Now in full disclosure.
I'm a Saints fan.
Not as hardcore as the Browns, which is why I don't cover them, but I see every game that they play (They often play at the same time as Cleveland, so I DVR their game and watch sometime during the week) and I'm not sure many have the same level of Drew Brees fandom as I do (Send your Drew Brees items to Thoughts of RS at...),
so I do have a dog in this hunt, but not to the level of many.
Not making this call in this situation in the second biggest game of the season is downright scandalous and it's not like I hate the Los Angeles Rams, I don't really have an opinion on them either way,
On the third and ten play from the Rams thirteen with 1;45 to play, the Saints were playing for a touchdown even though a field goal gave them the lead.
The Rams had two timeouts remaining so a stop would give them a chance, but a first down would likely see three Saint running plays. the Rams using their timeouts and a short field goal attempt by Wil Lutz, one of the league's better kickers.
The Drew Brees pass to TommyLee Lewis (not Jones, as I always want to call him) seemed to on the money and the first down might not have been certain, but at where Lewis would have caught the ball, at worst it would have been a 4th and 2 and at best a touchdown.
Now watch the play where Robey-Coleman smashes Lewis.
Count the penalties that could have been called
1) Pass Interference- the obvious call, Robey-Coleman arrives a count of two and a half early to hit Lewis.
2) Faceguarding- How many times do we hear commentators say "You have to turn your head to look back at the ball". Robey-Coleman does not
3) Helmet to Helmet contact- Robey-Coleman comes in on an angle and the side of his helmet makes hard contact with that of Lewis.
4) Illegal Hands to the Face-The main contact is with the helmet, but if you watch the replay Robey-Coleman does extend his arms and connects with the facemask of Lewis.
It's the weakest case of the bunch, but still.
5) Unnecessary Roughness- The force of the blow combined with the various contact to the head could be called here for a penalty.
If any of those penalties are called, the Saints would have had a first down inside the five and the game is more than likely a victory.
Either the Saints score a TD, drain the clock and one or both timeouts and force the Rams to score a touchdown, not the field goal they would kick to force overtime or the Rams use both timeouts and on the final play, the clock runs before the chip shot field goal by Wil Lutz.
The Rams would then have 20-30 seconds and no timeouts to drive for the needed field goal to tie rather than the 1;40 and two timeouts that they used in the actual game.
Now, many observers are talking about one play not costing you a game and they are right and yet wrong.
Yes, missed calls happen in every game and even in this one where it was New Orleans getting a break on a facemask against Rams quarterback Jared Goff that forced the Rams to kick a field goal in the fourth quarter rather than a first down deep in the New Orleans red zone,so missed/bad calls happen throughout the game.
And it is also true that the Saints blew a 13 point lead and that they settled for two field goals inside the Rams 20 in the first half, only scored three points in the final period and had first possession in the overtime period and all of those factors contributed to the loss.
All are facts and yet none of them change this fact- That non-call changed the result of the game.
Most of those facts built to that point of the game and the final point came along as a result of the missed call.
The Los Angeles Rams win is tainted and will always be remembered as such with a huge asterisk.
The Rams players won't give up the win and I wouldn't either, but it is what it is.
As for the New Orleans Saints, they know just how they put themselves into a situation to be screwed by the officials.
Their play allowed them to be hurt by one bad call, but that doesn't take away this- you spend six months in training camp, exhibition games, a sixteen game regular season and then a playoff game to reach the point of the second most important game of the season.
Don't forget the Saints (or fans of any team) fans- they are the people that fill stadiums, buy Red Zone and Sunday Ticket packages, spend tons of money on about anything that you can think of with a Saints logo on it and ask for what?
The Saints and their fans (and this applies to all fans and teams) deserved a fair game and one officiated properly.
You (and they) deserve that for the time, money and energy spent on the NFL (Or other sports).
To have a game called fairly, properly and to have a result that is on the level is not an unfair expectation and the NFL officiating all season has often fallen far short of that expectation.
The NFL has a crisis on their hands with officiating and whether it is due to the replay system, part-time officials, officials that have overstayed their time and officials that are beyond their competence.
I'm sure their answer to this issue will be as simple as placing the ability to appeal pass interference to the replay system and that won't hurt any, but it misses the bigger problem- officiating deciding games rather than the competitors on the gridiron.
Until these issues are addressed, like any unaddressed condition, the problem only compounds itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment