mgteich

I see no difference. The rules were enforced in both cases. No, Stevens didn't need to push off in order to score, but that doesn't change the rule, which isn't based on whether the ball is caught or not. The ref was close to the play. He saw the clear infraction and he threw the flag. He had no choice under the rules currently in place.

What thousands of posts have now said is that the ref in this case should have ignored the rules of the NFL, and not called a clear penalty because a score was involved. Such an action by a ref might get applause from the fans of one team, but the ref would and should get discplined if he ignored the violation.

dryheat44

The issue is that relative to what goes on during every pass play, that was a minor foul. So minor that I don't even think it qualified as a penalty. I saw the WR put a hand on the defender, but not push himself off of him. The referee was also in perfect position to see Hope holding Jackson, but that was ignored.

Nobody (I don't think) is suggesting the referee's ignore the rulebook. The issue is calling the game consistently for both teams.

__________________
When it's third and 10, you can have the milk drinkers and I'll take the whiskey drinkers every time. -- R.I.P. Max McGee

Na_polian

Well, I believe the Seahawks player when he says "I didn't touch him". He didn't, and he didn't do a "push off".

Just like I believe Big ben when he said "I don't think I was in...".

See? I'm fair.

mgteich

Exactly right! You believe the players involved rather the refs and the physical evidence. That is your right.

Na_polian

There is physical evidence that the receiver pushed the defender? Wow. I'd love to see that. Looked to me like he moved his hand towards him, but didn't actually connect. But hey, I could be wrong.

I'd love to see the physical evidence, though. Got a Steelers jersey with a bloody handprint from the receiver on it? Who's blood is it? Should we check for DNA? How about hair analysis? Get the CSI guys on this pronto! We've got PHYSICAL EVIDENCE! Yeaaaah!

mgteich

I know that you or I might not want such infractions to be called. You indicated that you don't think it qualified as a penalty. Who do you think should decide whether this infraction counts as a penalty under NFL rules? What others are saying is that the fans know much better than the ref and the league. After all, they saw the infraction on television and the Seattle player says that he wasn't guilty of a foul. Now, if we could get every call against our db's in the past reversed because we fans didn't think it was a foul, and the player didn't, then we would have won five Super Bowls in a row.

Na_polian

And just as an aside, if an NFL referee today told me it was raining outside, I'd have to look for myself, because quite frankly I think their credibility is shot almost beyond any repair at this point...

mgteich

That too is your right.

AdamJT13

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~dmstein/steelers/PushOff.mov

Jackson clearly shoves Hope before going to make the catch. (Watch Hope hop backward after Jackson shoves him.)

Murphys95

The biggest problems with officiating in 2005 was the lack of consistency and decisiveness. Penalties were not called consistently throughout the season, and even in the Super Bowl (see: Hasselbeck's personal foul vs Roethlisberger's block on the WR Pass).

We at the very least expect officials to be consistent within a game. In XL the refs called a ticky-tack offensive PI (I agree, it was there, no problem with it), but ignored an overt horse-collar tackle later in the game.

That has to be a major focus during the offseason - consistency. Perhaps doing away with "all-star" crews may be a first step.