NFL 2017-2018

[JonMA1]

It was no surprise to me that they overturned the call. To me he clearly lost control. Just because one hand was underneath the ball doesn't mean he "controlled" it.

For those who disagree, what exactly do you think the thought process was during the review? Are the officials incompetent or is there an agenda? Or is it just a difficult rule to interpret? I mean, they had all the time in the world to make that decision.

26 minutes ago, Hardspoon said:

You can call reaching for the goal line a "football move", or say his "initial contact with the ground" was "survived", or a lot of other ways to say that by any subjective measure, that's a catch.

This is the only part about the call that's even up for debate... that and the rule is just stupid. But this call happens every week.

Bad rules or bizarre interpretation or them by officials are part of the NFL and it makes the game less interesting. I watched 2 Buccaneer DB's mug Julio Jones in the end zone last night before the ball got there.... no call. I don't even know what pass interference is any more.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

It was no surprise to me that they overturned the call. To me he clearly lost control. Just because one hand was underneath the ball doesn't mean he "controlled" it.

His hand being under the ball IS controlling it. Until the ball hits the ground it's up for being controlled. He caught the ball, brought it to his chest, five points touched the ground, he extended it, his hand was under the ball, and it moved slightly before he regained control again, never letting the ground "control" it for him.

5 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

For those who disagree, what exactly do you think the thought process was during the review?

Nobody but about one or two people can answer that.

The Cooks catch had more evidence for overturning the call and yet that one was upheld. Yet the Jets and Steelers had a call overturned on less evidence.

5 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

But this call happens every week.

I'd take that wager.

[Golfingdad]

2 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

I think there are a lot of people hiding behind the "call was correct based on the current rule" crap.  But it isn't that simple.

I’m not a fan of the phrase “hiding behind” but, despite that, I’m in this group.  I think it’s clear that when he hit the ground and the ball came loose, his right hand was not yet underneath the ball.  I think they called it correctly.

I also recognize that this falls in the same category as Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson catches before it, where to the naked eye it’s pretty obvious that they “caught” the ball.  It seems that there must be a simpler way to define what is a catch, but I don’t pretend to know what that is.  (Full disclosure; I don’t really care that much either :P)

[b101]

The thing I keep coming back to is what a shame it is that these oblique rules and the issues they continue to cause are taking away from what has been, to my mind, a really great season. I started loving the NFL because I saw that (unlike the Premier League football we have here), there's a genuine possibility for any team to have tangible success and see improvements. This season, you're looking at a totally different NFC playoff picture, Jacksonville have finally shown they have a good roster, not just on paper, you've got redemption stories for a number of QBs - Keenum, Goff etc, lots of young players such as Watson, Wentz, Hunt making the leap and you've still got the powerhouses in Steelers and Pats being the ones to beat. Then there's the next draft: I'm genuinely excited to see Cleveland improve as I think they're not actually that far off, Giants look for Eli's replacement and there's a lot of exciting talent in that top ten.

And yet, all that said, what's most talked about is still whether the ball wobbles for a couple of milliseconds... The NFL does so much right - it's horrible that this overshadows it.

[iacas]

7 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

I’m not a fan of the phrase “hiding behind” but, despite that, I’m in this group.  I think it’s clear that when he hit the ground and the ball came loose, his right hand was not yet underneath the ball.  I think they called it correctly.

You’re in the minority as the announcers didn’t even say that, and there’s absolutely no definitive evidence.

The dude has big hands. And made “initial contact with the ground” five times. So even if what you say is true I could argue that the call was still wrong. He survived initial contact. Several times. Then broke the plane. Play over.

@b101, the Browns will not be good.

 

[b101]

8 minutes ago, iacas said:

@b101, the Browns will not be good.

 

For clarification, I didn't say 'good', but improving . It'll take them a while, but with a potential 2 picks in the top five, they'll have a lot of young talent.

[iacas]

12 minutes ago, b101 said:

For clarification, I didn't say 'good', but improving . It'll take them a while, but with a potential 2 picks in the top five, they'll have a lot of young talent.

We'll see about that.

