Posted on 01/11/2010 4:40:41 PM PST by Beer Serving Girl
...The NFL issued an explanation of the rule, noting that "twisting, turning or pulling" the facemask is a 15-yard penalty but the penalty for an "incidental" grab of the facemask was eliminated before the 2008 season.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
This is all pretty much moot, but if Rodgers hadn’t kicked the ball back into the air on that play, it would’ve hit the ground and ended the play. That little extra touch kept the ball live and recoverable.
Sometimes, crap just happens.
There also was a horse collar penalty that was merely a tug on the back of a shirt.
Green Bay’s defense was so poor that they didn’t deserve to win. Actually, the same could be said about Arizona.
1. Regarding the non-facemask call on the last play of Arizona-Green Bay: I've watched the TiVoed combination of replays six times now. Arizona's Michael Adams blitzes, dislodges the ball from Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, rakes his hands over the facemask of Rodgers, then appears to grab the facemask, and the ball is inadvertently kicked by Rodgers.The ball flies briefly into the air and is grabbed by Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby, who secures it and runs into the end zone for the winning touchdown. Adams keeps his hands on the mask as he plows into Rodgers and brings him to the ground. Adams didn't tackle him by the mask, but his hand did stay secured on the mask as Rodgers fell to the ground. (I say it that way because from the mountain of e-mails and Tweets last night, most of you think he got yanked to the ground by the facemask. It didn't appear that way to me.)
For a facemask penalty to be called, there has to be evidence not just of a hand on the mask, but of twisting and pulling of the facemask. And there is a slight pulling of it, but not in a flagrant way. To me, it's a close call. But what complicates matters is this: The referee, Scott Green, is the official on the crew with the responsibility of watching plays involving the quarterback. Once the ball has been dislodged, Green has to watch the ball, not the contact on the quarterback. He has to see if the ball hits the ground and judge if it's a forward pass or a fumble, then he has to follow the live ball until the end of the play. So Green could not -- at least, he should not -- have seen the contact on the mask of Rodgers.
Of course, the reason this is a big concern is if a facemask had been called, Green Bay would have had a first down at its 32 in a game where defense was optional. I don't see how the call could have been made any differently with the current rules and officiating assignments the way they are.
2. Re the non-tuck-rule call on the last play of Arizona-Green Bay: the ball, once it somehow became dislodged from Rodgers, never hit the ground. If the ball doesn't hit the ground, it's live, and the tuck rule doesn't apply.
I didn't have a dog in this fight as I would have been happy no matter who won. But this 'non-call' is much ado about nothing.
The calls in important games, like the playoffs, are really hard on the refs.
If they make too many calls, the fans say that the refs are interfering with the game. If they make too few calls and just let the guys just play, then the get scorched from the losing side.
Adams redeemed himself for all those penalties he had earlier in the game-at least three and maybe more pass interference calls on him. The Pack was gunning for him.
All I can say is no matter which team won that one, the defenses need some heavy duty re-tooling.
On the other hand, since the ball had already left Roger’s possession, shouldn’t the personal foul have been assessed after the touchdown? But at that point, the game was over by sudden death.
Packers will need to shore up their secondary. Granted Al Harris and Atari Bigby were out, but there were still gaping holes all over the place.
Packers are a young team on the rise. I look for them to make some noise next year. (BTW... Love your name!)
That being said, where was Don Capers? Arizona must have watched the Pittsburgh tapes and concluded that they could, rightly so, expose the Green Bay secondary.
You would have thought Capers would have tried to solve that problem. Maybe a few more blitzes to get in Warner's face.
The last touchdown that AZ scored had two penalties that were not called. Instead crying Kurt Warner had lobbied the refs because he was getting roughed up. The result was that a roughing the passer was called against Green Bay AND there was no call on the offensive pass interference. The roughing the passer call was pure crap since Warner was throwing the ball when he got hit. The offensive pass interference was not called in the end zone. Not that it mattered though since both teams could’nt stop anything the offenses were doing.
In a game like this, any little thing can change the outcome of the game.
What a riot that game was. Pure joy to watch.
Kampman is also out. That “D” was short handed.
AZ put in the same game plan that Pittsburgh used against Green Bay. And that was another wild one.
Capers basically formed all three of these defences since the AZ coach came from Pit and Capers built the Pit defence in the early 90s.
Green Bay needs to get some more speed in that backfield and he knows it. Linebackers, Backfield etc. Look for Green Bay to be better next year since they are the second youngest team in the NFL. Three or four key players and they will go all the way.
What about the non call on the same play the Pack was called for holding. The defensive player led with his helmet into Rodgers’ face and there was no call.
Add to that Aaron Kampman and I'd argue no NFL team would play well with 3 starters out. And I can also argue that there were some missed calls where Fitzgerald ran over Charles Woodson, a helmet to helmet on Rodgers and ....blah...blah....blah.
I'm a Packer fan, but the truth is all that stuff is just $hit. The Packers defense never made a stand all game long. Can't blame Rodgers for missing Jennings wide open.....that Capers coached defense just sucked yesterday and that is why they lost. I bet Drew Brees spent the day licking his chops.
Rodgers had a stellar year. I think when all is said and done, Packer fans will start saying, "Brett who?"
Rodgers is a very unselfish player and a team player. I'm impressed.
Your last thought was kicked around the water cooler today... what must Brees be thinking? Both teams had glaring defensive holes.
AS a Lions fan, it pains me to say this, but GB has the tools in place to be NFC North champs for a few years in a row. They are going to be the favorites next year to win it all.
Although I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Lion fans. You've guys have suffered more than usual difficult teams.
Sometimes ya kinda think it will turn around... and around... and around... etc.
I still love the UP of Michigan. Some of the prettiest damn parts of the country are found up there. (I was stationed at Marquette, Mich.) Loved it!
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