The official Patriots vs Steelers POST game thread

[DaBruinz]

Tully was clearly being held when Ben chucked his garbage TD. But the one that really frosted me was the contact with Edleman after the fair catch. There is no such thing as incidental contact in that instance...but suddenly they were gonna let it go right in front of them and the broadcast crew actually applauded the "non call"...

That one also ticked me off. I hope the hell Belichick reams the Commish a new one in his synopsis of this game because it was clear the Refs did everything they could to not call penalties on the Steelers.

 

[Joker]

Do people think there are an unlimited number of great kickers available that just happen not to be on a team?

The guys a good veteran with one of the highest field goal percentages ever, plus there's a new snapper in there. Why not show him a little confidence and see if he turns out decent?

I can imagine the likelihood of success dropping a kicker every week for increasingly poor prospects. Must give you confidence knowing you'll be dropped at the first mistake.

the guy is a pro...you can't listen to these nutjob complainers,Ray...they complain about anything win or lose

 

[DaBruinz]

At one point he sounded mad that the Pats were winning.

Collinsworth has always hated the Pats and Belichick.

 

[DaBruinz]

Wow if they were in that order his leg was getting tired

Yep, they were in that order. Not only was his leg getting tired, but the ball was getting colder as well.

 

[Joker]

That one also ticked me off. I hope the hell Belichick reams the Commish a new one in his synopsis of this game because it was clear the Refs did everything they could to not call penalties on the Steelers.

like I said...DO NOT watch the replay on DVR...you'll smash your LCD or plasma....it's flat out disgusting what those ....jeez...what do you call blatant fixers?...criminals?...were doing in the 4th quarter

 

[DaBruinz]

like I said...DO NOT watch the replay on DVR...you'll smash your LCD or plasma....it's flat out disgusting what those ....jeez...what do you call blatant fixers?...criminals?...were doing in the 4th quarter

Oh, I know, Joker. Like I said, I hope that Belichick reams the league a new one because it was so blatantly obvious...

Also, each week I become more and more convinced that the league doesn't actually have a clear policy on what constitutes defensive pass interference and what constitutes offensive pass interference.

Mike Wallace CLEARLY interfered with Meriweather, who had position, going for the interception, yet Meriweather got called.

Gronkowski gets called for offensive PI even though it's the defensive player who clearly interferes with Gronkowski's attempt to cut to the right by initiating contact with Gronkowski. That's illegal contact downfield or PI.

 

[Kontradiction]

Excuse me while I eat some crow...

1. I had this game chalked up as a loss. The team made me look like a dumbass. And I've rarely been happier to look like a dumbass.

2. If we come out and play like we did on both defense and offense tonight, we're going to be extremely hard to beat. On defense, we played disciplined two-gap defense. The guys knew their assignments and executed them extremely well. On offense, well, it's Brady. When Brady is being Brady, we're golden. The execution was great on both sides of the ball.

3. Does anybody want to complain about James Sanders now? Made the hit of the game (albeit one that he'll probably get fined for) by knocking Ward out of the game and made a big time heads-up interception. This is why we keep him around.

4. Let's keep it up. Great QB and solid team coming into Foxboro this weekend. Hopefully the team doesn't get complacent and comes out looking for blood against the Colts.

 

[Joker]

Oh, I know, Joker. Like I said, I hope that Belichick reams the league a new one because it was so blatantly obvious...

Also, each week I become more and more convinced that the league doesn't actually have a clear policy on what constitutes defensive pass interference and what constitutes offensive pass interference.

Mike Wallace CLEARLY interfered with Meriweather, who had position, going for the interception, yet Meriweather got called.

Gronkowski gets called for offensive PI even though it's the defensive player who clearly interferes with Gronkowski's attempt to cut to the right by initiating contact with Gronkowski. That's illegal contact downfield or PI.

yeah...I said the EXACT same thing when they called Gronkowski but then I began focusing on the Pittsburgh offensive holding and post game on DVR ,it's SHOCKING..this game was blatantly being manipulated by that crew...I've never seen that head referee before either...I think network TV is calling shots on these national games

 

[Ring 6]

The only part that kept ticking me off was Collinsworth and Michaels calling it a "helmet to helmet" hit. The only "helmet" of Sanders that might have hit Ward's would have been the one between Sanders' legs. Sanders' football helmet didn't come close to hitting Ward's. The other thing is that Ward put his head down and tried to lead with it.

