Cundiff, other Raven players claim the Pats scoreboard erred on final drive.

[Kontradiction]

NFL.com news: Did scoreboard error cause Cundiff's hurried kick vs. Patriots?

Billy Cundiff knew something was wrong when he booted his last-minute, 32-yard field-goal attempt in Sunday's AFC Championship Game. The Baltimore Ravens kicker rushed his routine, and his kick sailed wide left.

But on Monday, Cundiff learned of a possible contributing factor to his frenzied approach. The Gillette Stadium scoreboard incorrectly listed the preceding second and third downs of Baltimore's final drive as first and second down, Ravens public-relations director Kevin Byrne told Deadspin.com.

Byrne confirmed the downs were incorrectly displayed after he watched video of the game.

The Patriots didn't immediately respond to NFL.com and NFL Network's request for comment.

Earlier Monday, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs told ESPN that many players noticed the discrepency on the final series and were confused by it. They believed Anquan Boldin's fumble out of bounds after a first-down reception had given Baltimore another first down at the New England Patriots' 10-yard line. But the ball was brought back to the 14 -- spot of the fumble -- and the Ravens faced second-and-1. The scoreboard, however, listed the subsequent play as first down.

I feel like there is always an excuse when the Pats beat this team. Sounds like Cundiff is in the denial part of his heartache. Poor guy can't just admit that the moment was too big for him. Big time players make big time plays in big time games. Cundiff failed to do that.

 

[ausbacker]

Yes Billy, the scoreboard was the reason you shanked the ball wide and left by several feet.

 

[BradyMoss812]

If you're not sure what down it is, you would ask the refs, right???

Always an excuse with the Ravens.

 

[Nikolai]

I guess "Ball So Hard" has more to do with crying than playing the game.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

So is he of the opinion that if it's third down, and he misses the kick, he'd get another shot on "fourth down"?

I'm not quite sure how the down would influence the inaccuracy of his kick.

I'll tell you what it is -- pretty much what they said on one of the post-games. They were convinced BB would call a time-out at the last minute to ice him, and he was on a practice swing.

LMAO getting in his head by not icing him.

Wahhhhh Billy.

I was with everybody who was saying "bless his heart he's got to be the sickest man in America" until this. What he needed to do was just go away to someplace dark and warm and eat some comfort food, maybe a whole pint of hagen dasz rum raisin, and put on a chick flick and have a good cry. Then maybe re-live the kick in a montage with "I stop the world and melt with you" playing in the background, then a pep talk from a friend or two, then a redemptive make-over scene where he takes off his glasses and turns out to be amazingly beautiful, then a montage of really hard work outs with "Maniac" playing in the background... then maybe he'd be over it and ready for the '12 season.

Instead, he cried and moaned and turned his pain and bitterness on the poor plebes running the Gillette scoreboard.

And one more goddam thing. You're telling me they were looking at a film that showed the play, then panned up to show the down and distance on the scoreboard? That doesn't sound like film you get from a fixed location enclosed on three sides. Where'd that get that tape?

PFnV

 

[Fencer]

Cundiff should have had the authority to call a TO, and should have used that authority.

Additionally, Harbaugh and his staff should have sensed that his players weren't ready.

This screw-up is on the Ravens.

 

[Calciumee]

How does the down mean he rushed it?

The clock wasn't running, and if it was third-down or fourth-down it would make no difference! The clock wasn't running!

The only thing that may have rushed him was the play clock!

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

NFL.com news: Did scoreboard error cause Cundiff's hurried kick vs. Patriots?



I feel like there is always an excuse when the Pats beat this team. Sounds like Cundiff is in the denial part of his heartache. Poor guy can't just admit that the moment was too big for him. Big time players make big time plays in big time games. Cundiff failed to do that.

If this is true and the Ravens are using this as an excuse, it is pretty disappointing. Watching the post game interviews, I thought the Ravens had showed a lot of intestinal fortitude. No excuses, no whining, they said they gave everything that had on the field but ended up a play short (which is exactly what happened). I can respect that. If the Patriots had lost I believe that's how the Patriots would have approached it too. If the wrong down on the scoreboard becomes their storyline, they went from earning respect to being punks.

