Troy Polamalu-(A Football Move)-The Zebra's 9th Circuit

Free Republic ^ | 1/16/06 | beyond the sea

[beyond the sea]

This is going to be less than pretty, but someone had to do it.

Yesterday's Steeler/Indy game was .............. well, you fill that in.

I'm a Steeler fan of 55 years or so, and the game yesterday was, to say the least, quite bizarre --- as the concept of "a football move" brought back visions of Elroy 'Crazy Legs' Hirsh. The LIVE THREAD yesterday including this incredible game was as lively as the game itself. This morning I gathered some of your comments on the Troy Polamalu interception.

Let's be honest............. he caught the damn ball and the refs blew the call. But FReepers' humor and insights were pretty darn funny as all this was happening. I'm a crappy typist, so this may be a quite ugly presentation. I am just going to present some of the posts from all of you who were transfixed by yesterday's game and the bizarre officiating. It all was unreal, and your comments were fabulous.

Yoi!

*****

I'm glad its not my team, I would have a heart attack!

932 posted on 01/15/2006 4:15:57 PM EST by scott says

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He had one knee and a head of hair down .... Interception — mikrofon (ROFL)

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What the HELL is a "Football Move" all of a sudden??

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Damn I hate the way LIBS have to try and start new verbiage.

675 posted on 01/15/2006 3:53:56 PM EST by ThreePuttinDude

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After further review, and a review of security provisions, we reverse the call.

677 posted on 01/15/2006 3:54:14 PM EST by steveegg

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HORRIBLE CALL by the Blind Zebra

689 posted on 01/15/2006 3:54:38 PM EST by GRRRRR

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I'm glad the NFL rule book is a living, breathing document! The 9th circuit is officiating today ;) (A CLASSIC !!)

714 posted on 01/15/2006 3:56:12 PM EST by cgk

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CBS considers the money slipped to the refs to make that reversal the best investment it could make. 715 posted on 01/15/2006 3:56:15 PM EST by steveegg

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Peyton Manning and Head Referee Caught in Uncompromising Position. 721 posted on 01/15/2006 3:56:45 PM EST by LdSentinal

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this ref will not be working the playoffs next year. Worst call i have ever seen.

734 posted on 01/15/2006 3:57:40 PM EST by connectthedots

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I'm a Colts fan, and that INT call was horrible. Seemed like TV wanted an interesting finish.

738 posted on 01/15/2006 3:58:12 PM EST by Teacher317

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That was an 8-point call. 745 posted on 01/15/2006 3:58:49 PM EST by steveegg

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The true 12th man in the game, The zebras..

794 posted on 01/15/2006 4:04:18 PM EST by NormsRevenge

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If the Colts win, this will be the biggest robbery since Brinks.

812 posted on 01/15/2006 4:07:15 PM EST by dfwgator

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Bettis is the happiest guy in 2 cities!

967 posted on 01/15/2006 4:17:54 PM EST by freedumb2003

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Ok Cowher, this time can you just take a knee?

974 posted on 01/15/2006 4:18:09 PM EST by dfwgator

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[Vinnie]

You are correct, my bad.
However reviewing the play, the runner was as guilty of hanging onto the facemask of the tackler as the other way.

[SamAdams76]

Look on the bright side all you Colts fans...

At least pretty-boy Peyton Manning will be rested up for the Pro Bowl. I'm sure he'll put up some awesome passing stats.

[steveegg]

Speaking of bad through-the-end-zone fumble calls, how about that one from Saturday? I don't know what replays the refs watched, but the ones I did clearly show the ball gone from Champ Bailey's hand (and ultimately through the end zone) before he went out of bounds.

[1Old Pro]

The ref should resign, what a horrible call.

[mikrofon]

Yeah, the Bears receiver got tagged immediately and lost the ball, so that should have been ruled incomplete (unless you call the look of fear in his eyes as the defender was nailing him a "football move" ;)

And don't get me started on all their conflicting end zone/OB/ball position rules .... all you see now are guys launching themselves from the 5 and ending up out of bounds past the goal line being called TD's -- remember why the score was named a TOUCHDOWN?

[Ditto]

Intentional grounding, for some reason, is separately specifically mentioned...

Intentional grounding aside from distance penalized is also a "loss of down", i,e. unlike other penalties, you don't get the down over.

[upier]

For example, I thought 5 yard penalty on the 15 would take the ball to the 10 while a 5 yard penalty on the 4 would take the ball to the 2.


Yes you are correct. A penalty cannot move you closer than 1/2 the distance. That is unless it is pass interference which puts the ball where the foul took place. Unless that is in the end zone then the ball goes on the one yard line. This is all very simple </sarcasm>

[smith288]

I don't know what replays the refs watched, but the ones I did clearly show the ball gone from Champ Bailey's hand (and ultimately through the end zone) before he went out of bounds.

You cant use geometry to find something like that out. The video itself has to be clear and conclusive. No angle showed it inside the pylon, thus the call couldnt be reversed.

[rdb3]

The referees did everything in their power to hand the game to Manning.

They sure did.

HOOAH!

This is a ch__ch. What's missing?

[beyond the sea]

I thought 5 yard penalty on the 15 would take the ball to the 10

It does.

[beyond the sea]

Now, in mid-playoffs, the zebras further redefined "football move" to eliminate an attempt to get up to advance the ball.

The zebras are becoming absurd!

I just watched a one hour sum-up show on ESPN. The two guys on there were ripping the refs for the Palumalo call. I never heard such disgust in these guys' voices. They said it was pitiful, they nearly said it looked like a fix it was so bad, but they backed off that. They knew that would not be cool with the league.

