Agreed I think the refs got it correct, but it was a very harsh call given when it happened. Also, coupling it with the INT, the combination essentially reversed the result to the game. If it were 20 or so years ago, its two feet=catch and what happened subsequent to that is not relevant, so TD 20 years ago. My only caveat might be that with a terrible prevent D and a missed angle by McCourty, they get like a 80 yard catch and were in position to win. After we got our TD we had a high % chance to win.
His knee has no bearing on the play. He wasn't touched, and had not completed the catch. He didn't need to stretch out. He should have completed the catch. He lost possession of the ball when it hits the ground. Watch the replay, focus on his left hand, it's on the bottom of the ball , ball hits the ground and the back of his left hand ends up on top of the ball. It was the right call.
No we cannot catch all of them. I was just pointing out that we have bad bounces go against us as well as bounces go for us. And to be honest Kurt, the good bounces going our way makes me fell a lot better about dealing with the ones that do not go our way. For example, getting a 2pt conv (after missing a PTA) in SB51 makes me feel better about missing a 2 pt conv (after missing a PTA) in the 2015 AFCCG. Tyree/edelman, Manningham/bulter, and so on. True we have been lucky with success, and yes there certainly are spoil pats fans that will whine about a call not going our way (which i find troubling), but there are some non pats fans that feel the other way.
I hear yah Tony, but at the same time a part of me thinks that instinct took over and he simply wanted to reach over for the goal line and landing for the most part on his hands thereby creating a lot of force on the ball when he hit the ground. Yes it would of been the smart move the fall to the ground whilst protecting the ball, then reach over, just think instinct made him try to do it all in one. Real harsh game of inches thing to go against the Steelers
Every one wants to make the highlight reel . Look at Carr throwing away the game and playoffs trying to stretch out on the dive for the TD . Fundamentals are often ignored. Didn't have to score the TD there. First and goal inches from the goal line would have put Pitt in position to win, same with the Carr play.
Most of our good bounces and bad bounces get lost in the morass of failed seasons and meaningless football. The Patsies get highlighted because they end up forming narratives on succesful or "just short" football.
You can also include the Dez Bryant catch/non catch result that cost the Cowboys a playoff game against the Packers. Then there was the Bears Zach Miller's TD catch over turned. Not only did Zach lose the TD he was also injured on the play. Then last but not least Gronk's no catch call against the Broncos that stood review even though the ball never touched the ground. Maybe they were right on the call being not completing the catch, but I still don't understand why. This rule that has prevented receivers from getting a catch call has also helped receivers also. Many times a catch followed by a fumble call isn't made because the receiver was ruled not completing the catch and making a football move hence no fumble.
It doesn’t matter what I think.Your fan base is the only one that counts anymore.By all means have your cake & eat it too.No sense even arguing anymore.. Enjoy winning the next 20 Super Bowls..
Who's Yehoodi? Sorry couldn't help myself, a real old song from the 40's. Even before my time! I have been a Pats fan since 1968. I have definitely felt the agony of defeat those years. I remember going to the old Foxboro or Schaefer stadium where there was hardly nobody at the game. The beer sucked and so did the Patriots who were the joke of the NFL back then. Boy has times changed. I know this will not last for ever, but I will enjoy it while I still can. I would like to see the Jets have their day also, being an old Pats fan I can sympathize for what they have been through. It is bad enough to see your team lose, but is even worst have a big brother like the Giants tell you how they are the real football team of New York. After the Jets, I would like to see the Bills next. But under no circumstance do I want to see the Fish get the super Bowl in the future. Don Shula and his over priced steak house can rot in hell!
I think where the confusion comes into play is , when is a catch complete,hence the receiver becoming a runner. If you listen to most of the arguments surrounding this play. They revolve around James' knee hitting the ground and the ground can't cause a fumble both have no bearing on the call. As it stands, if going to the ground, the receiver must maintain control of the ball through the catch. It's very clear. I know that the announcers we're saying it's a catch, until they saw the view from the right side of the end zone where the ball was clearly visible. They knew immediately they were wrong. The more difficult call is as you brought up, when does the receiver become a runner in the open field. There have been many fumbles that are over turned with the reasoning being, the receiver hadn't completed the catch. That one will be much harder to clarify , especially with the defenseless receiver call being so popular now. When does that defenseless receiver become a runner? The league is trying to increase scoring , protecting the WR. It's almost as if the D must allow the receiver to complete the catch and turn up field ,securing the ball and taking steps before you can talk him or force a fumble. One of the many things having a negative impact on the game.
