Ben Watson's tweet to the commish

[TB_Helmet]

I'm not saying the league did rig it. But it's not as though the theory is "man didn't land on the moon" foolish either. Whenever I so much as glance at the crap most conspiracy theories are assembled from they fall apart pretty quick, this one not so much. So if you can give me a plausible explanation for how not one but four separate officials whose responsibilities would have put them in position to see that play all 'missed' it I will gladly consider it.

Fair enough, appreciate that this one stands out for you.

They missed it because there was human error. Officials are fallible. They made a mistake. I've only seen the one official right in front of the play (although I haven't done a thorough analysis). He's the primary culprit. Maybe the other three were deferring to him. Maybe they blinked. If you think there's a 20% chance the main guy gets it wrong, and a 50-50 chance that the other three guys miss it, and there's a 10% chance the main guy gets it wrong, then there's a 1.25% chance of them screwing up on that play. That's a low probability, but it's not so low that you'd say "well it's more likely that there's a conspiracy" given that there are hundreds of plays over the course of the season maybe each of which have a similar chance of going horribly wrong.

The other reasons are that if you think that most conspiracy theories are dumb (i.e. the NFL wanted the Patriots to win in 2001 because of 9/11) then why is "The NFL wants the Rams to go to the Super Bowl" the one that breaks through? Certainly there have been many things the NFL would like to have happen that didn't, moreso than they wanted an LA team in the Super Bowl. I get that they're trying to promote the new stadium and such, but I doubt that they'd risk the worst scandal in NFL history for something like that, especially because the Rams will be good for the foreseeable future. I think it's backwards reasoning, like we're trying to find why the ref would throw the game like that and settled on "well the NFL must want the LA team in the Super Bowl" (something which nobody was saying ahead of time).

Also, if the refs are under orders to make sure one team doesn't win, it's gonna happen earlier than the game deciding play. It's be too obvious at that point. It'd be a penalty in the first quarter to extend the Rams drive, and things like that. It's not that one ref making a split second decision that "oh **** I'm under orders to make sure the Rams win, I better not call this pass interference because that means the Saints will have a chance to run the clock out and hope they make the field goal!"

Just my .02.

 

[Sciz]

That was literally a career-ending blown call for Watson, so he probably deserves to be the most upset of anybody.

 

[PatsWSB47]

"Goodell"and "integrity" should never be allowed to be in the same sentence, tweet, paragraph or book.

 

[venecol]

I wonder how many patriot fans would have "over reacted " if something similar happened to the Pats, say during the SB? I also wonder how many non-pat fans would be as disgusted with the non-call as they are with this one.

My guess: most of them and none.

 

[Wheelman]

Lol! Does Ben Watson realize who he's trying to talk to? It's like talking to a wall!

 

[Vindicate]

A game should never come down to a single call.

That ignores the entire narrative that lead you to depending on a ref. Which is terrible strategy.

So many times after a Pats loss, I want to chalk it up to a bad call (2015 AFCCG, holding in SB, etc.,) But you should never be depending on the refs for a win. Period. Ice up, son.

 

[mosi]

Every team thinks they got shafted, just like every guy in Attica thinks they got shafted...

 

[Shockt327]

Sorry, but Ben Watson has it bass-ackwards. The NFL - for decades and decades - has been full of controversial plays/calls in big games. That's sports, that's football, fans will be fans; but that's not the problem here. The real problem? Prior to Goodell, no player/fan would ever expect the commissioner to publicly comment on something like this; let alone take action to correct it. But Goodell, from day 1, has sought out publicity for himself and has made himself the spokesman for the the league itself; and that's the underbelly of all this backlash. Goodell has repeatedly stuck his nose into problems, made a public spectacle of it, and has tried to correct the problem (which has already been blown way out of proportion) by playing the role of Judge/Jury/Executioner and punishing players/teams to an extreme degree. So, now, when simple human-error impacts a play; people sincerely want Goodell to "fix" the problem by going to an unprecedented extreme of scheduling a re-match; and if not that, at least publicly acknowledge how wrong the whole situation is, who is to blame, and what rule will be changed to make sure it never happens again, etc. That's the real reason why the backlash has blown up this big; people, even players like Ben Watson, expect Goodell to do things a commissioner shouldn't do.

