BALTIMORE, Maryland November 24, 2014 - Here is the roll call of really really awful calls made in the first half of the Ravens game tonight at New Orleans by the NFL Offiating crew:
A. After the Ravens stopped the Saints on about four plays inside the Ravens five-yard-line, the Ravens marched 99 yards, scoring a touchdown on a pass from Joe Flacco to Steve Smith, Sr. Then the Saints were three and out. But the Ravens couldn't score and the Saints got it back. On third down, an incomplete pass was thrown, meaning another three and out and a punt. But after the play one official threw a flag and said there was some kind of violation on the Ravens. A replay showed conclusively that no violation occurred. It wasn't even close. On TV, Jon Gruden of ESPN said, "I didn't see anything." Given another set of downs, the Saints scored a touchdown.
B. The same thing happened again. The Ravens stopped the Saints on third down, forcing a punt. Then, after the play, a flag was thrown. They called "roughing the passer" on Haloti Ngata. He is an all-pro lineman for Baltimore. Once Breeze threw his incompletion, Ngata did everything he could to avoid all contact with the New Orleans QB, grabbing other players to avoid Breeze, and falling himself at Breeze's feet. The actual contact was so much of nothing that Breeze did not lose his footing. The call was so bad it stunk way up here in Baltimore, even though the play was in New Orleans.
C. The same drive, but later, and Drew Breeze throws a long bomb. Frank Gorrer appeared to be in a position to intercept, but the Saints receiver wrestled the ball away from him and caught it himself. But his catch occurred out of bounds, clearly. Before he was out of bounds he did not have the ball, but instead was fumbling it and bobbling it, and trying to squeeze it between his knees, On the field, one of the morons nonetheless called it a catch. Really, he did. John Harbaugh, the Ravens' coach, threw his red challenge marker. The replay made the fact that the ball was caught out of bounds crystal clear. The referee looked at the replays. It was taking him a long time and I figured he was taking the opportunity to sneak off for a potty break. Instead, he was steeling himself for another barage from Baltimore. He called it a catch. It was not a catch. But this moron called it a catch.
The Saints now lead the game at halftime, 17-14. If the game was officiated by real competent officials, the score would be 14-7, Ravens. If the Ravens hadn't fumbled at the one it would be 21-7.
If the lads at league headquarters have th decency to look at the replays of this half of football, they will take action. That is, if they care about the game. One wonders how they let folk like this out on the field to begin with. Jerry Sandusky, the Ravens radio voice and a man from a football family (and not the family of man from Penn State). said he is tired of having to rant about the referees every week. He should not have to do this, but if he didn't his listeners would not have a clue what was going on. It is very very bad out there.
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