Just based on this first game at least. Nothing like a poll to bash the Phins. Seriously, it's like he was afraid to disturb the refs with a flag. Droopy voice: Excuse me refs.... Uhh..... would you mind... I threw a red flag out there..... Can you turn around and look at it? I don't want to have to raise my voice......
It's not like it really would've mattered though. 1st and Goal from the 1, Pitt would score for sure.
I think it was pretty clear that Culpepper and the Fins' secondary were the ones that cost them this game ...
Absolutely. The nearest Pfinz player was Zach Thomas dropping into coverage, and he was ten yards off.
Daunte did not break down though untill after that huge call was made. You have to take this into account. Sabin's call was the snowball the kept on rolling down the hill.
considering they didnt score for sure earlier on the botched snap...which i thought was a sure 6 pts only posting that for arguements sake(b/c i think they would have scored also)
Well you cant blame the safeties for that play. The safety blitzed so miller was zach thomas' responsibility and he was just slow.
Saban should have run onto the field, but like everybody else is saying 1st and goal from the 1 is almost a guaranteed TD for any team. Dante threw a nice TD pass to Joey Porter. Fins blow:finssuck:
If I was a Fins fan here's how I'd rank my concerns after the first game 1) Defense - 3 TD passes from Charlie Batch? The guy was throwing floaters all day long. Not to mention Miami had Pitt trapped deep in their own zone with about 6 minutes left and allowed an 87(86) yard play. That play is what cost them the game, not the refs missing of Saban's challenge or Daunte's disgraceful play afterwards. 2) Culpepper - Threw some boneheaded passes, especially late, but in fairness to him any QB with a total lack of a running game and going up against a very good defense being forced to throw is going to have problems. That still doesn't explain what he was thinking on the 2 interceptions(and the should've been interception in the end zone in the 3rd quarter) though. 3) Brown - 15 carries for 30 yards? I know the Steelers run D is excellent, but you've got to do a little better then this. Saban would be 4 I guess, although I don't really see how you can blame him for the refs not paying attention to his challenge flag.
How can you not blame him? He didn't throw the flag until 2 seconds before the snap. he never opened his mouth. And he hesitated 3 times to throw the flag. You know they are going to snap the ball -- let the ref's know you want a challenge!
The refs don't like the challenge rule, they aren't going to go out of their way to make sure a coach hasn't challenged their call, because it makes them look unsure of the job they are doing. It is up to the coach to make sure they see the flag. Not to pansy-arm the flag into the turf.
Generally when a coach challenges you'll see one of the refs over talking to him first, or at least acknowledging his existence. The play was on the opposite side of the field, so it's probably not something anyone on the Miami sidelines realized had to be challenged until they saw the replay. What's the protocol for a situation like that? Waste a time out? Run onto the field and throw the red flag in the refs face? The flag was clearly out before the ball was snapped, that should be end of the story, but for some reason there's this ridiculous caveat that if a ref doesn't see the red flag(even though replay shows he threw it time) there's nothing you can do about it.
the thing is, the Dolphins saw the replay well before the ball was snapped. if you heard when chris collinsworth was in the booth he said the rule goes as follows: in the event the refs have their backs turned you can either run down the sideline or actually run onto the field, throw the flag, and make the refs aware of the challenge. now, Saban had plenty of time to do this; you can see how hesitant he was by the way he pump-faked three times before throwing it 5 feet in front of himself, where no ref would have seen it. he looked very uncertain. granted, 3rdand15, i also think it's kinda stupid that you have to basically get the refs attention one way or another; but if that's what you gotta do, then so be it. in this case, Saban had the chance and for whatever reason, he hesitated to the point where it cost them. (P.S. the Steelers fumbled at the 2-yard-line earlier in the game; so i think it was actually worth the challenge) cheers
Put that much more on the sorry play of the OLine, they couldn't runblock yesterday to save their lives. Ronnie had to struggle to gain even the menial yards that he was. And how do you rush the ball only 18 times a game? Brown is the type of back you let carry you, not run sporatically throughout the game; and obviously, Daunte's not going to be the main part of that offense any time soon.
I thought we played well for most of the game. I'm satisfied with what I saw from Culpepper in his first real game back. As for the defense, {besides some horrible penalties in critical situations, and a blown coverage on the TE}, they had the game at hand most of the time. Like I said, although it was a losing effort, and there is work to be done, I'm satisfied with 15 games still left to play....
wow, Blitz must've had a mainline IV of Kool-Aid all set up and ready to go before the game even started
