Can someone explain the penalty on Gronkowski catch?

[Art_Vandelay421]

I questioned the call as well on the game day thread yesterday but a couple of the forum "experts" said it was the correct call.

 

[Brewskies]

I believe it was a bad call.
The announcers were absolutely terrible.
Someone asked when Brady shaped the hand of Walt Goodwin if Brady was giving a sign of retiring, the answer is No it was the other way instead.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

That is obscene if true.

Many refs have had a "cooling off" period where they didn't ref a certain team for years.

The two times it was a career-long hiatus was Ben Dreith (Pats) and Walt Coleman (Raiders).

info here: The time has come for Walt Coleman to call a Raiders game

 

[bormio]

Many refs have had a "cooling off" period where they didn't ref a certain team for years.

The two times it was a career-long hiatus was Ben Dreith (Pats) and Walt Coleman (Raiders).

info here: The time has come for Walt Coleman to call a Raiders game

Coleman just righted a terrible wrong

 

[JarOfMayo51]

My wife and I were laughing all afternoon at the commentators. I'm not usually one to care or complain, but these guys were comically bad. The obvious ball bouncing off jet receiver then off the turf then into another jets hands, and one of them scream touchdown! Then hes saying it may have bounced off a leg.

Questioning obvious Pats touchdown by white.

No explanation on gronk catch phantom penalty.

There were many others.

Thats what is so scary about it all.. they are clearly delivering a very specific, agenda driven angle on their broadcast and its always anti-patriots... they are trying to help the audience make up their mind for them, and who to root for.

I've built up quite a tolerance for it over the years (as im sure we all have), but its really old and tiring when its blatantly obvious how bias they are, openly rooting against the Pats.. and is that darker side of football that always makes me scratch my head and wonder about the WWE angle of it all (like 2% of me believes the NFL has some level of WWE manipulation)

 

[TruthSeeker]

I understand why the call was made. Allen initiated contact and ran right over a defender (the defender has the right to the space he is already in) and that defender had started to move up the field probably to cover Gronk. By the letter of the law, that is OPI. That being said, the defender was not actually going to be that close to Gronk and much more blantant OPI is often uncalled.

I won't say it's a bad call but I would say that it's a rare call for this type of infraction. You can also make a case that it shouldn't have been called (based on it not really impacting the play). Personally, I don't think they call OPI nearly enough in general and am happy when it is called even when it hurts my team.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

That was opi but this was just fine apparently

 

[Lavictoire]

This. Huge boos at the stadium after they showed the replay. Bogus call negated a nice play by Gronk.

They wouldn't even show that play on fifth quarter. disclosure,I didn't watch the whole thing but whenever they showed Gronks catches they didn't show the negated play.

 

[TB12GOATQB]

Allen initiated contact and ran right over a defender (the defender has the right to the space he is already in) and that defender had started to move up the field probably to cover Gronk.

Isn't that called blocking ?

 

[Brick27]

Dan Fouts is a senile old clown who struggles to put together anything that resembles a rational thought. Can CBS honestly claim they have nobody to put forward who is more capable than him?

 

[TruthSeeker]

Isn't that called blocking ?

Yes, it is. And blocking a player more than 1 yard downfield in the general area where a pass is attempted and before the ball is caught is called Offensive Pass Interference.

 

[PP2]

I understand why the call was made. Allen initiated contact and ran right over a defender (the defender has the right to the space he is already in) and that defender had started to move up the field probably to cover Gronk. By the letter of the law, that is OPI. That being said, the defender was not actually going to be that close to Gronk and much more blantant OPI is often uncalled.

I won't say it's a bad call but I would say that it's a rare call for this type of infraction. You can also make a case that it shouldn't have been called (based on it not really impacting the play). Personally, I don't think they call OPI nearly enough in general and am happy when it is called even when it hurts my team.

It created no competitive advantage, whatsoever. It didn't even create separation. Horrendous call, period.

 

[bresna]

I re-watched that play several times and I didn't see that Allen initiated contact. It looked like he was simply running out in his pattern, went to make his cut and the Jet defender bumped into him and then that defender grabbed him. It actually looked more like illegal contact on the Jets than OPI on the Pats.

Sure, the defender has his right to space, but so does the receiver. If defenders could do what was done here on every pass play, we'd never have DPI or illegal contact anymore. It would just be the defender "in his space" where the receiver wants to be and OPI on the receiver.

 

[luuked]

That was opi but this was just fine apparently

If you look where the pick happens and where the LOS is then you can see why that is not really OPI. It is pretty much exactly in that 1 yard space that is legal.

 

[1960Pats]

No. The call was inexplicable. My guess is that the ref is an Oakland Raiders fan and was trying to ruin Walt Coleman's last game for the Tuck Rule call in 2002.

That was Walt Coleman's last game? Really? I'm bummed.

Free at last. Free at last. Thank Walt Coleman we're free at last!

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Most interesting fact is Walt Coleman never reffed another raiders game. I'm guessing the ghost of Al Davis had something to do with that. I have a hard time believing any other ref is not reffing a game that has a certain team in it.

IIRC Dreith either never reffed another NE game or didn't for many many years.

 

[1960Pats]

There's a couple of major differences between the Dreith call in 1976 and the Coleman call 25 seasons later.

1) The Coleman call was correct by the book. The Dreith call was not.
2) Coleman never expressed a rooting interest for the team that benefited from his call. Dreith did.

It's odd that the team who proudly expressed the sentiment that "if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin" and wore the black and silver as a sign of their toughness, can then spend nearly two decades whining about a correct call.

 

[PatsFan2]

Dan Fouts is a senile old clown who struggles to put together anything that resembles a rational thought. Can CBS honestly claim they have nobody to put forward who is more capable than him?

Sometimes I forget that Dan Fouts actually played it's been so long. Instead of saying so long...you could actually say it's so Dan Fouts.

 

[goheels22002]

There's a couple of major differences between the Dreith call in 1976 and the Coleman call 25 seasons later.

1) The Coleman call was correct by the book. The Dreith call was not.
2) Coleman never expressed a rooting interest for the team that benefited from his call. Dreith did.

It's odd that the team who proudly expressed the sentiment that "if you ain't cheatin' you ain't tryin" and wore the black and silver as a sign of their toughness, can then spend nearly two decades whining about a correct call.

Walt Coleman was the best thing to ever happen to Ben Dreith. Wasn't there a guy on this board whose name was @Ghost of Ben Dreith ? What happened to that guy? He should at least give a tip of the hat to Walt Coleman on his retirement from the NFL. The real Ben Coleman would have thrown an empty beer bottle at him.

Patriots Honor Walt Coleman

 

[TB12GOATQB]

Yes, it is. And blocking a player more than 1 yard downfield in the general area where a pass is attempted and before the ball is caught is called Offensive Pass Interference.

What if the defender wraps up the offensive player and grabs him for the initial contact?