Don't Blame The Refs..Let's Not Go To That Level

[SCPatBoy]

I mean come on guys. Faulk doesn't fumble and they don't have a chance to get the PI call. Yes It was a BAd call, but tonight Denver did to us what we usually do to other teams. Force the Opposing teams to make mistakes and capitalize. Denver did that to us. Faulk, and Hobbs fumbled, Brown...fumbled it happened. I do question why Brown was even returning Punts as Dwight seemed a little crisper at it, but let's not be Colt's Fans and ***** about this and that> We lost the game because we made mistakes and Denver didn't!!

 

[LiquidBlue]

True class...I think. I just read the title.

EDT:

Yea...true class.

 

[desi-patsfan]

I mean come on guys. Faulk doesn't fumble and they don't have a chance to get the PI call. Yes It was a BAd call, but tonight Denver did to us what we usually do to other teams. Force the Opposing teams to make mistakes and capitalize. Denver did that to us. Faulk, and Hobbs fumbled, Brown...fumbled it happened. I do question why Brown was even returning Punts as Dwight seemed a little crisper at it, but let's not be Colt's Fans and ***** about this and that> We lost the game because we made mistakes and Denver didn't!!

i agree. The refs didnt take the game from us. We lost it. 5 turnovers to 1. You cant do that against a good team and you most definatly cant do it in the playoffs. THe broncos just played better than us today.

 

[Johnny Mac]

Certainly not blaming the refs, but the game might've been a whole lot different if they don't hand them that TD.

 

[SCPatBoy]

It was a Bad Call, but it was over we were in the 3rd quarter with the ball on the % yard Line with a chance to go up 13 to 10 and instead a false start penalty, A BRady interception going back to our 1 yard line and the rest is history, with a few more turnovers committed by the Pats for good measure. I'm sorry the Refs didn't cost us this game!

 

[Patti37]

If the refs are making bad calls, you need to play mistake free football. Five turnovers cost the game, not the refs.

Despite the bad calls, the Pats were still in the game until the Bailey interception.

 

[stcjones]

I would respectfully .......

I mean come on guys. Faulk doesn't fumble and they don't have a chance to get the PI call. Yes It was a BAd call, but tonight Denver did to us what we usually do to other teams. Force the Opposing teams to make mistakes and capitalize. Denver did that to us. Faulk, and Hobbs fumbled, Brown...fumbled it happened. I do question why Brown was even returning Punts as Dwight seemed a little crisper at it, but let's not be Colt's Fans and ***** about this and that> We lost the game because we made mistakes and Denver didn't!!

Disagree........the HORRIBLE officiating is not the SOLE reason why we lost this game.......The primary reason we lost is that we SHOT OURSELVES IN THE FOOT on every possible occasion. That having been said....when officiating is that terribly biased, one sided, and just plain flat out wrong...it certainly helped the Broncs win.

 

[BelichickFan]

The refs sucked, no doubt. But Faulk's fumble was THE PLAY. And after that, Brady's INT. The worst ref call doesn't happen without Faulk's fumble. I love Faulk but he just can't be trusted. Tiki learned a new grip and stopped fumbling, I wish Kevin could.

 

[buile]

> when officiating is that terribly biased, one sided, and just plain flat out wrong...

It's just part of the game. Every team, especially World Champions have to overcome it.

I agree with SCPatBoy. We were beat by Turnovers, not that Interference call.

 

[PATSNUTme]

Not blaming the refs for the loss. I am blaming the refs for being totally incompetent and they should be blamed for that.

 

[devour]

We need to lose with dignity. Give the Denver Broncos credit. They forced 3 TOs and was opportunistic on the other 2 TOs. The better team won last night, no question about it. Sure the refs sucked, but if we were good enough, we would've overcome the officiating.

 

[Michael]

I mean come on guys. Faulk doesn't fumble and they don't have a chance to get the PI call. Yes It was a BAd call, but tonight Denver did to us what we usually do to other teams. Force the Opposing teams to make mistakes and capitalize. Denver did that to us. Faulk, and Hobbs fumbled, Brown...fumbled it happened. I do question why Brown was even returning Punts as Dwight seemed a little crisper at it, but let's not be Colt's Fans and ***** about this and that> We lost the game because we made mistakes and Denver didn't!!

But, you don't get to pretend it had nothing to do with it either. 5 turnovers and 2 very bad calls that was to Denver's benefit (would have been 3 if BB didn't challenge the Plummer pick) is what killed any momentum and control the Pats had up to that first very late flag on a penalty not one expert local or national agrees with. As a matter of fact the consensus was Offensive PI. Imagine if he was not interfered with and picked the ball in the end zone. What Pats team would have come out in the second half after that? Quite possibly being up 10-0. The first fumble was a mistake, but that bogus PI call that put Denver on the 1 is what took the wind out of the Pats sails. I think the following turnovers were a direct result of trying to make big plays while playing catch up. So yes I do not discount that very bogus late flag by the official further away then an official standing right there.

 

[mgteich]

The refs made three horrible calls in the first half
1) the no interception call (overturned)
1) the pass interference call (7 points)
2) the missed illegal procedure on the long field goal (3 points)
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But that was in the first half. I do believe that ther refs favored the pats in the second half. I thought that there could have been at least two pass interference calls that weren't called (against Hawkins and Samuel).

