2007 NFL Thread

[hoopsmccan]

I thought it was a pretty physical game and the holding call seemed out of line with the rest of the way the game was called.
It was like an umpire not giving a low strike all game and then on a full count, bases loaded in the ninth, punching someone out on a pitch right below the knee.

I would like to see another replay though - last night I was just watching the guy they called it on, who I didn't think was doing much. An article today indicated that there was holding, but they called it on the wrong guy/number. Even with Baltimore's mistakes (mainly, the turnovers by Reed and Boller), I think the game came down to Baltimore's second to last possession. Nice 7 yard gain on 1st down, and then they can't pick up 3 yards on 2nd and 3rd downs. A first down there and Baltimore isn't acting like whiny bitches last night/this morning...

hm

[DanMcQ]

williambraskyiii said:

Dan = Homer

Put a lot of thought into that one, didn't you Brasky?



I'm only a homer when it comes to the Hoyas. I actually agree with Hoopsmccan that the refs were very inconsistent in how they called the game last night. For instance, how about when Derrick Mason tackled Asante Samuel as he tried to jump up to deflect the pass on the last play of the game? Where was the flag there? Ref calls in the defensive backfield in the NFL this year have been wildly inconsistent. The Ravens do come over like a bunch of whiny babies this morning though.

[TBird41]

"Unsportsmanlike Conduct, #57, defense. 15 yards"

"Unsportsmanlike Conduct, #57, defense, throwing a referee's flag into the stands, 15 yards"

Classic.

[Boz]

So, if complaining about the officials is loser talk nad makes one a whiny little bitch, what does that make Pats fans -- and players --who complain about the officials when they're winning games? Whining when you lose is one thing; whining when you win is just bad form.

No question that Derrick Mason should have been called for interference, I'll grant you that. (Maybe the refs were trying to give Baltimore a make-up call). Are you telling me that the entire Patriots organization and fan base wouldn't have been howling about that this morning had Mark Clayton scored? Of course you would have.

So don't blame Ravens fans for complaining about an equally bad call -- two of them, in fact -- at the other end of the field. You would have been screaming bloody murder had it gone the other way.

[DanMcQ]

I have no beef with Ravens fans complaining about calls - that is part of what makes sports fun. I just wonder if any of them have actually posted in this thread yet.



For the record, I disagree about that pass interference call. After watching it several times on my DVR reply, I think it was a correct call.

I do have a problem with all the Ravens' whining in the locker room afterwards. Make the plays, don't blame it on someone else. Several of the comments, specifically those about the referees 'wanting the Patriots to win' were ridiculous.

[RDF]

Gaffney play was close--if they ruled it incomplete--I believe call would've stood--but since they ruled it a TD--it stood--and can see where it could've been overturned--I've seen less movement overruled.

Junior Seau is the veteran trying to saddle up to a great team to claim a ring-fine. I have no problem with that. However--when he conducts more interviews with media to talk about the "greatness of Patriots" I'm disgusted. He's won how many titles as a Patriot? He contributes little to this team--in fact his presence is a weakness--that will only continue to be exposed as season continues--due to his increase in playing time. I hate people who act like they know what championships are about--when they've NEVER WON ANYTHING. (Charles Barkley-aka Mike Wilbon's mistress) If he went down with injury--fine by me, I'd rather see players out there who contribute and make the team better or rather see him shut up--go drink his "full cup of gatorade" he always talks about as he trashes past teams/teammates he was with.

Holding call was BS on Watson--guys get away with more during the game and you call that? Corey Ivy's call earlier in game was also cheap--he reached out and grabbed Welker--and released him--you have to let people play and as a fan who likes Pats--Ty Law got away with more then what Ravens got called on them.

You could argue that on the play that set up Ravens first TD--the Boller to Darling pass on 3rd down that Boller was hit in head by Adalius Thomas--and should've received 15 for a "Blow to head"--and if that was Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Favre--it would've been called-it was Boller and wasn't--and ESPN was too busy talking about Mike Greenburg's new TV show to point that out. Would Bart Scott have gotten 15 if he did to Belichick what Harrison did to Billick? That is where the inconsistency of officiating comes into focus from fans point of view-and I understand it--seperate it from other fans. I like to see teams I support win titles--not go undefeated--that is highly unlikely--and the way the Pats are playing right now--I don't see it happening--they are starting to get tight/play tight against some bad teams. Odds are all of the breaks won't continue and there is still 7 games to go if you want to accomplish the ultimate goal--so might as well get that loss out of the way now--rather then win all 16--and lose in Playoffs and have entire year be a failure.

As for ESPN--why was Don Shula there? Did they fly him up to simply talk about the undefeated bullcrap? Did Ravens honor him? I hate the FORCED booth talks and we're all watching a fine game, tied into the 4th quarter and you have to see booth shots and hear bullcrap that has nothing to do with game. It would be like watching the Final Four-Hoyas tied with Duke with 4 minutes left and bringing in someone to talk with Vitale about Duke's 2020 recruiting class. (oh wait--that already happens on ESPN--nevermind)

[DanMcQ]

I don't like Billick much, but did you hear him complaining about any of the calls? He was more upset, and rightly so, about his team shooting itself in the foot with plays like Boller's interception and other penalties.

