Saints to open preseason vs Vikings, in first game after non-call in playoffs

There will be a point as early as the first series in Friday night's preseason opener at New Orleans when Saints coach Sean Payton reaches into his sock, a back pocket or wherever he keeps his red challenge flag.

Mercedes-Benz Superdome and all of Who Dat Nation that was wronged by the egregious pass interference no-call in the NFC Championship Game seven months ago will roar its approval as Payton fires the franchise's first challenge since NFL owners voted 31-1 to expand replay reviews to include offensive and defensive pass interference calls and non-calls.

Meanwhile, on the other sideline, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer will watch with curiosity and skepticism while looking for his own opportunities to test things out before the regular season begins.

"My flags are probably going to get emptied out in the preseason," Zimmer said. "I think we just have to figure out how they're going to call it. It's gone round and round and round so many times. Now it has to be, what's the words? 'Clear and obvious' or something like that?"

The standard for a reversal, according to the NFL, is whether there is clear and obvious evidence that the victim of the interference was significantly hindered.

"They went quick with it and passed it at the owners meetings, and now they're finding out there are some possible unintended consequences," Zimmer said. "They're trying to fix the play that helped [the Rams] in the NFC Championship. But there are a lot of other plays throughout the course of the season that weren't quite [that simple]."

With 1 minute, 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the Jan. 20 NFC title game, Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman committed an obvious pass interference penalty and made helmet-to-helmet contact when he pushed Saints receiver Tommylee Lewis. But there was no call, which prevented the Saints from having first-and-goal in what was a 20-20 tie. They settled for a field goal and lost 26-23 in overtime.

While the NFL kept quiet publicly, Payton revealed after the game that Al Riveron, NFL senior vice president of officiating, admitted, "We messed it up." Saints owner Gayle Benson followed with a lengthy statement voicing her disappointment and asking the league to change its replay rules.

"No team should ever be denied the opportunity to reach the title game [or simply win a game] based on the actions, or inactions, of those charged with creating a fair and equitable playing field," Benson wrote.

Three federal lawsuits were filed by disgruntled Saints fans and later dismissed. But a state-level case is moving forward after a Louisiana judge ruled that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and three officials from the game will have to answer questions under oath in a lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages.

The Bengals were the only team to vote against the measure to expand replay. As for the Vikings, Mark Wilf, owner and president, said the Vikings are "supportive of the effort to try and get it right."

"We got to get the calls right," Wilf said. "We have to make sure there's integrity to the game. It's not an easy art to get it right, but I know [the league is] working hard on it."

Zimmer smiled when first asked about the issue this week.

"Are you trying to get me in trouble?" he said with a laugh.

He went on to say he isn't sure what to think since he's been confused by explanatory videos the league has sent out.

"They sent us another video a couple of days ago," Zimmer said. "It had two [example] plays on it. The second play, they didn't even say if it was pass interference or not. So, I think it's a work in progress."

The first challenge of the preseason came in Thursday night's Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, when Broncos coach Vic Fangio challenged a pass interference call on Denver cornerback Linden Stephens. Upon further review, it was clear and obvious that Stephens significantly hindered Falcons receiver Russell Gage. The call was upheld and the Broncos were charged a timeout and left with only one more coach's challenge.

Vikings safety Harrison Smith said he "doesn't get too worked up about all this stuff until I see how it works itself out."

"There's always one big rule change every year," Smith said. "It will be interesting to see how it will be called. Sometimes, when you see the replay you see that there's as much pushing on both sides. … But I don't see them ruling OPI [offensive pass interference]."

Smith then made a prediction that, given the NFL's track record, is likely to play out.

"I'm sure there will be a game early in the season where something controversial happens and everybody will be all up in arms," Smith said. "You know how it goes."