Ed Hochuli didn't fail.

The NFL and the San Diego Chargers did.

If you are a Bolts fan, you probably know who Ed Hochuli is now.

Then again, you probably knew who he was before. You probably knew him as the overly buff official who could squash your head like a peanut in the crease of his elbow.

But now you know him as the overly buff official who made the Chargers 0-2 instead of 1-1.

If you think that, you would be wrong.

Sure, his quick whistle negated a fumble recovery against Denver, allowing the Broncos to keep possession of the football on what would be the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion.

But how could Hochuli anticipate Jay Cutler would channel Garo Yepremian and flub a pass so badly that it went backward?

Thinking it was an incomplete pass, Hochuli blew his whistle. We have the benefit of 15 billion instant replays from 15 billion different angles slowed frame by frame to tell us it wasn't.

Hochuli had two eyes, one angle and a split second to make the call.

Yes, it was the wrong call. But the NFL rule didn't help the situation much, either.

The rule states a whistle on a fumble by a ballcarrier is reviewable, but not by a quarterback in a passing situation.

It's a ridiculous exception to the rule and it put Hochuli in a difficult situation.

Hochuli's call did not decide the game, however.

It's not like a San Diego defensive lineman jarred the ball free from Cutler's clutches. Cutler butterfingered it away as if he were TonyRomo or something.

After the Broncos retained possession, San Diego had every opportunity to stop them.

The Broncos had a third-and-goal from the 10 after the botched call, ran up the middle for six yards and then Cutler found rookie phenom Eddie Royal on fourth down for the touchdown.

The Chargers still had another chance to win the game on defense, but Cutler found Royal again

on the same play

as the touchdown for the two-point conversion and a 39-38 win.Had the Chargers hung on for the victory, the backlash against Hochuli would have been muted. But because the Chargers' defense was so inept, Hochuli is the scapegoat.Many fans let him know about it in e-mails. I'm sure few contained these lines:"Dear Ed. Hey, we all make mistakes.""Dear Ed. Since the NFL gave you a demerit, would you like to play linebacker for the Chargers? You certainly have the guns and, obviously, we need you."No. Most probably called him names, placed disparagements on his family tree, etc., etc.To his credit, he personally answered almost every e-mail he received. He's so torn up about the call that even Vince Young is trying to cheer him up.The fact of the matter is Hochuli is one of the best officials in the game. He owned up to his mistake, which, in my opinion, wasn't much of a blunder, and has more than expressed his regret.Move on, Chargers fans. Hochuli should move on, too.Mike Kilroy is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.