That was simultaneous?Follow

Linky



I just don't see it, sorry. As a Seattle fan I want to, I really want to, but I can't. You see the replay, and it was obvious (to me at least) Tate got his hands in there late, and simply just hung on hoping for the best. In the spur of the action though, I can only imagine (pray?) it looked closer than it did on replay. The TV announcers used the word 'simultaneous', for whatever that's worth, and apparently the play isn't reviewable or something?

To bring people who don't know up to speed, the NFL's real referees aren't working these days. They're on strike while they negotiate a new contract with the league. The game is being officiated by replacements, from backwater college leagues and the likes. Common train of thought is that the replacements are in way over their heads, are making poor and questionable calls; this latest one being the worst of the bunch. The hope among fans now is that this forces the league to meet be more flexible with compensation to get the real officials back on the field, as they've been pretty stingy with their terms.

Does this really force the league to negotiate? I'm not optimistic. Millions of dollars are at stake, and football fans are pretty darn loyal. We'll put up with a lot. After all the real refs back terrible calls too. Say hello to Super Bowl XL, and having 14 points taken away from you. This is nothing in comparison. Of course, I'm not bitter or anything...

If it does spur change though, I suppose we can feel lucky this happened in week 3 and not in the playoffs sometime. Which leads to the real question:

Q: What's the different between real refs and replacement refs?

A: Replacement refs make bad calls in our favor.

I could fake it for seventy-five an hour. Sounds like it'll work out best for the official refs that are on the sidelines. "See what happens when we're not around?"

Call in Rahm!

The NFL refs can't hold a candle to blown calls in the MLB. Then again, the MLB refs get 162x9x??? chances a year to blow a call, so the probability is significantly greater. Personally, after seeing the play, I don't think the GB dude had definitive control beyond what the Seattle guy had, and both had both hands firmly wrapped around the ball when they hit the ground. IMO, it's a toss up. I think the only reason people are so ridiculously upset is because it was in fact the last play of the game and one that absolutely affected the outcome. Under less conspicuous circumstances, it would be just another ho-hum moment.

Edited, Sep 25th 2012 11:09am by BrownDuck

Should have been a flag on the play for OPI anyway. I know you let some stuff go in a Hail Mary play, but that was just blatant.

Certainly was. But it's not like the regular officials don't blow that play, too. I remember one just as blatant happening in the 2007 Ravens Patriots playoff game, and it allowed Baltimore to make the catch (the guy got tackled at the 1 though, so the Pats still won, and nobody rioted).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAbyVbjvydU

That's the best video I could find, unfortunately, but you'll notice a Patriot go flying out of the pile of guys waiting to bat the ball. One of the Ravens WRs just grabbed him and threw him out of the way.

Their official word now that they've reviewed it today, for what it's worth...



and of course...

I'd be curious if the replacement refs are actually making more bad calls than the regular refs, or if we just think so because every single time a bad call is made there's a reference to the fact that they are replacements. It's not like folks aren't normally up in arms about various bad calls, they're just adding the whole "replacement" bit into the mix.

.

Well, what if you catch the guy who caught the ball, then manage to carry both guy and ball all the way to the end zone? I think that should count as a score.

Sanchez could go down, Tebow could go in, & you could make a wild card spot.

*snicker* Ha..haha...hahahaha...

Sorry, couldn't quite stifle that.

Tebow is a fucking dunce.

Woo more useless political talking points.