Couple Questions on 12/29 NFL Games

[hbk314]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

The video I've seen shows the clock going to 25 but I don't see it running from there. Has anyone seen confirmation it ran from here? On our crew the BJ is primary on the play clock but others watch it as well. I'll check it on many plays as an umpire to see when I got the ball spotted. On most plays it is between 28 and 32. If the clock was set as 25 and then run it would be 13 to 17. That would cause me to take an official's time out because we either did not get the ball set fast enough or the clock would not be set properly.

The league has said they missed the illegal formation foul. Two of the guys are out wide so I wasn't sure if they counted. It sounds like any defensive player on the LOS counted. Did the S and U see this and pass on it because they felt it wasn't significant? Did they just miss it? It's a procedural foul they should get, but it had no impact on the play. There's no guarantee the Chiefs would have made the 36-yarder. Both are fairly automatic for most NFL-level kickers. It's not the first error a crew has made and it won't be the last. It had as much of an impact as several other things that happened in the game (i.e. turnovers, bad coaching decisions, missed routes, bad reads). Officials never want to make mistakes that have an impact on the outcome of the game, but you have to accept the fact this was not the only reason the Chiefs lost this game. The Steelers did plenty of things on their own to finish 8-8 so they can't blame their lack of a playoff spot on this call alone. It's just easy to blame the officials.

It's a lot easier to blame something that happens at the end. If you point to something that happened earlier in the game, you end up trying to guess what would have played out differently after. On a play like this, you know they would have been attempting a 36 yard field goal that would have ended regulation. There's a high probability he makes it.

I actually am still blaming the Chiefs, as all they had to do was make the field goal in the first place. The Steelers had themselves in position to make the playoffs. The Chiefs missing the field goal and not getting a rekick likely (if the rekick had been made) cost the Steelers a playoff spot.

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by hbk314

It's a lot easier to blame something that happens at the end. If you point to something that happened earlier in the game, you end up trying to guess what would have played out differently after. On a play like this, you know they would have been attempting a 36 yard field goal that would have ended regulation. There's a high probability he makes it.

I actually am still blaming the Chiefs, as all they had to do was make the field goal in the first place. The Steelers had themselves in position to make the playoffs. The Chiefs missing the field goal and not getting a rekick likely (if the rekick had been made) cost the Steelers a playoff spot.

I just heard Mike Tomlin take full responsibility for them not making the playoffs. They had 16 opportunities this season to not have it come down to this call. I'm sure someone can get the stats but is the percentage of made FGs from 36 significantly different than 41? Probably not.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by hbk314

...The Chiefs missing the field goal and not getting a rekick likely (if the rekick had been made) cost the Steelers a playoff spot.

Being that for 15 years I have lived in the same part of town Mike Tomlin grew up in, I know for a fact he's not blaming KC's backups for the Steelers missing the play-offs. The month of September is the real reason.

[hbk314]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Being that for 15 years I have lived in the same part of town Mike Tomlin grew up in, I know for a fact he's not blaming KC's backups for the Steelers missing the play-offs. The month of September is the real reason.

True, the Steelers had a very bad start to the year. That's bit relevant to this topic. It doesn't change the facts.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by hbk314

True, the Steelers had a very bad start to the year. That's bit relevant to this topic. It doesn't change the facts.

I didn't see the play. Did the defensive overload at all impact the kick?

I know that should have no bearing on whether the flag is thrown, but in my view, it has a bearing on whether one could claim it cost the Chiefs the game.

At most, you could say it cost the Chiefs' kicker a cheap chance to make up for a missed 41 yard field goal.

Probably semantics, though.

[bisonlj]

Originally Posted by Adam

I didn't see the play. Did the defensive overload at all impact the kick?

I know that should have no bearing on whether the flag is thrown, but in my view, it has a bearing on whether one could claim it cost the Chiefs the game.

At most, you could say it cost the Chiefs' kicker a cheap chance to make up for a missed 41 yard field goal.

Probably semantics, though.

No, it had no impact on the play at all. Two of the 7 guys were lined up pretty wide but it sounds like that doesn't matter by rule. Based on the comment by the NFL today this is a procedural foul and should be flagged regardless of whether they used it to their advantage.

I agree 100% the actions by the Chargers had no bearing on the result of the play. The Chief's kicker makes the kick and this is not a discussion.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by bisonlj

No, it had no impact on the play at all. Two of the 7 guys were lined up pretty wide but it sounds like that doesn't matter by rule. Based on the comment by the NFL today this is a procedural foul and should be flagged regardless of whether they used it to their advantage.

I agree 100% the actions by the Chargers had no bearing on the result of the play. The Chief's kicker makes the kick and this is not a discussion.

It's a formation foul and, like you said, has nothing to do with advantage / disadvantage.

[APG]

Here is the wording of the rule for those wondering:

Rule 9, Section 1

DEFENSIVE TEAM FORMATION
Article 3: Defensive Team Formation

(a) When Team A presents a punt, field-goal, or Try Kick formation, a Team B player, who is within one yard of the line of scrimmage, must have his entire body outside the snapper’s shoulder pads at the snap.

(b) When Team A presents a field-goal or Try Kick formation:

(1) No more than six Team B players may be on the line of scrimmage on either side of the snapper at the snap; and

Note: These restrictions do not apply if a team does not present a standard punt, field goal, or Try Kick formation (an equal number of players on the line of scrimmage on either side of the snapper in a tight formation), or if, after the offensive team has assumed a set position, there is a shift, or a player goes in motion.

[CT1]

Originally Posted by hbk314

There's a high probability he makes it.

Succop had a lousy December. There's no guarantee he makes the rekick.

[hbk314]

Originally Posted by CT1

Succop had a lousy December. There's no guarantee he makes the rekick.

Exactly what I said.