Carolina vs New England last play

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Robert Goodman

And the claim that had he not received that push, #87 would've interfered with that opponent to reach the ball is absurd, because the opponent had his back turned and wasn't trying for the ball.

His back turned and wasn't trying for the ball? He CAUGHT the ball. Are you watching the same play?

[ajmc]

Somewhere there's an old saying, "There are none so blind as those who will not see", can you imagine what that says about those who refuse to even look?

[bisonlj]

In this context "uncatchable" only comes into play because by philosophy (or maybe rule) a pass intended for an eligible receiver is underthrown and a defender was in a much better position to intercept it. Any discussion of whether Gronk could have come back for it is irrelevant. We have seen several plays like this from the CFO and told to not flag it for DPI. It's also why this would likely be DPI if the other defender isn't there to intercept it. I don't know if this is in the NFL philosophy/rule, but I believe this is exactly how our NCAA supervisors want this called.

The comments Blandino made said the judgement of the officials on the field was the restriction was so close to when the ball was touched by the defender. That has nothing to do with "uncatchable". It's a timing discussion and could be easily argued by those watching the video.

[hbk314]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

In this context "uncatchable" only comes into play because by philosophy (or maybe rule) a pass intended for an eligible receiver is underthrown and a defender was in a much better position to intercept it. Any discussion of whether Gronk could have come back for it is irrelevant. We have seen several plays like this from the CFO and told to not flag it for DPI. It's also why this would likely be DPI if the other defender isn't there to intercept it. I don't know if this is in the NFL philosophy/rule, but I believe this is exactly how our NCAA supervisors want this called.

The comments Blandino made said the judgement of the officials on the field was the restriction was so close to when the ball was touched by the defender. That has nothing to do with "uncatchable". It's a timing discussion and could be easily argued by those watching the video.

Not a fan of that if that's the case. Just because a defender may have better position doesn't mean he should get a free shot at the ball.

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by hbk314

Not a fan of that if that's the case. Just because a defender may have better position doesn't mean he should get a free shot at the ball.

Think of it like the ball being tipped before it gets to the receiver. That contact is ignored as well but it no less prevents the receiver from getting to it. There are lots of gray areas of judgement and a good official limits the gray. This philosophy is assuming the receiver would have a hard time catching the ball that is underthrown and intercepted by someone else.

[hbk314]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

Think of it like the ball being tipped before it gets to the receiver. That contact is ignored as well but it no less prevents the receiver from getting to it. There are lots of gray areas of judgement and a good official limits the gray. This philosophy is assuming the receiver would have a hard time catching the ball that is underthrown and intercepted by someone else.

That seems like you're eliminating the wrong "gray area" so to speak.

The rule is written giving the benefit of the doubt to the offense. In this play, the defender clearly committed a violation, but the flag was picked up because the officials determined the pass to be "clearly uncatchable."

That wasn't the case in reality. Not with the benefit of replay.

It just seems as though with the way the NFL rule is written and basic common sense that you should side with the aggrieved team and not the team doing something they're not supposed to.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by hbk314

That seems like you're eliminating the wrong "gray area" so to speak.

The rule is written giving the benefit of the doubt to the offense. In this play, the defender clearly committed a violation, but the flag was picked up because the officials determined the pass to be "clearly uncatchable."

That wasn't the case in reality. Not with the benefit of replay.

It just seems as though with the way the NFL rule is written and basic common sense that you should side with the aggrieved team and not the team doing something they're not supposed to.

How do you know what the rule was written for? PI rules apply to both the offense and defense and if the ball is tipped or uncatchable, it can apply to both sides of the ball.

Peace

[Eastshire]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

Think of it like the ball being tipped before it gets to the receiver. That contact is ignored as well but it no less prevents the receiver from getting to it. There are lots of gray areas of judgement and a good official limits the gray. This philosophy is assuming the receiver would have a hard time catching the ball that is underthrown and intercepted by someone else.

I don't have an issue with the philosophy when the ball is intercepted at a point the receiver couldn't have reached absent the interference.

In this case though, it's the interference that prevents the receiver from reaching the point of the interception which is what allows the interception.

It's not interference because it was intercepted but it was intercepted because there was interference.

[MD Longhorn]

Originally Posted by Eastshire

I don't have an issue with the philosophy when the ball is intercepted at a point the receiver couldn't have reached absent the interference.

In this case though, it's the interference that prevents the receiver from reaching the point of the interception which is what allows the interception.

It's not interference because it was intercepted but it was intercepted because there was interference.

The interference did not aid in the interception at all - which is the entire point here - the interceptor and the interferor are two different people and despite some claims that Gronk is either a) superhuman; b) able to go through people; or c) has a portable transporter, there is ZERO chance Gronk catches this ball if he's not interfered with. If you don't see that, there's no getting you to see it. The point, then, is moot.

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by MD Longhorn

His back turned and wasn't trying for the ball? He CAUGHT the ball. Are you watching the same play?

Not the one with the long hair, the one who pushed #87.