2015 NFL Playoffs

[sioux rube]

FOX's refereeing expert Mike Pereira called it a clear penalty:
The referee, Pete Morelli, announced the 15-yard pass interference penalty to the crowd, giving Detroit a first down deep in Dallas territory.
"Pass interference, 59, defense, automatic first down," you can hear Morelli say on the broadcast.
Moments later, Morelli announced that there was no penalty. The flag was picked up.

[fightingsioux4life]

OK................keep staring at your Teddy poster tacked to your ceiling.

Of the 8 teams left...5 have QBs that have won a Super Bowl.

Har, har, har.

 

I am very happy with Bridgewater and his rookie performance with an unreliable running game (thanks for nothing AP), very few quality receivers and an inconsistent O-Line.  Meanwhile, I didn't see your boy Minnehaha Dix (or whatever he calls himself) make many highlight reels.

[fightingsioux4life]

FOX's refereeing expert Mike Pereira called it a clear penalty:

The referee, Pete Morelli, announced the 15-yard pass interference penalty to the crowd, giving Detroit a first down deep in Dallas territory.

"Pass interference, 59, defense, automatic first down," you can hear Morelli say on the broadcast.

Moments later, Morelli announced that there was no penalty. The flag was picked up.

I wonder how much Jones is going to have to raise concession prices next year to pay for that "lucky break".    

[sioux rube]

[darell1976]

Just wait until the Patriots play, you think Brady will get touched without a penalty then you haven't been watching the NFL the past decade.

[MafiaMan]

FOX's refereeing expert Mike Pereira called it a clear penalty:

The referee, Pete Morelli, announced the 15-yard pass interference penalty to the crowd, giving Detroit a first down deep in Dallas territory.

"Pass interference, 59, defense, automatic first down," you can hear Morelli say on the broadcast.

Moments later, Morelli announced that there was no penalty. The flag was picked up.

That's the part I can't figure out...I was in my car listening to the radio and actually heard the referee announce the penalty. Seconds later, the booth guys are saying the flag has been picked up. If there was any question at all about whether or not it was a penalty, shouldn't that have been discussed BEFORE making the announcement that there was a penalty? The fix is in!

[jdub27]

He was trying to catch the ball and he smacked Hitchens in the face in the process because Hitchens practically ran him over without making a play on the ball.  That, by definition, is defensive PI.  If that isn't PI, then nothing is.

 

He's got his hands in Hitchens facemask with a fully extended arm as the ball is being released, very clear from the back view of the play (see below). That could be offensive pass interference or hands to the face.  They were both hand fighting the whole way, I have no issue with that.  The linesman said that from his vantage point, it appeared to be face guarding, which is not a penalty in the NFL  Pretty sure if Pettigrew would have been able to stop and wait for the ball, which was under-thrown, he gets that call all day.  

 

 

If the flag wouldn't have been thrown, it wouldn't have been a big deal, a lot worse don't get called all the time, including in this game.  Announcing it before waiving it off makes it seem even worse, but I guess that is what happens when you have a crew working together for the first time.  Again, no dog in the fight, I can see both sides to it very clearly, just amusing to see the teeth gnashing and conspiracy theories.  Their were missed calls both ways during the game, always is.  Didn't hear about all the conspiracy theories for Dallas to win when Suh got his suspension overturned.  And once the first quarter ended, Detroit they had zero ability to score points.  This by no means cost them the game (win probability statistics indicted it lowered their chance of winning by 15%). 

 

Edit -

Here's a close up of it:

https://mtc.cdn.vine.co/r/videos/332953AA151163695768922963968_303efb7c1d8.1.5.11586357592793758305.mp4?versionId=BJ.aaHGqNZHhrqcMHdrWR6WN_S5TgMxG

[Oxbow6]

From what I read this morning the PI was overruled because it was deemed to be "face guarding" with not enough contact for PI..... & in the NFL face guarding isn't a penalty.

And for what it is worth many NFL talking heads said Stafford's poor throw on the play, under thrown w zero trajectory, is more to blame than the switched call.

[MafiaMan]

And for what it is worth many NFL talking heads said Stafford's poor throw on the play, under thrown w zero trajectory, is more to blame than the switched call.

Landmark new territory in NFL officiating. Can we now ignore the illegal contact play on a WR that happened 20 yards away and on the opposite side of the field from where a 30 yard running gain took place too? How about maybe picking up the flag on one of those chintzy illegal block in the back calls that happens on an exciting 98 yard kickoff return too?

[sioux rube]

Landmark new territory in NFL officiating. Can we now ignore the illegal contact play on a WR that happened 20 yards away and on the opposite side of the field from where a 30 yard running gain took place too? How about maybe picking up the flag on one of those chintzy illegal block in the back calls that happens on an exciting 98 yard kickoff return too?

No kidding. It's the process of how the flag was picked up is fishy. How the hell does the head ref announce pass interference and first down Detroit and then overturn it? Then not to flag Bryant for running on the field with no helmet is just icing on the cake.

[MafiaMan]

From what I read this morning the PI was overruled because it was deemed to be "face guarding" with not enough contact for PI..... & in the NFL face guarding isn't a penalty.