last night was a fuckin joke. That was a touchdown. This league just cant help getting in its own way. garbage garbage call ruined a good game. No reason to watch the league anymore if they are just going to rig the outcome like that
BN, Stupidest fuckin rule I have ever seen, and they wonder why they are losing fans, knee down reaching for the plane crosses it, he had full control when he crossed the plane, Vince Lombardi is rolling over in his grave
Yes correct. Sometimes folks loose track of the moment and what is the higher percentage play at the time. Sometimes the Pats players do it too. Yes Carr should of tucked it away and fall out of bounds and take the clock stoppage and ball at half yard line, I think it was 2nd down there. As for Pitt, I see Ben wanting to throw it in there to get a game winning TD. Having had so many last minute/walk off wins in the last few weeks that Pitt has had perhaps that might of been in the back of his head, lets repeat the recent past. Surely, a smarter play would of been to throw it away or hope for an incomplete pass. I do think that it helps some folks if the team can practice fundamentals and/or situational plays so they are more comfortable in in-game situations.
I hear yah Kurt, there are some Pats fans that think that way, those who are 25 or so all they know is success with Brady which can skew their view on things, there a some, like me, who have known the pats in the darker days (I have been following them since the early 70s) who have a different view. I find myself avoiding those types of fans.
has a team ever gotten 2 free wins with bullshit calls taking away TDs like that before? NE should be 9-5, facing 8-6 Buffalo for division sunday. Instead they are in the drivers seat for home field advantage because the refs gave them 2 victories!!
OMG you know the song. And btw, that is where my name originals. . Its an old Cab Calloway song. The back story is that I swing dance and there is a swing dance website Yehoodi.com. About 12 years ago i went to a swing dance came, Swing Out New Hampshire, and post camp was tooling around that website regarding the camp and started to play an online game, Battlefield 1942. i needed a nick name for the game, wanted something unique, and Yehoodi was on my mind and it sounded good and it has stuck ever since. Folks have asked me where i get the name, as i think it means Jewish in Hebrew (i am catholic), you are the first person who knows the song. . I too am a long time pats fans, since around 1972, and remember having to listen to Gil Santos on the radio for home games in the 1970s as it was blackout on TV due to not being sold out. And a good 20 years till Bledsoe of the Pats finding ever way to loose a game. I too am sucking every last drop of this recent run as I know things will go south after BB and Brady. Be nice for a AFCE team to win the SB if the Pats do not. For me, I lean towards the Bills first and then the Jets, as the Jets did win in '68 and Bills have not . . . I am blah on the fins, am not a fan at all of Shula, but i do like Tannehill.
every patriots fan on the internet has been a fan since 1960, we know the drill. odd since they used to play in front of empty stadiums but somehow they have millions of long time die hard fans on the internet
Steelers got hosed by an incredibly hypertechnical interpretation of the rules and have a critical 4th quarter taken away, just like the Jets in week 6, and guess who benefits? It's like the NFL suddenly accepted the Patriots self-deflating footballs theory as gospel in looking for ways to help them win and avoid detection. Go ahead and provide me with a detailed legal explanation in triplicate with flow charts and legal briefing explaining why James' bobble negates that play under the NFL rules as written, but to me, it was and always will be a catch and TD. The NFL is a joke right now.
What do you mean you should not be able to predict these things? Good teams win, and its not that you are predicting it, its what makes them good teams, it is what makes Golden State go on runs to win games in the 4th quarter, I always expect them to make a run when they are down big, or when the Yankees were in their dynasty days of the late 90s, they would get 8th and 9th inning rally to win games, again very predictable. It is what makes teams great. Brady has done this 51 times now, which is hard to do when you consider, how often he never trails in the 4th. BTW you can boycott the Pats game all you want, but early numbers indicated that yesterdays Pats game at 4:30 out did by almost double Game 7 of the World Series, and was the highest rated game in the NFL this season for a Sunday day game. So I am pretty sure fans are not sick of either loving or hating the Pats, and either way will watch them.
