upstater1
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Did the ref's whistle save the Patriots' butts on two occasions?
I looked at the replays on both of the 4th and 1 plays.
On the first, Matt Light clearly reacted to the blown whistle as he was the last one out of his stance on the Patriots' line. He was blown up, and Brady was stopped.
OK, flash forward one play. Russ Hochstein jumps early and the ref blows his whistle. Guess who came in and hit Heath Evans first? It was the defender that exploited the gap between Hochstein and Kazcur. Hochstein, by leaving early, left a gaping hole that Kazcur--still set in his stance--couldn't fill quick enough. The defender exploited it, jumped into the backfield, and tackled Evans before he came anywhere near the first down marker.
Now we're hearing from fans about how lucky the Patriots were that they got do-overs on these plays. The fact of the matter is, the whistle enabled the Ravens to stop Brady's sneak, and Russ Hochstein's boneheaded error also enabled the Ravens to stop Evans on that run.
People who point to these plays have to use some football common sense to realize that the whistle and the penalty effected the outcome of the play in question.
I looked at the replays on both of the 4th and 1 plays.
On the first, Matt Light clearly reacted to the blown whistle as he was the last one out of his stance on the Patriots' line. He was blown up, and Brady was stopped.
OK, flash forward one play. Russ Hochstein jumps early and the ref blows his whistle. Guess who came in and hit Heath Evans first? It was the defender that exploited the gap between Hochstein and Kazcur. Hochstein, by leaving early, left a gaping hole that Kazcur--still set in his stance--couldn't fill quick enough. The defender exploited it, jumped into the backfield, and tackled Evans before he came anywhere near the first down marker.
Now we're hearing from fans about how lucky the Patriots were that they got do-overs on these plays. The fact of the matter is, the whistle enabled the Ravens to stop Brady's sneak, and Russ Hochstein's boneheaded error also enabled the Ravens to stop Evans on that run.
People who point to these plays have to use some football common sense to realize that the whistle and the penalty effected the outcome of the play in question.