And for what it is worth many NFL talking heads said Stafford's poor throw on the play, under thrown w zero trajectory, is more to blame than the switched call.

Can you imagine the level of outrage there would be all across the state of Wisconsin if these same exact incidents happen again during an upcoming Packer/Seahawk NFC Championship Game?

[Oxbow6]

Can you imagine the level of outrage there would be all across the state of Wisconsin if these same exact incidents happen again during an upcoming Packer/Seahawk NFC Championship Game?

 

 

Would not happen...ARog wouldn't make a crappy throw like that.   Would have been a TD.............

[Oxbow6]

No kidding. It's the process of how the flag was picked up is fishy. How the hell does the head ref announce pass interference and first down Detroit and then overturn it? Then not to flag Bryant for running on the field with no helmet is just icing on the cake.

 

 

Not flagging Dez is more of an issue to me than changing the PI call.

[MafiaMan]

Would not happen...ARog wouldn't make a crappy throw like that. Would have been a TD.............

Boy, it sure is a good thing that Rodgers panned out, isn't it? Otherwise we'd still be hearing about how Brett Favre would have won another half-dozen Super Bowls as the GB QB.

[MafiaMan]

The Cowgirls and the Fudge Packers...

REALLY?

[Shawn-O]

Playoff expansion coming next season.  

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/page/hotread141231/nfl-playoffs-expanded-postseason-include-14-16-teams-various-seeding-strategies

 

In the case of say, Carolina this season, let them punch their ticket to the playoffs, but they go on the road.  Make them a 7 seed in a 14 team format.   

[Oxbow6]

Early lines:

 

DEN -7

NE -7

SEA -11

GB -6.5

 

Of the four my sense is both NFC favorites cover.  That CAR/AZ game was a dumpster fire...both teams suck.  GB is 8-0 at home and has the widest point differential at home in the NFL by a large margin.

 

Flaco is not a very good QB...except in the playoffs.  Manning hasn't looked like Manning for a few weeks.  Wouldn't be surprises to see both AFC dogs win.

[The Sicatoka]

One NFL home team loses this weekend. 

 

Dallas, Indy, Carolina win at home; Baltimore wins on the road.

Let's see ... nailed it.  

 

For my next amazing prediction:

 

One NFL home team loses this weekend. 

[darell1976]

Dallas, Indy, Carolina win at home; Baltimore wins on the road.

Let's see ... nailed it.

For my next amazing prediction:

One NFL home team loses this weekend.

Let it be New England!!

[jdub27]

Not flagging Dez is more of an issue to me than changing the PI call.

 

I guess that isn't necessarily a penalty:

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant ran onto the field to argue the pass interference call, and Blandino said Bryant could have been flagged for that. Blandino said running on the field to argue with an official is “not an automatic penalty,” but he added that “I certainly would have supported a call for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

 

But Blandino said that Bryant's actions weren't an automatic penalty, as the rule against players taking their helmets off on the field applies only to players in the game at that time.

 

 

 

Blandino also said he was fine with the PI call either way but his opinion (hindsight) is that Dallas should have been called for the jersey grab:

According to Blandino, the clear penalty Hitchens got away with was defensive holding: Hitchens grabbed Pettigrew’s jersey while Pettigrew was running his route, and Blandino said that should have been called. If it had been, it would have given the Lions an automatic first down.

 

 

He did briefly touch on the facemask part but I disagree with him on the minimal contact part:

Although some observers have suggested that Pettigrew also should have been flagged for facemasking Hitchens, Blandino says that’s not the case.

 

“I felt that was minimal contact,” Blandino said of Pettigrew’s contact with Hitchens’s facemask.

 

 

It is what it is.  Refs miss holding, pass interference and other calls all the time.  This one was just handled in a way that magnified it.

[MafiaMan]

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/01/04/2014-nfl-playoffs-wild-card-dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-pass-interference-pete-morelli?xid=nl_siextra

[Shawn-O]

The Dez Bryant unsportsmanlike no-call is the more questionable one.   

[Oxbow6]

The Dez Bryant unsportsmanlike no-call is the more questionable one.

Totally agree.......no interpretation needed there.

[MafiaMan]

I guess that isn't necessarily a penalty:

Blandino also said he was fine with the PI call either way but his opinion (hindsight) is that Dallas should have been called for the jersey grab:

He did briefly touch on the facemask part but I disagree with him on the minimal contact part:

It is what it is. Refs miss holding, pass interference and other calls all the time. This one was just handled in a way that magnified it.

How do you miss a guy with no helmet on sprinting onto the field to chew you out over a flag that has been thrown though?

[iramurphy]

Make up call for the Suh overturn.

Watching the game, I thought it was clearly pass interference. Watching replay, it was a close call. I wonder if the flag was thrown for face guarding. If so, I don't believe that was accurate. The Dallas guy had his left hand in contact with the receiver, but didn't raise both hands up making it look like face guarding until after ball got there. I think he raised them trying to show he wasn't touching the guy. The fact there was contact could have drawn the flag but NFL refs are so inconsistent, this sometimes gets called and sometimes not. I haven't reffed in about 30 yrs but I would have thrown the flag and wouldn't have let someone talk me into picking it up.