Leave it to the NFL to have one of the greatest playoff games in it's history partially ruined because of wonky rules and awful officiating. Baseball maybe; but not in the NFL, land of a thousand rules and infinite number of reviewable plays. Had this been a Week 17 game between the Rams and Redskins it would have been a little less egregious, but for a PLAYOFF game to end the way it did is completely unacceptable. Obviously my fan boy is showing, but I can't help but feel that this game will forever be stained because of a clear miss (misses?) on an official's part directly led to the end of a game.
Can't blame it all on the referees, in fact they'd be about 11th on my list of reasons the Packers lost, with Dom Capers being reasons 1 through 10. Throughout the game I was having periodic flashbacks to both games against the Vikings watching Green Bay drop 7 in zone coverage and bring 4 on the pass rush. Logic would seem to point to a 4 man rush against a 6 man line will favor the offense 100 out of 100 times. Kurt Warner is not the devil spawn of Michael Vick and Warren Moon so he's not going to burn you with his legs if you can get pressure and collapse the pocket. He can however laugh at you're soft zone coverage while he systematically dissects you if there is no one in his face.
Need proof? Think back to the 49ers game. Anyone think that San Fransisco's front 4 or defensive secondary is anywhere near as talented as the Packers'? No, didn't think so. The difference in why the Niners were so successful as opposed to the dismal Green Bay performance was pressure. San Fransisco brought heat throughout the game and forced Warner to rush throws, throw in to coverage, or simply throw the ball away. Pressure makes Warner turn the ball over, it's a proven fact throughout his career. No pressure on him equals him throwing more TD's than incompletions. But I digress, back to the scrubs wearing the stripes.
Home cooking happens, it's undeniable. Take this article from Yahoo! Sports for example; it's a different sport but the results are there. That's not to say there is some giant conspiracy to keep the Packers from winning the Super Bowl, but to see the number of calls that should have gone against the home team that were either completely overlooked or just wrong, it makes you wonder what is going on down on the field. Of course, there is no good argument without facts and/or substantial evidence. With that in mind I'm going to open up the NFL rule book for you and let you decide if I'm completely off base with my home cooking ideas.
Exhibit A: Larry Fitzgerald's touchdown catch in the 3rd quarter
There was a lot going on during this play, but for the sake of my argument let's look at how Mr. Fitzgerald got so wide open.
Under section labeled: Pass Interference
"Actions that constitute offensive pass interference include but are not limited to:
(a) Blocking downfield by an offensive player prior to the ball being touched.
(b) Initiating contact with a defender by shoving or pushing off thus creating a separation in an attempt to catch a pass.
(c) Driving through a defender who has established a position on the field."
Now, with that in mind, take a look at the touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald.
I don't know about you but I saw 2, if not all 3, of those criteria filled on that play. A couple of points on this play; 1) This was the second time in the game that Fitzgerald completely trucked Charles Woodson, and of course they both immediately lead to him scoring touchdowns. 2) If you watch the clip a second time, you can't see it but there is a flag thrown for roughing the passer on Cullen Jenkins. When Troy Aikman thinks the call is bogus, it's pretty safe to say that the call was nonsense. Keep that roughing call in mind as we move on to the plays everyone is talking about.
Exhibit B: The 2nd and 3rd down plays in overtime.
To really appreciate how awful the no calls on this drive were you should probably pause the video right after 2nd down/before 3rd down. In the interest of brevity, I'll take all of the garbage out at once. Again, here are the exact quotes from the NFL rule book concerning protecting the QB and how hands can be used.
Under section labeled: Protection of Passer:
- "No defensive player may run into a passer of a legal forward pass after the ball has left his hand (15 yards). The Referee must determine whether opponent had a reasonable chance to stop his momentum during an attempt to block the pass or tackle the passer while he still had the ball."
Under section labeled: Use of Hands, Arms, and Body:
- "Hands cannot be thrust forward above the frame to contact an opponent on the neck, face or head."
Under section labeled: Fouls on Last Play of Half or Game:
- "Fair catch interference, foul following change of possession, illegal touching. No score by offense counts."
Under the parameters of what constitutes at 15 yard penalty:
- "Twisting, turning, or pulling an opponent by the facemask."
And the best part...Under section: Officials' Jurisdiction, Positions, and Duties
- "Referee—General oversight and control of game. Gives signals for all fouls and is final authority for rule interpretations. Takes a position in backfield 10 to 12 yards behind line of scrimmage, favors right side (if quarterback is right-handed passer). Determines legality of snap, observes deep back(s) for legal motion...On pass plays, drops back as quarterback begins to fade back, picks up legality of blocks by near linemen. Changes to complete concentration on quarterback as defenders approach. Primarily responsible to rule on possible roughing action on passer and if ball becomes loose, rules whether ball is free on a fumble or dead on an incomplete pass."
And here we go...
Wow, just wow. Where to start...how about the series on 2nd down. Darren Colledge was flagged for a hold, and rightfully so, there's no disputing that. What is inexplicable is the referee, who according to the rule book is charged with observing the legality of blocks AND once the ball has been released to make sure the QB is not labeled, completely overlooks Bertrand Berry smashing Aaron Rodgers, A) in the helmet while leading with his own, and B) well after the ball had been released. Now call me crazy, but from the replays I saw the ref, as well as the near side linesman, had a clear line of sight to the QB's head snapping back. There was no one obstructing the referee's view to the Rodgers so either he wasn't doing his job, you know, watching the QB like he's supposed to, or he deemed the play to be legal (which it clearly wasn't). As it stood, the Packers were moved back inside their 10 yard line to replay 2nd down. What should have happened was offsetting penalities and a replay of the down from the 21.
3rd down gets a bit trickier. Let's get this out of the way quickly; the "tuck rule" has nothing to do with my officiating gripe here. Rodgers kicked the ball so it was never a question of incomplete, therefore the "tuck rule" is out the window. Michael Adams got to Aaron Rodgers and forced the ball loose to be recovered and run in for a touchdown by Karlos Dansby. However, without even watching a replay it was abundantly clear that Rodgers was hauled down by his face mask, a clear 15 yard penalty. The problem; the referee only did half of his job. It sounds like a broken record but his job is to watch for possession of the football AND watch for roughing calls. He was clearly too busy fumbling around for his stupid loose ball bean bag to pay attention to the QB (his charged assignment). Funny how that can be overlooked while Cullen Jenkins gets blocked in to Kurt Warner and the flag can't come out quick enough. As the possession had already changed when the (non) foul occured, Arizona would have kept the ball but as the NFL rule book states, the touchdown would not have counted and a 15 yard penalty would have been assessed. That's not to say the Cardinals would or wouldn't have scored on the drive; that's not the point. Green Bay was not given an equal shake from the officials on a huge stage. Sure, if Rodgers hadn't overthrown a wide open Greg Jennings on the first play of overtime this wouldn't be an issue. But that doesn't make it right for officials to clear blow multiple calls in favor of the home team.
Anything you'd like to add as a closing argument, Coach Lombardi?
Good question.
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