 

[DarrylS]

"When you win you say nothing, when you lose you say less".. Paul Brown

 

[resdubwhite]

Cry babies.


WOnder if Harbaugh will follow this up.


No doubt it will be patriots staff cheating again.

 

[Lansdowne]

The Ravens had a timeout remaining in their pocket that would have rendered all of this moot. Instead, they took that timeout back with them to Baltimore. What happened in the final moments is on them.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

after reading the whole article, it doesnt sound to me like the Ravens are making any excuses about the loss. It sounds more like the press stirring sh*t up. The Ravens players simply said they were confused about the down. They never once said "those evil patriots cheated us by messing up the scoreboard" lol.....this is just the media. Lets move on

 

[bruce_w]

This is idiotic. Everyone in the stadium knew what down it was and how huge that play was on 3rd down. Besides the fact that the scoreboard did show 3rd and 1 because I looked at it.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk

 

[Rob0729]

This isn't rocket science. If the coaches on the sidelines can't figure out what down it is and have their players ready on the most important drive on their season without the assistance of a scoreboard, they all should look for employment elsewhere. There are sticks on both sides of the field displaying the downs too.

Their explanation was laughable too. So they thought Boldin got the first down, but it ended up being a second and one. Two plays later, they still thought they were third and ten rather than 4th and one? Are you telling me no one looked to the sideline to see that the two sticks on one side were less than one yard away from each other than ten yards apart.

This is a damning story. Not on the Patriots, but on the inefficiencies of John Harbaugh as a head coach. Personally, that tells me he is a poor in game manager. I guarantee you that Belichick would know the down and on every play on a drive like that without the assistance of the scoreboard.

 

[Rob0729]

after reading the whole article, it doesnt sound to me like the Ravens are making any excuses about the loss. It sounds more like the press stirring sh*t up. The Ravens players simply said they were confused about the down. They never once said "those evil patriots cheated us by messing up the scoreboard" lol.....this is just the media. Lets move on

Actually, I think they are inadvertently trying to take some heat off of Ryan and Jets as the most dysfunctional organization in football. Personally, I think they come off worse than they can cast any doubt on the Pats.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Yes Billy, the scoreboard was the reason you shanked the ball wide and left by several feet.

Not to get all ticky tacky on you or anything, but I think "wide and left by several feet" is hugely understating the shank-tastic goodness of that kick.

Just saying

 

[goheels22002]

Scoreboard-gate!

We knew the greatest combo of coach and QB in NFL history couldn't be true. Belichick has been doing this for years.

Secretly, without being discovered by 70,000 fans, the national media, six referees on the field, three in the booth, slo-motion instant replay cameras, opposing coaches and teams, the "Cheatriots" have been stealing downs from opposing teams and hiding them in an undisclosed location deep in the bowels of Gillette Stadium.

Roger Goodell should be fired for letting this happen right under his nose.

 

[BTTA]

There are several information sources for down and distance:

• the coaches on the sidelines, each of whom is tracking it for game management purposes, and of which there are several
• the coaches in the box upstairs, of which there are at least two, and for whom down and distance is critical to their contribution
• the markers on the sidelines
• the scoreboards on both ends of the field
• the players themselves

So with all of this input, they somehow got confused because one of the scoreboards was slow to update? Wow.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Of course, if the scoreboard keeper had erred on the other side and the scoreboard said the visitors had one LESS down than they actually had, the criticism would be that someone was trying to confuse the Ravens into thinking they had fewer remaining opportunities.

In the end it's the job of the coaches to be sure their players are aware of the game situation, but I can see the frustration here even though I'm sure this was an honest mistake on the stadium's part.

 

[ivanvamp]

Of course, if the scoreboard keeper had erred on the other side and the scoreboard said the visitors had one LESS down than they actually had, the criticism would be that someone was trying to confuse the Ravens into thinking they had fewer remaining opportunities.

In the end it's the job of the coaches to be sure their players are aware of the game situation, but I can see the frustration here even though I'm sure this was an honest mistake on the stadium's part.

Maybe. Maybe not. Even if it was a diabolical maneuver by the Patriots' staff, it doesn't change the fact that the Ravens' coaching staff should have known what the situation was. I was in the car listening to the game and the national announcer (Dave Sims, I think it was) got it right. I wonder where he got his information from?