 

[TommyD4207]

Geez, the whole NFL fandom wants this replayed huh?

I know I do.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

NFL wanted brees Brady Super Bowl? Nah, more plausible to me would be rams chiefs Super Bowl. Supports la stadium, gives. God dell opt to hand Lamar hunt trophy to the hunt family and puts two high scoring exciting offenses on the big stage. Plenty of storylines, but I don’t believe in conspiracies

 

[RobertWeathers]

i was hesitant to read his comments, since my love and respect for BW , didn't want to taint that view of him but watson is correct, Goodell silence is deafening, he should at least address it for the better of overall of the league , as you know, brady was suspended for less, do it for the integrity of the league

Goodell has a complete inability to find a balanced voice or position in any controversial situation. When a situation requires real leadership he either overreacts or does nothing. He's awful.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I hate Goodell as much as anyone, aside from Joker, but I'm not sure what people expect him to say. The ref screwed up. It sucks, but it happens.

How about fixing the problem? They've invested heavily in all this training, replay equipment and now full time refs and they still blow basic calls

 

[Seacoast Fan]

Fair enough, appreciate that this one stands out for you.

They missed it because there was human error. Officials are fallible. They made a mistake. I've only seen the one official right in front of the play (although I haven't done a thorough analysis). He's the primary culprit. Maybe the other three were deferring to him. Maybe they blinked. If you think there's a 20% chance the main guy gets it wrong, and a 50-50 chance that the other three guys miss it, and there's a 10% chance the main guy gets it wrong, then there's a 1.25% chance of them screwing up on that play. That's a low probability, but it's not so low that you'd say "well it's more likely that there's a conspiracy" given that there are hundreds of plays over the course of the season maybe each of which have a similar chance of going horribly wrong.

The other reasons are that if you think that most conspiracy theories are dumb (i.e. the NFL wanted the Patriots to win in 2001 because of 9/11) then why is "The NFL wants the Rams to go to the Super Bowl" the one that breaks through? Certainly there have been many things the NFL would like to have happen that didn't, moreso than they wanted an LA team in the Super Bowl. I get that they're trying to promote the new stadium and such, but I doubt that they'd risk the worst scandal in NFL history for something like that, especially because the Rams will be good for the foreseeable future. I think it's backwards reasoning, like we're trying to find why the ref would throw the game like that and settled on "well the NFL must want the LA team in the Super Bowl" (something which nobody was saying ahead of time).

Also, if the refs are under orders to make sure one team doesn't win, it's gonna happen earlier than the game deciding play. It's be too obvious at that point. It'd be a penalty in the first quarter to extend the Rams drive, and things like that. It's not that one ref making a split second decision that "oh **** I'm under orders to make sure the Rams win, I better not call this pass interference because that means the Saints will have a chance to run the clock out and hope they make the field goal!"

Just my .02.

One point in follow up on your very last comment....if you watch Inside the NFL on the game, before The drive where the blown call happen, Sean Payton tells brees, literally, I don’t want to just kill some clock and kick a field gold. We need a touchdown. Brees agreed emphatically. Then The blown call happens. Saints should have had the ball at about the 10 yard line. All the saints fans are ticked that their team did not then have a chance to simply run out the ball from there and kick a field goal but that is what the coach said they were NOT going to do. That’s why the blown call happened in the first place and also why you cannot assume the Saints were going to win that game without the blown call, as bad as it was.

