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!
We'll never be sure of that. We only have the word of the three officials involved - and they had plenty of time to compare stories and arrive at a consistent story. All that we DO know is that no official physically reacted to his buzzer prior to the first down snap.
And they are impartial? Yeah right.
The refs blew the entire process by allowing the ball to be snapped, which it is stated very clearly that once a play has been run, the previous play cannot be reviewed. The ref hurredly spotted the ball to be snapped, and Couch spiked it.
End of story. No review was to be allowed. This ex post facto review decision is why the crowd (rightfully so in my opinion) went ballistic. They knew the rules. Couch knew the rule, which is why he quickly snapped the ball!
Yes, the 4th down pass was incomplete. The correct call would have been to call that pass incomplete after that play was over, not the completion of the next play. The refs said that the pass was complete, and they blew that call to. No need to lie about it.
Like it or not, the home team normally gets the benefit of the doubt in sitations like these. Do you think there would have been a "buzz" if the play would have occurred in St. Louis? San Francisco? Oakland? Pittsburgh? Not on your life.
Technicalities happen. Just ask district attorneys who have to let suspects go because of Miranda or some other technicality. The refs should have done their job by making the correct call in the first place.
Then it wouldn't have been an issue.
And this is no "whine," but it is the pure unadulterated truth.
DAWG POUND FOR LIFE!
Eitherway...
The official who got the page "before the play" should've immediately began blowing his whistle for the play to stop.
He didnt.
The Ref's got what they deserved. Dont mess with the dog pound.
Hey, I lived through a year (2000) of the Steelers season where the refs screwed up 3 calls that may have cost them games, and the league apologized each time the next day.
In cases where mistakes are made, the league will apologize.
, it looked like a catch and most of the sportscasters agreed that the video did not have the evidence to overturn the call on the field.
I tried to watch all of the coverage after the game, and even spent a few hours listening to the local Cleveland radio coverage, and NOBODY disputed the no-catch call.
Is it legal to goal tend a buzzer-beater shot? I mean if the game is over, you can't be called for goal-tending then?
IMHO, spiking is a stupid waste of a play except in the last few seconds. If you can line up to snap the spike, you can line up to run a play.
While we're on the subject, it is also stupid to go for two anytime before the fourth quarter, and always on your last touchdown.
How dare you sit there and accuse a bunch of officials of being cheats!!
Unbelievable.
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