Professional Football Researchers Association Forum
PFRA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the history of professional football. Formed in 1979, PFRA members include many of the game's foremost historians and writers.
Obviously, 10 seconds is arbitrary, but it has to be some period of time and any period that's chosen will be arbitary. Would 7 seconds be fairer? 5 seconds? Who knows?
It may not be totally fair, but I wouldn't call it "blatantly unfair." It seems obvious to me that some time has to be run off, and if too small a number of seconds is chosen, it's unfair to the defense.
It's "blatantly unfair" because the offense did not ask for time to be stopped. They didn't ask for the replay. It was solely
the officials decision.
Obviously, 10 seconds is arbitrary, but it has to be some period of time and any period that's chosen will be arbitary. Would 7 seconds be fairer? 5 seconds? Who knows?
It may not be totally fair, but I wouldn't call it "blatantly unfair." It seems obvious to me that some time has to be run off, and if too small a number of seconds is chosen, it's unfair to the defense.
It's "blatantly unfair" because the offense did not ask for time to be stopped. They didn't ask for the replay. It was solely
the officials decision.
But wouldn't it then be blatantly unfair to the defense if no time is run off? What if it happens with 1 second to play, when it's obvious that the offense doesn't have time to line up and run another play? Should the offense benefit from the official timeout?
The possibility of that sort of situation is why some time has to be run off the clock.
Fifteen minutes into real time and they are at it again. In the Jets-Dolphins game, Kenny Stills made a juggling catch along the sideline just like Jermaine Kearse in the Seahawks-Patriots Super Bowl. I could see live that it was a good catch. The official decided the ball hit the ground and called it incomplete. The Dolphins challenged and the call was overturned. I am almost convinced the officials are just guessing half the time and figure, "Well, if I am wrong the one team might challenge anyway, so no big deal."
To answer the question in this thread's title, during a Thursday night Packers-Bears game this year, the officials decided against penalizing the Bears for roughing the punter, saying one of them touched the ball as it was being booted. One of the officials had thrown a flag on the play but was apparently overruled by another. The replay showed the Bears weren't even close to touching the ball, having missed it by at least a foot, maybe two. What made the non-call particularly egregious was that Green Bay's Davante Adams had been carted off the field just plays before due to a dirty hit. The officials should have been looking to protect players in garbage time of a game the Packers had well in hand. Instead, one of them went out of his way to say he saw a touching of the ball that never happened and wasn't even close.
About the horrific leg injury suffered by Bears TE Zach Miller, I think that his TD catch was legit, as he had control of the ball when he fell in the endzone and then he rolled with possession. I think that the replay oficial in NY that overturned the call in the field wanted that Miller had possession until he was carted away!
Last edited by Gary Najman on Wed Nov 01, 2017 7:19 pm, edited 2 times in total.
If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times; the combination of a ridiculously convoluted rule book and the overuse of replay reviews have ruined football. The officials on the field have an impossible task in trying to do a competent job.
SVP of Officiating Alberto Riveron has tried to defend the call on Zach Miller's TD. Instead of showing actual HD footage, we see a high contrast version on a screen at an angle. What Riveron identifies as the ball hitting the ground is actually Miller's left elbow/arm. At no point do you see the ball hitting the ground, because it didn't!
The officiating in that game was terrible. Kamara's fumble was overturned by replay with the excuse that he knee was down, but you couldn't actually see that because it was out of the bottom of the frame. The officials ruled Tarik Cohen short on his TD and then changed their minds. Leonard Floyd hit Drew Brees and the ball came out and was recovered by Eddie Jackson of the Bears. No whistles went until Jackson was part way through his return. Yes, it was an incomplete pass and looked like that in real time too, but if you're going to let the play run in case it was a fumble, then don't change your mind and blow it dead part way through a possible return TD.
Not the first game the Bears have had this either. Terrible spot in the Week 1 game against Atlanta gave them a free first down. Cohen's TD against the Steelers in OT was brought back because he apparently might have possbly thought about stepping out of bounds. The official right on the spot certainly didn't call it that way as he kept running with the play. Replays were inconclusive at best. Christian Jones was penalized for tackling an opponent on the field of play of all places.
Reaser wrote:For another one ... the ending the Seahawks-Redskins game. Even after replay.
Which part are you referring too? Wilson was clearly down on the penultimate play/sack. Even watching live he looked down. That hail mary was so close to being complete though!!!
The one from Week 9 that really got me was in the Bengals-Jaguars game. No Bears game this week so decided to watch that one live. End of the first half AJ Green and Jalen Ramsey get thrown out for fighting. Green fair enough, he should get a multi game suspension for his disgraceful actions, but Ramsey did nothing. Outside of his inital shove on Green, which was just retaliation, he did absolutely nothing to get ejected. Apparently an official saw him throw a punch?!?! Quite when and where he managed that, I have no idea.
Reaser wrote:Which part are you referring too? Wilson was clearly down on the penultimate play/sack. Even watching live he looked down. That hail mary was so close to being complete though!!!
Yes, he was clearly down. With 11 seconds left when he got sacked, the clock was stopped. Then started again and gave the Seahawks time to clock it with 4 seconds left. Time should have easily ran out and the Seahawks shouldn't have had one more chance.
Agree Ramsey shouldn't have been ejected. Of course the NFL can't even handle simple things so it's not surprising they handled all the various fights this past weekend -as well as the suspension- inconsistently.