 

[stcjones]

Hell you could write a book on all the blatant holding calls and other penalties that were let go during the SB....one ref was seen pulling out a flag.....getting ready to throw ...then putting back in pocket. The non call holds on the Gint OL during the the helmet catch will go down in infamy for ref errors


QUOTE="Vindicate, post: 5511860, member: 36747"]A game should never come down to a single call.

That ignores the entire narrative that lead you to depending on a ref. Which is terrible strategy.

So many times after a Pats loss, I want to chalk it up to a bad call (2015 AFCCG, holding in SB, etc.,) But you should never be depending on the refs for a win. Period. Ice up, son.[/QUOTE]

 

[borg]

What magic words is Watson expecting?

Such an egregious non-call during a critical period of the game....but......how can the powers that govern the sport give one play more value than the other 135 in that game.

A missed holding call in the 1st quarter that would have negated a first down impacts the outcome.
Failure to flag a pick play in the 2nd quarter impacts the game
Etc
Etc
Etc

I sympathize with the Saints and I certainly enjoy any attempt to publicly embarrass Goodell....but from a big picture perspective, the NFL cannot overturn an outcome based on one play without scrutinizing every play equally.

-------------------------------------------------------------

OT: I haven't been following this drama too closely. Has the media outed the specific ref or refs that blew this non-call?
Have any statements been given by the ref(s) as to why he (they) didn't throw a flag? When I first saw the replay that showed the pass coming straight toward the camera (and the sideline judge), I had a depth perception issue. From that angle, I found it difficult to judge if the ball had passed the intended target before or after the hit. While the sideline judge may have had this same depth perception issue, there is no excuse for the other refs to miss this call from their vantage points.

I suspect the NFL will wait for a quiet period before disciplining/axing the negligent refs.

OT 2.0: Dorsett was mugged in the end zone prior to making his great catch. Correct procedure would require a penalty flag to be thrown despite the successful catch. None were thrown....forcing me to wonder: were these refs negligent, lazy, or governed by "playoff rules."
Imagine if Dorsett dropped the ball and no flag was tossed....essentially preventing NE from ever getting to OT.
Imagine if this TD catch was reviewed and replay showed a reversible call......with no penalty flag thrown to protect NE's interests?
Would the country care as much?
Mediots would have have stuffed their outrage neatly into their back pockets while dancing on NE's grave.

Two games....two blown PI calls.......refs weren't handling the playoff pressure

 

[Kontradiction]

Meh. I get where he's coming from, but what's an apology going to do? They blew the call. They'll use this to look at making missed calls or calls in general reviewable in the offseason and they'll probably go through with it. Is an apology going to make anyone feel better? No.

 

[mosslost]

I can't imagine a worse precedent to set than to have Goodell decide which games should be replayed. Just take the L, Ben.

I hate Goodell, but he is in a Lose Lose on this one if HE speaks on it. They could have maybe the Director of Referrees, or the head of the competition committee make a comment, but ANYTHING Goodell says on will become a lightning rod.

 

[mosslost]

When we played pick up football in the neighborhood that play was legal. And we liked it.

 

[mosslost]

I'm aware this could be posted in the NFL forum.....but felt it might not get the necessary clicks it deserved. Well said.....

This is starting to get some serious play

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Baseball had something similar in the World Series



It was an obvious wrong call, that cost the Cardinals game 6, which would have given them the WS. Instead the Royals came back won game 6 (by the guy that Denkinger called safe scoring the tying run) and then game 7. Now baseball get these calls right. Of course baseball calls are much more black and white than football calls.

You can't legislate judgment calls, but I think the CFL has a decent rule that you can challenge a PI call, and if it is obvious, they call PI (or overturn the PI call). Any rule change would have to be for PI and PI only, as there is holding on every play. Same amount of challenges, just allow for PI to be challenged.

But Watson is right, that rat bastard Goodell needs to speak about this, even if he came out and said, refs are imperfect and they missed the call, we will try and do better and maybe sugguest that the competition committee look into a way to address egregious errors such as this one. But his silence basically fuels the conspiracy theories.