Official Game thread: Patriots-Bills 11/23

DaBruinz said:

Considering that the 1st Watkins catch (The one reviewed) he was down by contact in bounds, the clock should have started immediately. It didn't. So the game shod have been over before the 2nd watkinscarch since they got about 15 seconds free.

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So true. I get the inadvertent whistle, it sucked but it happens. Ref lost track of the ball.

But the butchering of the time clock was egregious.

moejr said:

These kind of games make my arse pucker and start grabbing at the seat cushion

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Buckle up, buttercup. We're just halfway through (hopefully).

patchick said:

I presume that they ruled that the player had given himself up/stopped attempting to advance by sitting down and scooting sideways. That would mark the end of the play, in bounds.

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He went down and then scooted backward to get out of bounds. That isn't allowable and the refs called it right.

XLIX said:

He didn't give himself up and no one touched him.

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Why do you say that he didn't give himself up? I would have thought that sitting on your butt and making no attempt to get up or advance the ball would constitute exactly that. Like taking a knee, it's a deliberate choice on the ballcarrier's part to go to the ground and not move forward.

sambam94 said:

felger is actually right, the guy covering danny let up when the whistle blew, he would have made the tackle

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That tackle was by no means a gimme.

I'd like to see Vollmer put at LT going forward

sambam94 said:

felger is actually right, the guy covering danny let up when the whistle blew, he would have made the tackle

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After watching it a few time I agree. The defender stopped. Good chance he made that tackle. But Danny is pretty shifty so we will never know.

PrairiePat said:

I think everyone on this crew just lost their chances to work the Superbowl this year...

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If the NFL wants anyone from Steratore's crew working the Super Bowl they'll just wipe away any bad grades. It happened with Jerome Boger three years ago so he could officiate SB 47.

NFL fixed grades for desired Super Bowl ref | Football Zebras

Officials question NFL's process for selecting Super Bowl referee

"Integrity of the game."

It happened in garbage time anyway, so who cares?

JMC00 said:

Watkins fell down with the ball inbounds for the clock to stop he has to either have the ball out of bounds when he goes down or he has to go entirely out of bounds before falling down.

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I don't understand. A player who falls down untouched can get up or keep rolling around. We see it all the time. In this case, the player went down and then rolled out of bounds. If he was near the goal line he could have rolled over the the line for a TD. How was this different?

Amazing how far down the depth chart they've gone to on a few positions and still patch together a win. The bills have some talented players on defense and the offensive line was........ umm, good enough. The WR situation scares me, as that wasn't deep and may be paper thin now.

It's good to have a little breathing room in the AFC going in to Denver. Hopefully both the fish and Pats win next week and we clinch the division.

Would like to know why Gronk was on Oxygen

Mainepatsfan54 said:

ESPN has no standards. They even accept murderers.

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On the contrary, that IS the standard.

@XLIX - You can disagree all you want, doesn't make you correct. You clearly don't know the rules like you think you do.

On the play that was reviewed, Watkins was down by contact in bounds. By rule, as soon as they started the play clock, the game clock should have started. The game clock didn't start until the ball was snapped. There were about 10 seconds left on the play clock (so they got a free 15 seconds). That's why the game should have been over long before the Watkins butt slide.

patchick said:

Why do you say that he didn't give himself up? I would have thought that sitting on your butt and making no attempt to get up or advance the ball would constitute exactly that. Like taking a knee, it's a deliberate choice on the ballcarrier's part to go to the ground and not move forward.

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Giving yourself up is when you take a knee or slide or otherwise stay on the ground with the desire to end the play. It has nothing to do with being on the ground or not attempting to advance the ball. You're allowed to run sideways or backwards or, in this case, stretch sideways for the sideline.

It's a judgement call, but I think it's pretty obvious that he wasn't trying to end the play, he was trying to reach for the sidelines to stop the clock.

Hey we protected Robert Edwards' TD streak from Williams! Pop the champagne!

moejr said:

Would like to know why Gronk was on Oxygen

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They ran out of helium.

DaBruinz said:

@XLIX - You can disagree all you want, doesn't make you correct. You clearly don't know the rules like you think you do.

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I know the rules in this case, which is apparently better than you. The player was not touched and should have been permitted to be out of bounds.

DaBruinz said:

On the play that was reviewed, Watkins was down by contact in bounds.

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I am not talking about that play. I am talking about the final play of the game.

raduray said:

I don't understand. A player who falls down untouched can get up or keep rolling around. We see it all the time. In this case, the player wend down and then rolled out of bounds. If he was near the goal line he could have rolled of the the line for a TD. How was this different?

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Contrary to what some others in here are saying, your interpretation is entirely correct. The key part of this situation is that no one touched Watkins. Therefore he can roll around to his heart's delight forwards, backwards or sideways.

He was obviously not surrendering himself. Therefore he is not down, and the play is not over, until he is touched by a Patriot or goes out of bounds. Since no one touched him, the play should have ended when he went out of bounds, stopping the clock.

Incompetence at its finest