So help me God, if I get another fucking Xfinity ad in the middle of play during this game...is anyone else having this problem? I'm watching in the DC area. And strangely enough, I already HAVE Comcast, so this is really just driving me towards satellite.
That loss is on Alex Smith as much as that idiot who fumbled. The defense gave him so many opportunities to win.
Great. Just great. I'll be honest, I have zero idea how the Pats are going to cover Cruz, Hicks and Manningham. Although I think they'll be able to at least handle themselves pretty well against the Giants pass rush. Here's hoping Gronk goes 100% for the Super Bowl.
Two missed picks turned into collisions. That botched punt is the dumbest fucking thing ever. I swear they teach you to go after the ball until you hear a whistle. That fumble looked like the ball was tapped out of his hand, where the fuck in the high and tight technique? Giants vs. Patriots in the Super Bowl. At least I won't be in a godforsaken New York suburb watching it. I can't processes this yet. Anyone have Dr. Rob's number?
Okay, seriously - someone please explain this to me: On that Torrey Smith touchdown, as he ran into the end zone he stiff-armed Devin McCourty (I think it was him) right in the facemask, literally dragging McCourty by the mask after him as he went down. After the play, the only talk was about whether Smith had stepped out of bounds or not. Does anyone remember that play? I don't understand - is it somehow legal for the ball carrier to do that? Because it was beyond blatant, he threw the guy down by the mask and they were the only two in the vicinity. Obviously I don't care because the Pats won, but I would like to understand the rule if I don't. Was it just something that got let go, or is there a rule I don't know? In other news, I'm honestly afraid of the Giants defense. Brady has never been very good when you beat him up all day, and I don't see how he doesn't get beat up all day by that line. The Giants could definitely take this game.
Ball Carrier can basically do whatever the fuck they want except run back and stomp on the dude after they fell.
The face masking is supposed to be illegal provided you turn their head. Beyond that you can grab onto the face mask and it's clean, and if you're a ball carrier you're literally allowed to punch them in the face (although I think that has to be open palm). Offensive players can get away with damn near anything, including molesting defenders before making the catch. It's supposed to be illegal, but it hardly ever gets called. I don't remember that face masking specifically enough to tell you, but it sounds like a foul, and it's not that unusual for refs to let it slide. If the defensive player had done it.... well that's another story.
Other people have already commented on this, but I was wondering about that play myself during the entire review process. Everyone else was looking at his feet, and all I could think to say was, "So, it's not a problem that he grabbed the defender's facemask??" Evidently, it wasn't. Still, double standards are a bitch. I don't see why that shouldn't be enforced in future seasons. It's just as hazardous.
Grabbing the facemask is NOT legal for a ball carrier to do. However, it virtually never gets called because stiff-arms as you're running down the field are legal, and those end up in the face a lot. As Kampf said, it's really supposed to get called if you turn their head, or drag them down by the facemask... but offensive players are given a lot more latitude.
I am in need of some clarification I thought once a player steps out of bounds they cannot be the first one to touch the ball. Am I wrong?
Different teams though. He was the first offensive player to touch the ball after clearly running WAY out of bounds at about mid field then back in and touched the ball in the end zone. Williams will get the boot for two costly, senseless botched plays. As for the missed FG to tie the Ravens game, wow. Why the fuck wasn't he on the field sooner? The clock was ticking down and with like 10 seconds left he came running onto the field. And why in the hell would he try a chip? Did he try a chip? It sure as shit looked like it. It's the championship game for God sake. I know the snap was low but Jesus, get your ass in there, line up and do what the fuck you're paid to do, run a simple straight on kick and take your team into OT. If I were a Ravens fan I'd have exploded. Now, yes it's true that is not the single reason they lost but whoa man, he fucked up. I saw him grab a camera lens and push it away. Obviously he wasn't in the mood for any interview. Shocking. I really reeeeeeeeeeeally wanted to see the Niners make it to the SB. GOD DAMMIT. Now I get to watch two teams I can't fucking stand play. Please let it be a good game. Side note: During ESPN Sports center Chris B said something to the effect of, "Since there's no football next weekend....well, the Pro Bowl is on but...(plug for Golf if I remember right)." Hilarious, because the Pro Bowl is a joke and merely signals the beginning of the end.
My God the smacktalk these two weeks is going to be unbearable. Giants fans all around me and not a drop to drink.
Can't blame either of them really. The defender made a great play to knock the ball away from Evans. Granted, Lee Evans is awful so we should've seen this coming, but I'm blaming Harbaugh 100% for the missed field goal. It looked like Cundiff and the rest of the field goal team were late getting to the line and they had to rush their set-up as the play clock was winding down. How Harbaugh lets him rush the kick instead of calling his last time out (What else were you saving it for?) is mind-boggling. At least the Giants won. I think they've got a much better chance of beating New England than the Niners would have, and that's all I care about at this point.
According to some stories, the downs on the Patriots scoreboard were wrong. It said 3rd down, but it was actually 4th down. That was why Cundiff was running on the field at the end; he thought it was 3rd down and he was going through his typical routine of preparing for a kick, way off to the side. That was a shit play by Evans to not hold on to the game winner, but it was also a shockingly good defensive play for an otherwise really, really bad defensive secondary unit for the Patriots. They picked that play to remember that it is their job to keep their opponents from catching the ball. One of the key strategies of punt return teams is to knock the gunners as far out of bounds as they can. The gunner's job is to get back in bounds as fast as possible. If you watch punts, you'll almost always see one of the gunners from the punting team running out of bounds, and trying to get back on the field. The rule is that they CAN go out of bounds if they are forced out by the blockers, as long as they make every effort to get back in to the field of play as soon as possible. If you're a receiver, and you step out of bounds, you can't be the first one to touch a forward pass from your QB. If you're a player, and you step out of bounds, and there is a fumble, you must reestablish yourself in the field of play (I think this means you have to get both feet back in bounds, but I'll plead ignorance about what, exactly, "reestablish yourself" means) before recovering the fumble. In the case of the punt play, the guy was out of bounds (as must gunners are on punt plays), but he reestablished himself in bounds before recovering the fumble, making it legal.