[Cambridge]

Ravens played like an emotionally unstable squad of talented freshman. Everytime they seemed to put the Pats away, they shot themselves in the foot. The best part, they always find somebody else to blame--real mature. If you are going to talk smack all game, all week, all season, all career...at least have the self-respect to man-up afterwards and take the defeat with dignity. To whine and complain about a conspiracy is so laughable and ridiculous to defy belief.

The truth is their coach blew it. That time out absolutely killed them mentally. They had Brady and Co. stopped on 4th and 1 to end the game...BUT no, the self-appointed "smartest coach in the league", the "offensive genius" Brian Billick called a time out and absolutely destroyed his defense. They never recovered. They went off the rails and melted down.

The best sequence of the game had to be the last TD, followed by a complete meltdown by Scott. He manages to get two -- TWO -- unsportsmanlike conduct flags. I understand that you may have disagreed with the TD call; understandable, however even if the TD call was overturned as it may well should have been, with those two flags the Pats line up first and goal on the 2-yard line with 55 seconds to go. Sure, the Ravens may have stopped the Pats with another goal line stand, but do you want Tom Brady and Co were going to get four more shots at the endzone at the end of the game no matter what due to Mr. Scott's tantrum.

You, Mr. Scott, are an IDIOT. An absolute IDIOT.

If that wasn't enough, the Ravens appeared to intentionally line up offsides on the extra point (WTF does that PROVE to anyone other than the fact that you are immature, emotionally unstable, petulant children!?!?) when there is more than enough time on the clock to kick a game tieing field goal. The end result, another penalty that allows New England to kick off from the Raven's 35 yard line. Real smart. There goes the return.

Don't think those yards are important? Well, the Ravens were about 4 yards from the endzone on the final play of the game...I think the yards they potentially gave up on the kickoff put a definite nail in their coffin.

[RDF]

The game was lost on Reed and Boller turnovers--and their inability to pick up a 1st down after having 2nd and 3rd and two yards to get to keep chains moving. Calls were shaky--but you take game from officials by converting plays and if they always make a call against you--ala Pitt-WVU--then it becomes so obvious what is going on that someone will have to evaluate the situation.

As for things that need to be addressed from this game:

1. Bart Scott's penalties--if he doesn't lose his composure--Ravens might have a shot to tie the game.

2. Vince Wilfork is heading for a serious fine/suspension if he keeps going low on QB's--this is the 4th time I've seen it--and it's blatant--if I were Pittsburgh I'd already be pointing this out to league office. He almost got Boller last night and did get Losman, tried to get Feely, and took a shot at Romo too.

3. Patriots LB Corps--Seau and Bruschi look AWFUL right now--and Harrison is not much better at Safety. Middle of defense is starting to look very marginal and that's not a good place to start showing weaknesses. Rosevelt Colvin's injury is a lot more important to Pats then media has talked.

4. How awful did Chris McAlister look and has he looked this season? He's DONE. Gets beat so bad he takes a dive in hopes of an offensive interference call on Moss? Pathetic.

5. Watch when Junior Seau comes into the game on offense and how much credit he gets as a blocker and then watch what actually happens--it's typical bad announcing by NFL commentators.

Whining about calls in regards to losing you the game is pathetic. Bringing up points--like the Vince Wilfork leg diving at QB's is not whining--it's protecting your players and bringing to attention a blatant act to injure players. As a fan who likes Pats and is a Cane fan, I tried to give Vince the benefit of doubt--but it's happened far too much to be a coincedence. He better get this corrected or it will cost him/team--like say on a 3rd or 4th down play in Playoffs and is called to keep a drive alive with a minute left and leads to team losing--and a huge fine or him missing playoff games due to suspension.

[BuffaloHoya]

cambridgehoya said:

The truth is their coach blew it. That time out absolutely killed them mentally. They had Brady and Co. stopped on 4th and 1 to end the game...BUT no, the self-appointed "smartest coach in the league", the "offensive genius" Brian Billick called a time out and absolutely destroyed his defense. They never recovered. They went off the rails and melted down.

Wrong. Defensive coordinator Rex Ryan called the time-out.

Brady was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 sneak from the Baltimore 30-yard line, but the play was negated because Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan had called a timeout from the sideline a nanosecond before the snap.

tinyurl.com/yp2vn3

Billick does suck, though.

