Posted on 12/17/2001 4:42:15 PM PST by TexRef
To all of the official bashers out there, time to eat a little crow... Take a look at the following excerpts from NFL reviewing end of Browns-Jaguars game (Click the link to read the entire article).
According to the article, the NFL reached a conclusion today that the "...correct procedures were followed and the correct decision made when replay overturned what had been ruled a fourth-down catch by Cleveland's Quincy Morgan."
BUT, BUT... All the Cleveland fans whine -- you CAN'T challenge a play when another play has been run -- EVERYBODY knows that.
Well, turns out that's not really how it played out. NFL's Director of Officiating Mike Pereira described what happened:
"The Browns were in a no-huddle offense trying to get to the line of scrimmage to snap the ball and stop the clock. Things were moving very quickly. When the pager went off (just before the snap), the referee allowed the play to take place before confirming with the umpire and the replay assistant that he was paged for a review."
Now you can sit here and debate about the rule all you want, but the fact is that the officials got it right AGAIN!
Careful there, BD.
For some, it's a religion.
I bet you say that to all the boys.
I'm just glad I graduated before Joe's went co-ed.
You know, having a high school football stadium right on Lake Erie in November is true "home-field advantage." GO VIKES!
Guess that means I still love ya and won't have to send you to visit Lake Erie with Tony Two-Toes. ;-)
Have fun, pal.
Isn't Midwest blue-collar grit something?
It was legally reviewed and reversed. The fans were drunk, rowdy, and ignorant of the rule. The league even stepped in today and cleared up the rule dispute (per the article above), and people still don't want to hear it.
Sorry, those fans weren't noble souls forced to throw their bottles by circumstances beyond their control. They were ignorant jerks.
When Giants fans attacked the opposing team with snow and ice a few years back, the Giants organization condemned the act and came down hard on their own fans. The Browns owners proved they're as character deficient as their fans.
Through this incident, I lost a LOT of respect for a team and fans I've respected for a long time. I don't care whether the refs were right or outrageously wrong. EVERY NFL team has experienced a stupid call costing them the game. Only in Cleveland did it lead to this.
out in LA LA..land....
EVERYBODY!
Save your indignation for yourself, okay? If this incident caused you to lose respect for the Browns and Browns' fans, then you didn't have a lot of respect to begin with.
All of this pontificating is ex post facto. What happened during the game? The refs blew it, yet I don't see any culpability laid to them who so richly deserve it. They should have never let the ball get spotted after the incomplete pass! This was their fault, not the Browns, nor the Browns' fans.
If you must be indignant, be indignant all the way around fairly. Otherwise, and I can't speak for all Clevelanders or Buckeyes, I must admit that I don't give a rat's hind parts what you think of the Cleveland Browns, The Dawg Pound, or anything relating to Ohio.
Snuff that!
Without the actual rules, I can't say one way or the other if they made the right call or not. But I'm not going to just take the word of the NFL that's what the rule book says. I think the ref screwed up, didn't stop play before the subsequent snap, and then tried to fix the mistake by making up the rule on the fly. Since there was a riot, the NFL sure as hell isn't going to come out now and say the ref made a mistake, they're going to cover for him.
I'd love to read exactly what the rule book says about replay and when it can be done.
You're right. Being a Browns fan was never going to put someone terribly high in my book compared to being a wounded veteran or ministering to lepers. But as far as respect for a team and fans, Cleveland had been pretty high on my list. I can't think of another incident done en mass by fans of another team that sunk to this level other than the Giants fan snow incident. But in that case at least the team itself condemned the fans.
All of this pontificating is ex post facto. What happened during the game? The refs blew it, yet I don't see any culpability laid to them who so richly deserve it.
I didn't see the game, don't have an opinion on the call, and I don't care. I've watched other NFL teams lose a few games totally due to a bad call. The scorn the refs deserve is "boooo." Not a riot.
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