tell the guy debating you to try his luck with the tuck rule instead.
they NEVER make that call.
90% of fans/media just don't get it: Refs are specifically instructed NOT TO THROW FLAGS UNLESS THEY CLEARLY SEE A VIOLATION....You're not supposed to GUESS...if that flag gets tossed we could be talking about it as one of the worst calls in NFL history.
Example one: If you don't SEE Roethlisberger break the plane in SB40, you're not supposed to award a touchdown. The ref couldn't have seen him break the plane because the slo-mo replay had the same angle as the ref, yet was still definitively INCONCLUSIVE...so how did the ref know for sure he broke the plane?...answer: he didn't, he made an assumption...and awarded points which could not then be taken away. This is the definition of a BAD CALL.
Example two: If you don't see Hobbs touch Wayne in the end zone, you can't throw a flag based on what you THINK happened. Hobbs never touched Wayne, yet refs are instructed not to make ASSUMPTIONS...this is definitively a BAD CALL.
You can't assume Tom was inside the tackle box...you have to be 100% sure he was inside the box at the time he released the ball. If it's too close to call you CAN'T ASSUME IT'S INTENTIONAL GROUNDING.
get it?
Refs are supposed to favor errors of omission over errors of commission....sorry if this goes over your friend's head.
Bottom line FOR EVERY CLUB is this: Sometimes you get the calls and sometimes you don't.
Over the past two years, the Pats have been royally screwed by a litany of blown calls that borders on the conspiratorial. The list is a tad longer than said "intentional grounding" and the fumble reversal due to "arm was going forward" (NOT "TUCK") in the Snow Bowl...but because the Pats are perceived to have been luckier than other teams in years past (anyone who thinks that '01 team was "lucky" has no clue, no team ENDURED MORE than they did...and which teams were more unlucky in the injury departments when they were winning??), but because we THINK they were lucky, we weren't allowed to make any noise about the fact that MAJOR blown calls arguably cost them two rings in the past two years.
enough bull ****
over the past six years the Pats faced the toughest average schedule in the league....won more regular season games (including record win streak)...more playoff games (including record win streak)....THEY KEEP KICKING YOUR ASS BECAUSE THEY'RE BETTER THAN YOUR SCRUB TEAM....YOU'RE NOT UNLUCKY, YOU JUST SUCK....WAKE UP!
