Revisionist wishes and referee's whistles - New England Patriots Forums

upstater1 · 12-04-2007, 12:13 PM

Did the ref's whistle save the Patriots' butts on two occasions?

I looked at the replays on both of the 4th and 1 plays.

On the first, Matt Light clearly reacted to the blown whistle as he was the last one out of his stance on the Patriots' line. He was blown up, and Brady was stopped.

OK, flash forward one play. Russ Hochstein jumps early and the ref blows his whistle. Guess who came in and hit Heath Evans first? It was the defender that exploited the gap between Hochstein and Kazcur. Hochstein, by leaving early, left a gaping hole that Kazcur--still set in his stance--couldn't fill quick enough. The defender exploited it, jumped into the backfield, and tackled Evans before he came anywhere near the first down marker.

Now we're hearing from fans about how lucky the Patriots were that they got do-overs on these plays. The fact of the matter is, the whistle enabled the Ravens to stop Brady's sneak, and Russ Hochstein's boneheaded error also enabled the Ravens to stop Evans on that run.

People who point to these plays have to use some football common sense to realize that the whistle and the penalty effected the outcome of the play in question.

Metaphors · 12-04-2007, 12:33 PM

You are absolutely correct and anyone who has played any sport with an official whistle should know this. You can excuse the Ravens and their fans since they are emotionally invested in the outcome. A whistle flips a mental switch which tells you to stop. The snap of the ball tells you to go. This conflict can throw you off and even a fraction of a second can blow up a play. If you keep playing at full-speed after a whistle, you risk getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

The whistle sounded before the snap of the ball. If Brady was a little more upright and the Ravens had slammed him down, they would probably have gotten a roughing penalty. Can you imagine the outrage then?

As for the false start, that adds a different dimension. I think the whistle is less of a concern but having the OL moving at different times leaves gaps. As you pointed out, those gaps are a disaster on in short yardage. Also, Hochstein knew he jumped offside which means he is out of sync. Do you think he hit his assignment effectively or with hesitation?

cblesz · 12-04-2007, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by upstater1

Did the ref's whistle save the Patriots' butts on two occasions?

I looked at the replays on both of the 4th and 1 plays.

On the first, Matt Light clearly reacted to the blown whistle as he was the last one out of his stance on the Patriots' line. He was blown up, and Brady was stopped.

OK, flash forward one play. Russ Hochstein jumps early and the ref blows his whistle. Guess who came in and hit Heath Evans first? It was the defender that exploited the gap between Hochstein and Kazcur. Hochstein, by leaving early, left a gaping hole that Kazcur--still set in his stance--couldn't fill quick enough. The defender exploited it, jumped into the backfield, and tackled Evans before he came anywhere near the first down marker.

Now we're hearing from fans about how lucky the Patriots were that they got do-overs on these plays. The fact of the matter is, the whistle enabled the Ravens to stop Brady's sneak, and Russ Hochstein's boneheaded error also enabled the Ravens to stop Evans on that run.

People who point to these plays have to use some football common sense to realize that the whistle and the penalty effected the outcome of the play in question.

Well put...hadn't thought about that. Makes sense as both times we got stuffed...and, I am willing to bet the percentages are much higher for an offense converting 4th and 1...