very. very simple. The 2nd replay clearly shows when Faulk gains possession. And that is when contact is made by the Colts LB. A good reference is to watch the helmet of Faulk. You notice the Colts LB make contact with his helmet. By this time Faulk has possession. It also show that Faulk had possession after he initially bobbled it and pulled it into his chest. Once in his chest, he has possession. When you reference those two facts, which they are, to the first angle you see that all those three things happen (ball corralled into chest, LB contact with Faulk and LB hand on Helmet) all occur when Faulk left leg lands on the 30 yard line. And it is also evident that Faulks left leg is in front of the rest of his body. Hence the ball is past the 30 yard line which was the first down marker.
Fact is that it was a matter of inches. Alot of the blame can be pointed to the Pats for wasting their TO's, resulting in them not being able to challenge it. But another issue is the fact that the Ref who made the spot, claimed that Faulk was bobbling the ball the whole way to the ground. That was impossible for his to see since Faulk back was towards him and there is no way he could have seen that. Especially since it did not happen. There was another referee in the vicinity who had a clearer look, although farther away from the play then the other ref, at the front of Faulk and should have had a better idea of when Faulk corralled the ball. There was no discussion or conference from the refs. I think that was the bigger mistake. The ref who made the spot did not have the best viewpoint to make that call and they never discussed it with the ref who may have had the better view.
