I think it should have been called a facemask penalty rather than a pass interference penalty, just as many of those Broncos fans were saying. What don't you understand?
If Holmes caught the pass and then had his facemask pulled, then there would have been a facemask penalty. It would have been half the distance to the goal.
About 95 percent of their posters seem to think it was the right call. And 2-out-of-3 of those posters seemed to think Denver benefited from the ref's calls rather than hurt them. Kudos to people who watch the game from a honest point of view.
Why? It was a face mask AND pass interference. You would give the greater of the penalties. If that were just a face mask penalty, don't you think you'd find a lot more out of position CBs just yanking on a receiver's face mask to avoid the big play?? Might as well give 15 yards instead of a sure TD if he's caught out of position, right?
Perhaps if the ball was overthrown or grossly underthrown, the fact that the ball hit Holmes in the hands after the facemask deems it a PI at the spot of the foul. You, my friend, are wrong...
Most of them (2nd link) seemed to agree with the call 100 percent. Only one or two posters that I saw thought it was a bad call and the rest of their board pretty much called them homers.
Bet they thought the 15 ydr against JL was a good call and the pass interference against Cro. CHILD PLEASE!
If you grab a guy's facemask while he is trying to catch a pass, you are interfering with his ability to catch the pass. If the NFL did what you are suggesting they do, then receivers would constantly get their masks pulled when trying to catch a pass deep down the field.
On a side note, can someone explain the logic of how that was ruled a catch after the Leonhard hit? I missed the explanation on TV...
its all about perception if roles were reversed we would all be bitching too in looking at it objectivley though even though im a jets fan its clear PI you cant grab a guys facemask and turn his head
I would love to if they gave a valid explanation. It seemed like from the explanation that they never even checked to see if he maintained possession to the ground. The exact opposite of what happened to Calvin Johnson in Week 1.
Broncos fans are cool. If you read through those links you will find that most agree on the final PI. Thank you Broncos fans. You guys have more class than dolphins fans.
I was distracted but it sounded something like" he caught it in bounds and the penalty caused him to lose it so it was ruled a catch". I am paraphrasing obviously but I was livid at the unnecessary roughness call and the wife had just come home so I had to leave the Tv for a few minutes...
fair points all. I'm most swayed by the idea that it was both a facemask AND a PI, and the greater penalty should be called, and I certainly would agree that the Broncos got the better end of the foul calls overall, but still, it feels a little excessive to go from 4th and 6 to the goal line. It happens all the time, I know, but still.
No he inhibited the receivers ability to make a play on the ball, thats pass interference. It doesn't matter how he grabbed him it was the right call. For those saying the ball wasn't going to be caught are nuts. Holmes would have caught that ball and still almost did.
that's stupid. pass interference doesn't exclude interference from grabbing a face mask. is that really how you think the rule is written?
I still can't believe people are actually saying that should have been a facemask penalty call. When the hell have you seen such a call when the damn ball is still in the air coming straight at the receiver? What happened on that play is a textbook example of pass interference. The pulling of the facemask kept him from possibly making the catch which IS pass interference. Any illegal contact by the defender which impedes a receiver from making the catch (on a catchable ball) falls under this category including a facemask pull. The only way the facemask penalty could have been called on that play was AFTER Holmes had secured the catch. Those trying to say it should have been the call made are beyond ridiculous and need to brush up on his or her football knowledge. In those forums, however, it is purely Broncos' homers who are screaming for that to have been the call.