Anyhow, the "football move" thing must be cleared up.

Yesterday the league came out with a statement that the call "was a judgment call" by the official. And today everyone who has played pro football and is on these media shows says that "judgment" sucks.

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By the way, how long was that delay taken to reverse that interception call ....... I think it was about seven or eight minutes in all.

[Varda]

I didn't see this posted:

NFL: Polamalu overturned interception the wrong call
Associated Press

NEW YORK -- The NFL said the referee made a mistake: Troy Polamalu caught the ball.

The league acknowledged Monday that referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned on replay Polamalu's interception of a Peyton Manning pass Sunday in the playoff game between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.

Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said in a statement that Morelli should have upheld the call, made with 5:26 left in Pittsburgh's win over the Colts.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs05/news/story?id=2294309

[beyond the sea]

"Morelli ruled Polamalu had not completed the catch, so it was an incomplete pass." ---- Lame.

"About a dozen TV and scoreboard replays indicated otherwise." --- right, and every ex-pro player-turned commentator on TV has said the call was total crap. It was so bad Salsbury even said it looked like a FIX...... then he properly backed away from that like a guy with a rattlesnake by his bare foot.

"The issue was whether he had possession. The ball came loose when he was getting up. Pete Morelli determined it wasn't a catch," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "That was his judgment." ---- crumby judgment. The pros on TV said this guy's "judgment" should not be involved in any future playoff games.

"Aiello added that the league's officiating department had not yet officially reviewed the call to determine if Morelli had made the right decision." --- yeh right. They're just getting their wordsmiths together.

[beyond the sea]

Joey Porter for stating that the refs were trying to influence the outcome of the game.

Porter was wrong to say what he did, but he was fired up right after the game. When you work that hard for something it's easy to make silly remarks.

BUT, the call was so universally panned by all the ex-professional players turned commentators on radio, TV, and in print, that it LOOKED LIKE A FIX. It was that bad.

[beyond the sea]

We all know that when the receiver gets hit the instant the ball gets there that's an incomplete pass, but what about when he gets hit half a heartbeat later? A whole heartbeat later? Two heartbeats later? I think the concept of the "football move" was put in for that, trying to make a clearer line of when the receiver has actually made a catch (and therefore the popped out ball is a fumble) and when he hasn't. Unfortunately since it's such a vague term with so many possible goofy interpretations (especially when coupled with the ground rule on receptions like yesterday in Indy) they actually made the situation less clear. ---

*****

You've been so "right on" on this whole thread, I think you ought to be an official. Really.

[beyond the sea]

"I have an objection to rules that folks cannot seem to make heads or tails of - and I refer to fans when I speak of "folks". Enforcing the rule as written appears to be one of those rules that folks can't made heads or tails of. Can you imagine trying to explain such a rule to a youth team? They would be snoring by the time someone explained what a "football move" meant." ----- ROFL ........ you are so right.

"The fact that the officiating team took as long as it did to decide the call is indictment enough." ---- Yep.

"They were not determining the spot of the ball - they were just trying to decide if the pass "caught" by Troy P. was a complete pass/incomplete pass. If it took the OFFICIALS that long, there's a problem..." ---- There's a problem. These guys are thinking too much.

[beyond the sea]

Two of the things that drive me nuts in the NFL is how hard the refs try not to call intentional ground or safeties

One other thing that could be improved is to alter the rules so that there are more punt returns. The punt returns are some of the most exciting plays in a football game. Too often they have to call for a fair catch, and often the ball is kicked into the end zones or out of bounds. Efforts should be made, imo, to increase the number of punt returns by altering a rule or two. It would be easy.

[beyond the sea]

I just heard on the radio that the league came out with a statement that said Pete Whatever (the ref) was WRONG on his call on Palumalo.

[discostu]

Then everyone would hate me. But they do make good money.

[beyond the sea]

NFL: Ref Botched Call on Steelers Pickoff

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060116/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_steelers_colts_wrong_call_2

The NFL said the referee made a mistake: Troy Polamalu caught the ball. The league acknowledged Monday that Referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned on replay Polamalu's interception of a Peyton Manning pass Sunday in the playoff game between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.

Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said in a statement that Morelli should have let the call on the field stand.

"He maintained possession long enough to establish a catch," Pereira said. "Therefore, the replay review should have upheld the call on the field that it was a catch and fumble."

After the reversal, made with 5:26 left in Pittsburgh's win over the Colts, Indianapolis went on to score a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, cutting the Steelers' 21-10 lead to 21-18. That led to a wild final few minutes, filled with unbelievable twists and turns, including Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt's missed 46-yard field-goal attempt that clinched it for Pittsburgh.

On the play, Polamalu made a diving catch of Manning's pass, tumbled with it in his hands and got up to run. As he did, he fumbled the ball, then recovered. Colts coach Tony Dungy challenged and Morelli ruled Polamalu had not completed the catch.

Shortly after the game, Morelli said: "I had the defender catching the ball. Before he got up, he hit it with his leg with his other leg still on the ground. Therefore, he did not complete the catch. And then he lost the ball. It came out, and so we made the play an incomplete pass."

Had the call stood, the Steelers would have had the ball at their own 48 with an 11-point lead.

"The definition of a catch — or in this case an interception — states that in the process of making a catch a player must maintain possession of the ball after he contacts the ground," Pereira said.

"The rule regarding the performing of an act common to the game applies when there is contact with a defensive player and the ball comes loose, which did not happen here."