Ravens/Steelers game
 

Steelers DB lights up Willis McGahee after he makes a reception over the middle. McGahee fumbles and it's ruled as such (right call). Looking at the replay, it was CLEARLY a helmet-to-helmet hit and there was no flag. Why no flag on this, but NFL referees will throw flags for much more minor things? (D-lineman's hand accidentally brushing a QB's head while trying to deflect a pass) I thought football referees have time to "Watch the play develop"? If they have so much damn time, why can't they get stuff like this right?

Edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfS9KQsExgs

(This one really takes the cake!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9KmXAmMTjw

Well QBs are treated differently in the NFL. That is just the way it is. And to say the McGahee hit was "clearly" helmet to helmet is a bit of an overstatement. The Steeler player turned his head and shoulder away from the McGahee. If the players got up, you would not have thought a single thing about the hit. And CBS had to show two different angles before it was clear that player touched helmets illegally in any way.

Peace

Who would you call the penalty on? It appeared to me that the defender tried to iniate contact with his shoulder, but the runner turned and lowered his head at the last instant.

Stop acting like some idiot fanboy.

1. What the NFL considers roughing the passer has nothing to do with this play. They are totally different situations.

2. Give it up about having time to get it right. Maybe it was a foul, maybe it wasn't but you know that things happen fast on the field. It is a lot easier to make the call after 10 slow motion replays from mutiple angles.

In real time, I felt the hit was illegal as the defender appeared to target the opponent's head and I threw my flag from my recliner.
Upon replay, I felt that the defender initiated contact with his helmet to the head of the opponent and confirmed my flag.

I just hope that McGahee will be ok.

I agree with daggo66 that the defender was trying to lead with his shoulder and the action of the runner caused the helmets to collide. I would probably go with no foul. This is definitely a good play for video review and league discussion.

In addtion, there were several other helmet-to-helmet hits by both teams that were unpenalized. Also, you are ignoring the blatent roughing the passer by the Ravens in the first half that was not called. IMHO, both teams were the victims of suspect calls and non-calls. Then again, there is a reason these men were calling the AFC Championship Game, and I was on the couch at home. In the end, this game certainly did not come down to a few quesionable calls.

Wow, this place is becoming fan boy central. :D

Peace

They got it right. This was a play downfield, not helmet to helmet contact on a QB, not spearing and McGahee lowered his head, not the defender.

You're clueless.

What does it matter if it was a hit on a QB or not? They routinely penalize contact against QBs that is VERY minor, but let this stuff go?

I knew this thread would get a rise out of the "Must defend NFL referees at all costs" crowd.

Football officials are clueless.

Edit: For the record, I'm not a fan of either of these teams. I just think NFL officiating is probably the worst of any major sport.

The runner had just caught the ball and was getting absolutely plastered by the Steelers defender. McGahee had no idea what was going on.

Looked to me like the contact was primarily shoulder to shoulder, and that their heads met only because each player had enough momentum in his head that their necks bent toward each other. In other words, any head to head contact was incidental to a legal hit by both players.

Robert

QBs are considered in a more venerable position and the marquee players of the game to those in the NFL. And the competition committee has made it clear they want to keep QBs from getting hit unnecessarily or when they are easily hurt. People do not want to see the Indianapolis Colts without Payton Manning or the NE Patriots with Tom Brady. BTW, kickers are protected in ways that running backs or wide receivers are not. So to compare what happens to a running back running a route over the middle is kind of silly to what happens in other positions is silly. You do not have to have much contact on a kicker and have a personal foul. Should we start comparing offensive lineman and how they contact defensive players and how they cut block them? I see more linemen that cannot walk straight after they retire than I do a QB, but cut blocking is a very acceptable practice and rules allow for such contact.

I think many of us have actually been in the same situation and seen players do things that we were not sure about, with fewer officials on the field. And if you knew anything, we do not sit here and defend officials just to defend them. But the play was not clear in a couple of replays and you needed the right angle to conclude that there was any helmet contact with another helmet. I saw the play at full speed and thought the contact was all shoulder (which is not illegal in this play).

Then get your sorry azz out there and do a better job. Since it is so damn easy you should be out there. I bet you would be peeing down your leg if confronted with the very same play. Just like it is easy here to talk about how bad this player is or that player is, but if put in the very same situation you would not know what to do with yourself.

Peace

As of earlier this year 97.64% of the downs in NFL games this season were officiated correctly. There are 7 officials on the field, on average one of them makes a mistake every 42.4 downs. In some games the entire crew is graded out at 100%.

And it must be noted that they are not graded on calls they are involved in, they are graded on mechanics, positioning, dead ball coverage and a lot of things none of us could imagine. So the play that goes to the other end of the field that you are not looking at, you are judged on that play too.

Welcome to the NFL Rookie. :D

Peace