I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying and it's causing problems.
I'm not saying Faulk had possession on the first touch. I'm saying that because he didnt is exactly the reason why you cant count that spot as forward progress, and you have to then judge when he DID have possession, which is a judgement call up to the refs on the field, and one that they may have missed, but not by a lot.
Again, I repeat. If Faulk couldve just caught the ball cleanly on that first touch, the game wouldve been over and this would not be a discussion. But because he bobbled it, and very close to the first down line at that, he forced the refs to try and determine WHEN he regained full possession, which has to take into account him controlling the ball with his hands, and having both feed on the ground. He had one foot up during his regaining the ball, and then was hit by Bullitt.
Again, Im not saying he didnt get the 1st, I think he probably did. But when you take all this into account, it is not hard to see how the official on the field could make a mistake and again, this spot was not some huge travesty as many are making it out to be.
It was a close play, at a key time, and unfortunately, the Pats had no way to review it due to some strange time out calls on 1st and 2nd downs.