I'm sorry I said the word spying because of a prior engagement of them being caught spying before."

* St. Louis center Scott Wells is likely out for the rest of the season after he broke his left ankle in Sunday's loss at San Francisco.

* Broncos coach John Fox returned to work in Denver, 4 weeks after open-heart surgery forced him to telecommute from his offseason home in Charlotte, N.C. "I feel tremendous. As my surgeon said, I had a valve that was the size of a pinhead and now it's the size of a 50-cent piece," Fox said.

* New York Jets coach Rex Ryan said he will stick with Geno Smith as his starting quarterback. "He's our best shot, in my opinion," said Ryan, who benched Smith in favor of Matt Simms at halftime of Sunday's loss to Miami.

* Kansas City police have identified the man who died in Arrowhead Stadium's parking lot Sunday as Kyle A. Vanwinkle, 30, of Smithville, Mo. Police spokesman Darin Snapp says an examination of Vanwinkle's body did not show obvious signs of trauma. He says it could be 4 to 6 weeks before the cause of death is determined. Snapp says a Jeep owner and his son returned to the vehicle during the Chiefs game against Denver and found Vanwinkle inside, leading to a fight. Three people taken into custody for questioning were released with no charges filed.

* Cleveland quarterback Brandon Weeden sustained a concussion Sunday at Jacksonville, and Jason Campbell still not medically cleared to practice after suffering a head injury last week. Campbell will start against New England if he is cleared, but if not the Browns might have to start Alex Tanney, signed last week off Dallas' practice squad.

* The NFL will keep the AFC North matchup between Cincinnati and Pittsburgh as the prime-time game on Sunday, Dec. 15. However, the league is moving the Saints-Rams game in St. Louis and the Cardinals-Titans game in Nashville to 4:25 p.m.