Barnwell has a solid article about last night's game, that is if you can get over yourselves:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-t...34/the-panthers-not-the-refs-beat-new-england
I actually like this article. I said it previously, the Pats lost the game (the Panthers beat them). It wasn't the refs. It was their playing. Terrible penalties (Talib being dumb and McCourty holding on 3rd and long). Fumble by Ridley. Brady and his receivers being off. They just didn't play well.
With that said, I think we can all agree that the last play was a penalty and the article did a good job of describing why. PI can go either way. Some say it wasn't catchable and some say it was. I have seen PI called on non catchable balls before. Either way I think it is a judgement call and they called non catchable. So no PI. Illegal contact is iffy but the replays I have seen haven't been the best. For illegal contact Brady must have the ball in the pocket. He was in the pocket but couldn't tell if the ball was thrown when the contact start (again at 21 seconds in that ESPN replay). So from what we can see we can't call illegal contact though it could be. The last option is holding and that is 100% what it was. To quote the article which is from the NFL ruling "The defensive player cannot use his hands or arms to push from behind, hang onto, or encircle an eligible receiver in a manner that restricts movement as the play develops. Beyond this five-yard limitation, a defender may use his hands or arms ONLY to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver. In such reaction, the defender may not contact a receiver who attempts to take a path to evade him." This is what happened without a doubt.
And this is really all I was asking. I'm not saying this call cost them the game because they shouldn't be coming down to one play but I was asking was it a penalty and yes it was.
Though one person commented on the article "Those two options aren't mutually exclusive. The Patriots lost because they put themselves in a position where they only had a 23% chance to win AND THEN were jobbed on the last play of the game." Which I agree. The Pats played like crap and lost the game HOWEVER they did have one more play to try and win.
Well, it wasn't holding because the linebacker went out of his way to avoid even giving the impression of it. It wasn't illegal contact, because I'm fairly sure the collision was inadvertant. It wasn't pass interference and if you think it was you fail both geometry and physics. It also wasn't guarding the face, because Gronk saw the pass coming and tried to slow down to redirect.
Even if it was one of those things, what happens? The Patriots aren't going to punch it in against a team that's allowed the fewest red zone rushing touchdowns. Not with the game on the line. So, they're probably going to throw it to Gronk, but Brady spent that entire drive basically failing as a QB anyway, so there's no guarantee the pass is going to be on target or that it won't be picked again.
OK none of what you said makes sense.
Holding - because the linebacker went out of his way to avoid even giving the impression of it. What the hell are you saying. He grabbed Gronk. If you can't see that then you may want to get eye doctor insurance and go get them check. Read above or just read the article. It was definitely holding.
Illegal Contact - it doesn't matter if it was inadvertent or not. If the passer is in the pocket with the ball and the defender uses his hands on the receiver, that is illegal contact. The defender did use his hands against Gronk. What we don't know from the replays is if Brady was in the pocket with the ball.
PI - The reason they didn't call PI was because they said the ball was uncatchable which is arguable. One can say his momentum wouldn't allow him to get back to the ball. Someone else could say if he wasn't being held be the defender he could have made a move. Either way, it is a judgement call and they said uncatchable so no PI.
What happens if it was called. The Pats would have 1 play on the 1 yard line with the best QB sneak quarterback. If that was called they absolutely would have had a chance to win the game.
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