Penalties:
Q1 13:20, BLT 19: New England: encroachment on Banta-Cain (3rd and 10)
Made it 3rd and 5, Balt converted on the next play. By Ray Lewis' definition, that's 7 points that the Ravens don't deserve since the drive was extended by a third down penalty
Q1 11:59, NE 44: Baltimore: False start on Gaither (1st and 10)
Q1 10:12. NE 42, New England: Encroachment on Thomas (3rd and 8) (declined)
3 of the first 4 penalties were on the Pats! Conspiracy! Bias! No, wait, we're rational human beings who aren't deluded enough to think like that. Moving on...
Q1 7:28. NE 15, Baltimore: Delay of game on Flacco (3rd and 15)
Baltimore scored a TD on the next play.
Q1 3:35. BLT 37, Baltimore: roughing the passer on Ngata (3rd and 9)
Not a huge fan of the rule, but it was called correctly and the EXACT same penalty got called on Mike Wright later in the game, so it's not like it disproportionately hurt the Ravens.
Q2 15:00. BLT 1, New England: false start on Dan Koppen (1st and goal).
If this had been the Ravens, apparently they would have imploded, failed to score, then spent the next 24 hours talking about how it was the refs' fault. Instead, the Pats, being men, just said **** it and scored two plays later when Brady ran it down Ray Lewis' throat. That three play sequence succintly demonstrates why the Patriots are the Patriots and the Ravens are the Ravens.
Q2, 8:10. BLT 40, New England: Offensive pass interference on Moss. (declined)
See, I don't like offensive pass interference rules as they are currently called. I think that the push-off is called
way too frequently against big receivers. If a team wants to trot out midget CBs against tall WRs, then that's what they're setting themselves up for. That said, whether I like the rule or not, it is what it is and it was called correctly. I can separate the fact that the rule exists from the fact that I don't like it, something that most Ravens fans seem completely incapable of.
Q2, 7:11. BLT 25, Baltimore: Intentional grounding on Flacco (3rd and 5)
I saw some Ravens fans bringing this call up as proof of a Patriots bias, which is beyond stupid. Intentional grounding rules have been exactly as they are for ages. If every penalty called against your team is a conspiracy, then no wonder you guys end up seeing things the way you do.
Q2, 5:16. BLT 43, Baltimore: roughing the passer on Terrell Suggs (2nd and 11)
Notice how that penalty was on SECOND and 11? Granted, Ray Lewis is an idiot, so it's pretty much expected when he mangles the facts in his half-******ed attempt at explaining away the loss, but that wasn't on third down, as he said. Two plays before that, Brady hit moss for 16 yards. The very next play, he hit Welker for 15, and the play after that Morris gashed the Ravens on a 12 yard scoring run. The penalty was correctly called, and even if it hadn't been it was far from a sure thing that the Ravens would have gotten the third down stop, given how badly the Patriots were steamrolling them at the time.
Q2, 2:49. BLT 39, New England: unnecessary roughness on Mike Wright (1st and 10)
Remember this one? It was the EXACT same penalty that Ngata committed, so how that translates into a bias... I have no idea.
To this point in the game, where Ravens fans were convinced that the fix was in, both teams had been flagged exactly five times.
Q2, 1:28. NE 44, New England: defensive holding on Thomas (1st and 10) (declined)
The Ravens were driving down the field in the no-huddle before the half, and correctly got the call. Play got reviewed from upstairs, and uphold. If the refs were really looking to fix the game, they weren't doing the Pats any favors here. But it ultimately didn't matter, since (sensing a recurring theme here?) the Pats manned up and just forced an interception 3 plays later, settling the matter. When push came to shove, the Pats made up for their penalties by getting stops. The Ravens, from the coach down to the players, were too busy crying over the perceived injustice of it all to go out and make it a moot point.
I'll keep things a little more brief for the second half, since there weren't so many 'controversial' penalties:
BLT: Illegal contact on Carr
BLT: Unsportsmanlike conduct on Harbaugh
NE: Holding on Light
BLT: Encroachment on Walker
BLT: pass interference on Mason (same call was made against Moss earlier in the game)
NE: Encroachment on Wilfork
NE: Illegal motion on Baker
Two observations
1: You (52 decleetz) claim that: "Harbaugh said today in the presser that Flacco was hit 5 times with the crown of a defender helmet leading and only on the 6th one was it finally called." Bull****. There was no such penalty called on the Patriots. They were called for one personal foul, and that was on Wright for hands to the face. They were never called for any penalty related to leading with the helmet. Generally speaking, when you have to make stuff up to build your case, you don't have one. And between you and Harbaugh, someone's making their 'facts' up.
2: the Patriots and the Ravens were both flagged exactly 9 times. Let me say that again: THE PATS AND THE RAVENS WERE FLAGGED THE SAME NUMBER OF TIMES. I can't emphasize that enough. They had the exact same number of penalties called on them, and had essentially the same mix of penalties called on them (hands to the face personal fouls, encroachment, OPI, false start mostly) but the Pats were able to minimize the damage and the Ravens weren't. Yet, in Ravens universe, apparently that means the fix is in.
