San Diego Sure Got Ripped Off

[texaspackerbacker]

First the stolen ball mis-call with the replay system down so it couldn't be overturned, then the obvious fumble by Cutler that was called incomplete and not reviewable.

[gbgary]

yeah...but they had three chances to win it. keep them out of the end zone for the td, keep them out for the extra points, get down field for a field goal try.

[Lurker64]

Inadvertent whistles are part of the game. They're unfortunate, but as soon as Hochuli blew his whistle (wrongly or not) the play was over.

I can't say I have an opinion on the fumble. I didn't get a good look at the play.

[gbpackfan]

The Chargers got screwed. Plain and simple. The refs need to keep the whistles out of their mouths and let plays like this unfold. The fumble occured within 2 minutes so a booth review would be coming. The refs have to know the situation. They messed up bad and it cost the Chargers the game. That's a fact.

[Fred's Slacks]

The Chargers got screwed. Plain and simple. The refs need to keep the whistles out of their mouths and let plays like this unfold. The fumble occured within 2 minutes so a booth review would be coming. The refs have to know the situation. They messed up bad and it cost the Chargers the game. That's a fact.

Agreed.

I thought there was a rule that if there was a clear recovery of the fumble, even if the whistle was blown, the ball is awarded to the recovering team. Did I just dream that?

[Lurker64]

I thought there was a rule that if there was a clear recovery of the fumble, even if the whistle was blown, the ball is awarded to the recovering team. Did I just dream that?

I believe that the recent rule change is "if there's a clear recovery of a fumble before the whistle, but the play is ruled an incomplete pass, on a reversal of the call in the field the ball will be awarded to the team who recovered the ball." But the NFL is consistent, in that nothing that occurs after the ref blows his whistle affects the outcome of the play (except penalties). When the ref blows the whistle, you're supposed to stop. If the rule was written in such a way that you might be rewarded for wrestling for a ball that might later be ruled a fumble even though the whistle has been blown, they're sending mixed signals.

If the Charger's player had picked up the ball before Hochuli blew the whistle, it would have been a fumble recovered by the Chargers. Since Hochuli blew the whistle before anybody could recover the ball, it was a fumble recovered by nobody which, by rule, returns to the offense.

[gioreeko]

Hochuli said that the steroids he's taking make him a little jumpy with the whistle, but he said that at least he hasn't put anyone in a side-headlock yet....

[NewsBruin]

I thought there was a rule that if there was a clear recovery of the fumble, even if the whistle was blown, the ball is awarded to the recovering team. Did I just dream that?

I believe that the recent rule change is "if there's a clear recovery of a fumble before the whistle, but the play is ruled an incomplete pass, on a reversal of the call in the field the ball will be awarded to the team who recovered the ball." But the NFL is consistent, in that nothing that occurs after the ref blows his whistle affects the outcome of the play (except penalties). When the ref blows the whistle, you're supposed to stop. If the rule was written in such a way that you might be rewarded for wrestling for a ball that might later be ruled a fumble even though the whistle has been blown, they're sending mixed signals.

If the Charger's player had picked up the ball before Hochuli blew the whistle, it would have been a fumble recovered by the Chargers. Since Hochuli blew the whistle before anybody could recover the ball, it was a fumble recovered by nobody which, by rule, returns to the offense.

I believe there's a new rule in the NCAA, but not the pros yet, that a ball can be reviewed to be a fumble after the whistle, but before the carrier is legally down.

I don't like it. The "the-play's-over-except-when-it's-not" mentality is going to get someone penalized or injured and lead to a lot of unnecessarily chippy play.

A few years back, Baylor had a televised game against Texas A&M (or maybe Texas Tech). The Aggie D-line swarmed our quarterback. After almost going down in the pocket, but never losing forward progress, the QB broke free and scrambled loose, minus helmet. While running in the open field past the first down marker, the refs whistled the play dead and the QB down where his helmet came off. It was a crappy call, for a crappy rule, that was all about the player's "safety," penalizing our QB for not going down and ignoring how that helmet would have gotten off in the first place.

However much I disliked that outcome, I understand when the whistle blows, even accidentally, there is no choice. Everyone HAS to stop playing, or else that QB will get a "dummy shot" (or a CB will get a dummy block) from a player who has a grudge, wants to make a name for himself, or is scared his position coach will chew his ass out for letting a score happen.

[GoPackGo]

San Diego Sure Got Ripped Off

They sure did. It was cool to see Shannahan go for the win though. Most coaches would have kick the PAT for the tie

[texaspackerbacker]

Not a word is being said today on ESPN. etc. about the OTHER screw up.

Champ Bailey stole the ball from the pass receiver, Chambers, I think. TV replay showed it was down by contact, and not a fumble, but the official replay system was down so it couldn't be overturned. That's inexcuseable, considering how the game now emphasizes replay so much.

[Little Whiskey]

I missed the first screwed up no-call. Did they give the chance to get the replay equipment up and running. in the day and age of commercial before the kick off and after the kickoff and anytime any one on the field blows their nose. I would have thought the networks would have loved to give the officials a few extra TV minutes to get the damn thing working to make the correct call. I agree they got hosed!