Sometimes I don't think that Steve realizes how much faster & more powerful defensive players are, and how much more impact & damage they cause, then when he arrived in the league over 33 years ago or even when he retired almost 20 years ago. I completely disagree with his take on the Suggs penalty. It seemed obvious that he was aiming for Brady's knees and that he was not blocked into him. Now sometimes QBs can be over-demonstrative, to the point of looking like children, when they are asking for a Roughing The Passer flag, but in this case Tom was justified in making sure that the zebra saw beyond the result and into the true intent.
I do agree that the RTP penalties against both Wright & Ngata were ticky-tack, and that in those cases, during which the illegal contact was incidental & harmless, the game would be better-served if the zebras kept their hankies in their pockets. I just wish that Tom would come out & say all this, instead of saying "...that’s an advantage for our offense. I think you just want to make sure the refs … I go hug the ref before the game, ask about his kids and stuff like that. I’m trying to get him on our side." That's weak.
Steve wasn't to merciful to LaMa, who "...yesterday went back to his old routine..." Ouch. I tend to agree, esp. during KOs.
As for his grades, I agree with his take on the offense, but would've given them a B+ because of the botched opportunity at the beginning of the game, taking themselves out of FG range in the 2nd quarter, the sack/TD allowed in the 3rd quarter, and because of their inability to seal the deal in the 4th quarter.
On defense, I again would've given them a B+. 64% allowed on 3rd down is suicidal. "Bend But Don't Break", much like having an OL populated by small, slow, weak technicians, is broken.
And I more strongly disagree with Steve's grade for STs. I saw nothing better than a B-: the punting sucked, the KO returns sucked, and that botched fake FG attempt almost cost us 3 points & maybe the game, had it gone into OT.