The interception wasn't the refs fault, but even there if they call the fumble going out through the end zone, there would have been a 7 point difference.

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Bottom line, the difference was the interception and Troy's fumble.

 

[Richter]

We need to lose with dignity. Give the Denver Broncos credit. They forced 3 TOs and was opportunistic on the other 2 TOs. The better team won last night, no question about it. Sure the refs sucked, but if we were good enough, we would've overcome the officiating.

Forced 3 turnovers? One great pick by Champ Bailey, a pick on a desperation heave that should have resulted in pass interference, one flat out muffed punt, one dropped ball in traffic by Faulk and one ball squirting out by Hobbs when he gets hit by a kicker. Sounds more like 1.5, 2 tops that they forced. Way too many of the turnovers were flat out concentration lapses, not some great play by the Denver defense.

 

[PATSNUTme]

The refs made three horrible calls in the first half
1) the no interception call (overturned)
1) the pass interference call (7 points)
2) the missed illegal procedure on the long field goal (3 points)
------------------------------
But that was in the first half. I do believe that ther refs favored the pats in the second half. I thought that there could have been at least two pass interference calls that weren't called (against Hawkins and Samuel).

The interception wasn't the refs fault, but even there if they call the fumble going out through the end zone, there would have been a 7 point difference.

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Bottom line, the difference was the interception and Troy's fumble.

I've seen Champ's fumble 20+ times. It did cross the plane of the end zone and then out of bounds. Should have been Patriots ball on their 20 and no points for the Bronco's.

 

[Michael]

The interception wasn't the refs fault, but even there if they call the fumble going out through the end zone, there would have been a 7 point difference.

It was a touchback and if was called correctly would have given the Pats the ball back at their twenty. They end up scoring as a result of that and Denver doesn't get another easy 7 that's a 14 point difference. Which makes the score tied at that point.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

Disagree........the HORRIBLE officiating is not the SOLE reason why we lost this game.......The primary reason we lost is that we SHOT OURSELVES IN THE FOOT on every possible occasion. That having been said....when officiating is that terribly biased, one sided, and just plain flat out wrong...it certainly helped the Broncs win.

That's one area where I thing baseball has its act together better than football, i.e., officiating. Baseball has salaried professional umpires, whereas football has guys paid by the game. So, you get weekend warrior refs that are "doctors, lawyers or indian chiefs" the rest of the week. The other thing is that Denver is out there by itself in the NFL, geographically speaking, so I have to wonder if you do get mostly locals (homers). In the East, potential refs can easily drive to Foxborough, NYC, Philly, or several other NFL cities from a lot of the region. Fer chrissakes, when Phil Simms and the Indy Star board immediately start in with the "BS call", well, it was. Pats would have overcome that call if they didn't turn it over so much, but who needs it, and the fact that it was sooooo friggin' late.

 

[State]

That blown call gave the Broncos an easy score. That's big.

Come on, guys. The blown call even raised the dander of fair-minded CBS analyst Phil Simms. It's a call that should have never been made--unless for offensive interference.

Probably the Broncos get stopped by the stud Patriots defense and only kick a field goal. It's 3-3. Much better than 3-7.

It was almost as bad as Ray "Sugar Bear" Hamilton's roughing the passer penalty in 1976.

Like that, this awful call changed the complexion of the game. Remember, easy scores, which we gave plenty to the Broncos, really gets the home crowd going.

The ref doesn't make that call we don't lose by nearly as much. In fact, an argument can be made that putting the Broncos in catch-u mode would have forced them into plays that would have increased the likelihood of their making mistakes. After all, we scored first.

How many times have the Broncos been behind at home? This game was ours. We lost to an inferior team because they didn't make mistakes (except for the obvious interception by Asante Samuel--What the heck were the refs thinking on that play?) and we made five. Five.

Also, they got help by bad calls and non-calls.

Anyone else see Champ Bailey's obvious facemask on Andre' Davis on the 51-yard gainer? Or the false start on the field goal that wasn't called?

The refs tried their best--they just didn't have a very good game, either.

Next week the Broncos get their arse handed to them by the Colts (or Steelers). They. Are. Not. Very. Good.

That game turned my stomach. That late flag did too. It turned a hostile environment into more of one. Ultimate blame lies with the turnovers, but that call was a bigger deal than the fumble, as bad as that was.

 

[dhamz]

It is ridiculous that the NFL and the networks who spend all that $ producing games do not have a camera on both sides of the goaline that can give us a definitive view of whether Bailey's fumble went over the goalline or not.

I think logically that a guy who has one foot inside the 1 (his foot was about to hit the pylon) and gets hit and fumbles forward probably fumbled through the end zone but who knows. There was no camera angle that showed it so there was no way to reverse the call. In the same way, they could never have changed it if it was ruled a touchback.

Because they don't have cameras permanently set up on the goaline the critical call of a game was left to officials none of whom had a great angle because thay are running full speed.

 

[State]

What was the camera on the blimp doing on Bailey's touchback?

I have this bad feeling that we'll see covincing footage of Champ Bailey's fumble being a touchback too late. Like today or tomorrow. From the freakin' dirigible. Why can't the blimp be useful for something other than stadium shots?

I agree on the previous post. The technology is still imperfect. That was probably a touchback. It's too bad the footage didn't include an overhead shot that would have made it certain one way or other.