Nebraska...not feeling Frosty anymore

[Hannibal]

Simultaneous doesn't mean that the defender catches it and the receiver shoves one hand under his armpit as they fall to the ground..

Why not? It's not an official catch or INT until you hit the ground with both feet. By the time the guys hit the ground, it looks like both of them have two hands on the ball. It hit the defender first, but every single "simultaneous posession" ball hits somebody first. Posession is about 75/25 in favor of the defender, but does that matter? At the very least, it's a once in a lifetime play where the rule is very open to interpretation. I think that they got it right, and if they didn't get it right, this is hardly the example of egregiously bad officiating that everyone is making it out to be. That play is a massive curveball. People are exploding about the officials immediately signalling different things on the field as if that doesn't happen on a regular basis.

[entropy]

I actually thought some earlier calls were worse... like the PI on seattle on GB's last TD drive.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Wiz...curious as to your thoughts on what happened in Seattle last night.

Well I bet a lot of coffee was drank last night...probably some grunge bands played in the streets...and it was probably cool and misty...

[THE_WIZARD_]

Well I bet a lot of coffee was drank last night...probably some grunge bands played in the streets...and it was probably cool and misty...

OK...seriously...my beef with the crew last night (and several crews over the weekend) went beyond just one f'd up play. The overriding problem is this...these guys are just in over their heads. NFL officials go through a lot of training...classroom stuff...they attend camps...they are trained to officiate the BEST FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN THE WORLD...the replacement officials frankly are borderline small college guys...probably struggle even at that level. THEY SHOULD NOT BE IN THE POSITION THEY ARE...blame the NFL. But given we are where we are...these crews need to be MORE ASSERTIVE. The first time crap breaks out YOU MUST FLAG IT. These guys look intimidated by the coaches...the players...the atmosphere. They also don't have very good mechanics and many don't seem to know the NFL rules...VERY BAD COMBINATION. But like we talk about amongst ourselves before games...you have to have CONFIDENCE to be an official...they don't.

Now on the last play...well...aside from the OPI on Tate...it appeared to me that it was an INT...and in the ensuing scrum Tate was able to get his hands on the ball and make it appear to be simo possession. The covering official was out of position to make the call...and the second official came in and made a weak ass TD signal without even talking to the covering guy. Then to compound it the WHITE HAT WAS NO WHERE TO BE FOUND AFTER THE PLAY!!! GET YOUR WHITE HAT ARSE DOWN THERE...TALK IT OUT...AND MAKE A DECISION BASED ON THE INFO AT HAND. It was just a CLUSTERFUCK OF GARGANTUAN PROPORTIONS on so many levels. The replay booth's hands are somewhat tied as far as I understand...they cannot rule on who has possession...only that possession was established and a score happened or didn't happen. The ruling on the field was a TD. They pretty much just had to make sure it was inbounds and across the goal and the ball wasn't dropped. Kinda silly that they can't rule on possession though.

Now I will say this...the media is doing a hell of a job making sure controversey happens every play. They are talking about the sub refs every damn play almost. These guys are being scrutinized more than Talent at his proctologist. I feel bad for them because they are probably doing the best they can. They are probably missing fewer calls than the media wants you to believe. Are they missing some? Sure. So did the real guys. The bigger beef is the lack of game control. They have let too many games get out of hand.

[Wild Hoss]

Why not? It's not an official catch or INT until you hit the ground with both feet. By the time the guys hit the ground, it looks like both of them have two hands on the ball. It hit the defender first, but every single "simultaneous posession" ball hits somebody first. Posession is about 75/25 in favor of the defender, but does that matter? At the very least, it's a once in a lifetime play where the rule is very open to interpretation. I think that they got it right, and if they didn't get it right, this is hardly the example of egregiously bad officiating that everyone is making it out to be. That play is a massive curveball. People are exploding about the officials immediately signalling different things on the field as if that doesn't happen on a regular basis.

You need to watch the replay again. Tate wasn't anywhere even remotely close to having two hands on the ball when Jennings hit the ground. It wasn't until they rolled over a few seconds later that his other arm was even available to grab at the ball...he was lying on top of it when they came down.

Also, the NFL rulebook states that simultaneous possession has to occur at the point of the reception. Having a players reach in afterwards and get ahold of the ball is clearly and directly addressed.

Any way you look at it...they absolutely blew it.

[Wild Hoss]

hoss... so how good will Wisky's OL look on saturday. I think the "experts" will claim the OL problems are solved.. Wisky has gone back to Chryst's OL philosophies. That has/should help. I also think UNL's DL will disappear.. again.

They way we play defense they very well may appear to be solved even if they aren't.

Like I told you yesterday, i watched 2 possessions of their game on Saturday and IMO the OL looked pretty sharp. They fired off the ball in the red zone on one possession, had guys moving, getting upfield and putting defenders away. I was concerned about what I saw.

OTOH, i think they only scored 26 points so it must not have been that way all game.

[entropy]

wiz.. to me, the biggest issue is not knowing the rules. All refs miss things, but not knowing the rules gives is not excusable. They were not trained and it shows.

[THE_WIZARD_]

This thing has blown up in Goodell's face big time. He was hoping that people wouldn't even notice and he would have a big old bargaining chip to play with. The locked out guys hold all the cards now.

[lineygoblue]

If the SJ throws the flag for the obvious PI that took place right in front of him, he would have bailed out his entire crew from the "joint possession" rule debate. Anything that took place after the flag would have been moot. Flag the offensive PI, Green Bay accepts, game over.

[THE_WIZARD_]

liney...I don't believe OPI is a loss of down in the NFL...only in high school. They would have had one more play...10 yard penalty from the previous spot...

[lineygoblue]

The offense can commit OPI and still get another play?

Hmmmmmmm.....

Well, I guess that excludes ME from working any NFL games .... heh

[THE_WIZARD_]

Actually...it can't end on an accepted defensive penalty in the NFL...it can end on an accepted offensive penalty...so it would have been over. Plus I think they also have a 10 second run off for offensive penalties in the final 2:00...in college and high school there is an untimed down for an accepted offensive penalty provided the penalty does not include a loss of down provision...

[THE_WIZARD_]

Liney...you were working the Packers game...weren't you...

...funny...I didn't hear any IW's...

[Mike]

Hannibal, that play wasn't even CLOSE to simultaneous possession. It fails both the eyeball test and the rule book standard that clearly states that whoever touches the ball first is the one who is deemed to be in possession of the football. That was clearly MD Jennings.

[THE_WIZARD_]

It was OPI and an INT. The crew botched it. Out of position to see the play. Bad deal all around. Replay booth's hands were tied. NFL needs to end the damn lockout.