[Boz]

I don't think Billick called for that time out. I'm pretty sure that was all Rex Ryan. I can't say for certain, but on replays, it didn't look like Billick was anywhere near Ryan when he was signaling for the TO. [edit: Buffalo beat me to it]

I liked the post-game presser, when Tom Brady indicated he stopped playing on that 4th & 1 play because he heard the whistle. That if the whistle hadn't blown, he would have made the first down. Really. That takes some balls. According to Wilbon, even though everyone else in the room laughed, it didn't look like he was joking either. (though I didn't see it personally, so I can't say for sure; he may have been kidding).

I doubt McCallister is done, but he is hurt this year & probably shouldn't have been playing last night. He has looked awful all year, but I think he's still good if healthy.

I think one of the Ravens biggest screw-ups though, one that no one has mentioned and would've ended the game, was on the tipped ball that Brady threw on that last drive. Antwan Barnes, (granted a rookie), was literally standing almost directly underneath the ball. If he had just put his hands out, it would've practically fallen right into them. After the ball hit the ground, you could see Bart Scott and Ray Lewis looking at him like, "What the hell, man? Why did you let that drop?" That was a certain pick.

Of the other screw-ups, Boller's was much worse than Reed's. It wasn't like he was trying to lateral or holding the ball out. He had it tucked in pretty well and Faulk just stripped it. Got to give Faulk credit for that. I can't blame Reed too much for trying to make something happen on the return. Boller just underthrew into triple coverage & he should know better by now.

[Jack]

Brady was joking about the 4th and 1. I saw the presser.

[Cambridge]

jack said:

Brady was joking about the 4th and 1. I saw the presser.

He was definitely joking.

[The Stig]

The real reason Baltimore lost was their failure to get a 1st down on their last couple posessions. If they get one or two first downs the chaos of the last minute doesn't happen.

The holding call was a bit ticky-tacky, but legit. It certainly wasn't a phantom call like we saw in the WVU-Pitt game. The final TD was a catch - even though the ball was on his fingertips he had complete control of it the entire time. He wasn't bobbling it, and the ball was going exactly where he wanted it to go.

Based on the first 90% of the game the Ravens deserved to win and the Pats deserved to lose. But you've got to finish, and the Ravens didn't do that.

[HoyaFanNY]

the ravens need to shut up and stop crying and blaming everyone else for the loss. they looked like a bunch of 5 year olds throwing hissy fits in toys r us monday night. grow a set and stop someone when it counts instead of throwing flags and helmets.

[DanMcQ]

Four Baltimore Ravens fined for abuse of game officials

"This is about the importance of sportsmanship and respecting the integrity of our game," NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson said. "We do not tolerate inappropriate conduct between teams and game officials. This includes reminding game officials that they are to conduct themselves at all times as professionals in their dealings with players, coaches and other club personnel."

Rolle accused head linesman Phil McKinnely of repeatedly calling him 'boy.' NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira acknowledged that Rolle and McKinnely argued during the game, but said their verbal confrontation did not occur in the context that Rolle described.

Anderson met with Scott and Rolle at the Ravens' training complex to clear the air.

"We both came to the conclusion that I made a bad decision, but he understood the emotion and took that into consideration, the emotion and the moment," Scott said Friday following his meeting with Anderson. "It's definitely something for me to learn from and grow from and be an advocate speaker for great conduct."

Pereira said several calls, including Ryan's timeout, a defensive holding penalty on Jamaine Winborne and the game-winning touchdown catch by wide receiver Jabar Gaffney were correct.

Ravens coach Brian Billick said the team has learned from the experience, and dismissed suggestions by some of his players that New England receives special treatment from game officials.

"To intimate that the Patriots are given some kind of favoritism is ridiculous," Billick said. "That's not the case. Our league works very hard to make sure the officiating is top-notch and unbiased. I was probably remiss after the game in not counseling the players better about the frustrations that I knew existed.

"Clearly, both sides needed to conduct themselves better. We all have culpability, mine included, and I should have made sure they understood they needed to curb their passions after the game in any comments they made about the officiating."

It should be noted that the object of Billick's sideline air kisses, Rodney Harrison, got [appropriately] fined for taunting, while the object of Harrison's 'affection' skated.

[hoyarooter]

I read Billick's quotes and I'm reminded of the puppel number from "Chicago." Could anyone see Billy Flynn Goodell pulling the strings on Roxie Hart Billick while he was talking?

[hifigator]

Is there any chance that St Louis wins at Cincy, given that Horrid Brock Berlin is going to be at the helm?

[RDF]

Great job Jim Johnson and the Eagle defense--led by Brian Dawkins the most underrated player of his generation-they guy put on a clinic on how to play Safety--while his counterpart Roy Williams proved how cowardly is a level above the play and manner he conducts himself on the field with his tackle of McNabb.

BTW--Tony Romo---might want to leave your skanks at home--the games I've seen his trolls come to games--Dallas not only loses, he sucks. The "Curse" of Jessica Simpson? I think it would be hilarious if that did in the Cowboys and they lost every game out rest of way--which WILL happen if they lose to lowly Carolina on Saturday.

[hifigator]

RDF, you agree with Colin Cowherd. Imagine that.