[Zekez]

On 12/20/2017 at 7:51 AM, iacas said:

You’re in the minority as the announcers didn’t even say that, and there’s absolutely no definitive evidence.

The dude has big hands. And made “initial contact with the ground” five times. So even if what you say is true I could argue that the call was still wrong. He survived initial contact. Several times. Then broke the plane. Play over.

@b101, the Browns will not be good.

 

Apparently the play isn't over.  And you are wrong.   

 

[iacas]

@Zekez, I saw that video when it was released and it changes nothing that I’ve said.

There is no angle that doesn’t show his hand under the ball.

AND he survived five points of “initial” contact with the ground.

BTW did you listen to the video? “Roethlisberger completes a pass…”. Poor word choice there NFL…

[dennyjones]

We can all blame Calvin Johnson...

[b101]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Rams, Rams, Rams, Rams, Rams, Rams, Rams

 

 

I'm quite pleased

[dennyjones]

Another controversy regarding the Patriots and a completed pass.

Quote

Benjamin’s left toe had appeared to scrape the turf after he initially corralled the pass, but the NFL’s head of officiating, Al Riveron, offered this explanation of the ruling on Twitter:

“When Kelvin Benjamin gains control, his left foot is off the ground. The receiver only has one foot down in bounds with control. Therefore, it is an incomplete pass.”

Bills fans weren’t the only ones who took issue with the league’s ruling. A former NFL executive in charge of officiating, Mike Pereira, said on Twitter, “Don’t see how the Buffalo TD was overturned. Not clear and obvious the toe didn’t drag. There is a line behind the toe when he drags it. Am I missing something?”

“Nothing more irritating to an official than to make a great call and then someone in a suit in an office in New York incorrectly reverses it,” Pereira added. “It is more and more obvious that there isn’t a standard for staying with the call on the field.”

Dean Blandino, who succeeded Pereira as the league’s officiating chief and is now a Fox Sports analyst, said of the Benjamin play, “We’re being overly technical. When you look at the angles that were available, there’s nothing clear and obvious to overturn the call on the field.”

I bet the rules committee will have their hands full with the a rule change in the off season.

[iacas]

The Patriots have now been on the right side of FOUR of these calls now, with their receiver being the only one to have the call upheld, despite more evidence that the control of the ball does not "survive the ground."

Pity.

[b101]

On 25/12/2017 at 3:02 AM, iacas said:

The Patriots have now been on the right side of FOUR of these calls now, with their receiver being the only one to have the call upheld, despite more evidence that the control of the ball does not "survive the ground."

Pity.

Agree on all of this - however, the one positive that I have concerning the Pats right now is that they don't look like the title lock that everyone thought they would be before the season started. There are definitely weaknesses, notably the front 7 on defense, that the right team could take advantage of. I could certainly see a fully-healthy Pittsburgh (minus Shazier) taking them out in the Divisional and who knows what the Jags might do if their rush gets to Brady.

That said, I'd also like to see Belichick's scheming making sure that it's a pure pass offense for Bortles and co.

On the NFC side, it all looks so much more interesting than a year ago. Wouldn't mind seeing any team bar the Panthers / whoever is 6th seed get through to the Superbowl. As a Rams fan, I would like to see us hit the 4th seed rather than 3rd just to take Minnesota out of the way - I feel like we could take the Eagles in a rematch, but the Vikings scare me most out of any team in the NFL.

[mcanadiens]

The whole Harrison-Steelers-Patriots thing is pretty amusing. 

 

[iacas]

51 minutes ago, mcanadiens said:

The whole Harrison-Steelers-Patriots thing is pretty amusing. 

Kind of a non issue really. Though some are treating it as one.

[mcanadiens]

38 minutes ago, iacas said:

Kind of a non issue really. Though some are treating it as one.

Of course. Sure ole Coach Bill has all he needs in the event of a playoff game with those rotten Black & Golds. It will be interesting to see how much Harrison sees the field for the Pats.

A bit of color never hurts going into the playoffs.

[b101]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Kind of a non issue really. Though some are treating it as one.

But when anyone goes to the Pats, they become brilliant. Just ask Kenny Britt...