I thought the same thing but in the replay you can see that his helmet does graze Wards helmet. Sanders is on the way up, and Ward on the way down, but first glancing contact is h to h.

 

[DaBruinz]

3. Does anybody want to complain about James Sanders now? Made the hit of the game (albeit one that he'll probably get fined for) by knocking Ward out of the game and made a big time heads-up interception. This is why we keep him around.

Sanders should not get fined for that hit. Ward lowered his head and hit Sanders in the chest. I know Collinsworth and Michaels kept claiming that there was Helmet to Helmet contact, but the replay showed otherwise.

The league needs to force players to all switch to the more protective helmets and mouth pieces. There are at least 4 different concussion reducing helmets out there, some of which are being used, but there are still too many players who don't. And they no longer have the excuse about the over-shells because 2 of the 4 helmets are the style that aren't the over-shells.

 

[RayClay]

the guy is a pro...you can't listen to these nutjob complainers,Ray...they complain about anything win or lose

It just cracks me up. We've seen teams have to pick up kickers and end up with guys that look like they're coming back from nervous breakdowns. I'd say Graham is probably better than some starters in the league, most likely.

New holder too. We've had the luxury of not having to think about these things for years, so hopefully they'll settle in fine.

 

[Kontradiction]

Sanders should not get fined for that hit. Ward lowered his head and hit Sanders in the chest. I know Collinsworth and Michaels kept claiming that there was Helmet to Helmet contact, but the replay showed otherwise.

The league needs to force players to all switch to the more protective helmets and mouth pieces. There are at least 4 different concussion reducing helmets out there, some of which are being used, but there are still too many players who don't. And they no longer have the excuse about the over-shells because 2 of the 4 helmets are the style that aren't the over-shells.

I don't think that he should get fined either. But there was some definite helmet-to-helmet contact there. Granted, it was accidental. But, with the rules being enforced the way they are, it wouldn't surprise me to see Baddell fine him.

 

[DaBruinz]

Something that hasn't been mentioned. Brady hit 8 different receivers tonight.

Also, I want to say that I loved Brady calling his own number at the Goal-line when the Steelers were lazing around...

 

[tombonneau]

I thought the same thing but in the replay you can see that his helmet does graze Wards helmet. Sanders is on the way up, and Ward on the way down, but first glancing contact is h to h.

I hope the league calms down and stops issuing fines for what is clearly incidental and non-intentional h2h hits (sanders/ward being a perfect example.) If an offensive player moves his head down after a defender has put his body in motion for a tackle that should not be fined.

 

[Joker]

It just cracks me up. We've seen teams have to pick up kickers and end up with guys that look like they're coming back from nervous breakdowns. I'd say Graham is probably better than some starters in the league, most likely.

New holder too. We've had the luxury of not having to think about these things for years, so hopefully they'll settle in fine.

AND....(here it comes)...NEW LONG SNAPPER

did you see these guys tonight???they were terrible and we almost lost!!!!!!!!

 

[reflexblue]

From what I saw it was incidental contact between sanders face mask and wards helmet. But that most likely wont cut any ice with the commish. It was a great win, good night.

 

[Joker]

of course the launching at Brady's knees by that insane person Harrison is OK,right Omish?

 

[Kontradiction]

of course the launching at Brady's knees by that insane person Harrison is OK,right Omish?

Oh yeah, that won't be given a second thought this week. Watch.

 

[SVN]

Collinsworth has always hated the Pats and Belichick.

he has been quite complimentary also especially 2 yrs ago when he went to foxboro to breakdown the ari-pitt superbowl with BB.

 

[jmt57]

From a Pittsburgh fan:

NFL from the sidelines: Post-New England thoughts

It was a humbled group in the Steelers locker room following the team's 39-26 loss Sunday night to the New England Patriots.

And it should have been.

The Steelers were soundly beaten in every phase of the game.

Heck, the Patriots even ran for 103 yards.

You knew going in that New England's offense was going to score some points. That's what the Patriots do.

But Pittsburgh's offense took nearly two quarters to finally adjust to playing without wide receiver Hines Ward, who was knocked out of the game with a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit – that was not penalized – by safety James Sanders.

By the time that happened, the Steelers had already dropped three passes in the end zone and Jeff Reed had missed a 26-yard field goal, a chip-shot by any definition.

You can't beat good teams doing that.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed one of 10 passes attempts to wide receivers in the first half.

The Steelers were fortunate to be down just 10-3 at that point.