Who Caused Mendenhall's Super Bowl Fumble?

[pbmax]

Question that the Clay Matthews/Kevin Green clip brought to mind. I know that I, and I think others, remember that Mendenhall fumble as one caused by Matthews.

But if you look at other vids with other angles (I think there is a shot of it in Justin's season review video thread (link with correct time stamp embedded below) from earlier this week) it seems like it was the collision with Pickett that caused the fumble, and Matthews helped to pin Mendenhall from any chance of recovering even though for a moment the RB seems like the only person to know it was loose.

Any thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3HBHZk6BEw&feature=player_detailpage#t=772s

[Freak Out]

That's kinda what I saw as well.

[Tony Oday]

God...he is a Packer fan!

[Scott Campbell]

I don't even need to look at the clip. Ryan Pickett has been under appreciated his entire career.

[MJZiggy]

Question that the Clay Matthews/Kevin Green clip brought to mind. I know that I, and I think others, remember that Mendenhall fumble as one caused by Matthews.

But if you look at other vids with other angles (I think there is a shot of it in Justin's season review video thread (link with correct time stamp embedded below) from earlier this week) it seems like it was the collision with Pickett that caused the fumble, and Matthews helped to pin Mendenhall from any chance of recovering even though for a moment the RB seems like the only person to know it was loose.

Any thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3HBH...ailpage#t=772s

It looks to me like Pickett's helmet got the ball moving and Matthew's arm moving under the ball kept it moving and kept Mendenhall's other hand from helping secure it.

PB, how do you time stamp a link like that?

[mraynrand]

Matthews made the call to get Pickett in place. As for who jarred it loose, it looks like a combination of both. I watched it about 20 times back in Feb and couldn't say for sure. "Spill, spill!" That play turned the tide.

[pbmax]

It looks to me like Pickett's helmet got the ball moving and Matthew's arm moving under the ball kept it moving and kept Mendenhall's other hand from helping secure it.

PB, how do you time stamp a link like that?

There are probably other ways, but at YouTube, you can pause the clip, and right click on the progress/timer button and choose "Copy video URL at current time stamp".

[MJZiggy]

There are probably other ways, but at YouTube, you can pause the clip, and right click on the progress/timer button and choose "Copy video URL at current time stamp".

Friggin' genius!

[hoosier]

From the second angle (13:00) it looks to me like it was either both or Matthews, but not just Pickett. Mendenhall is holding the ball with his right arm. Matthews hits the right arm (not the ball) and Pickett hits his left shoulder (not the ball). The ball pops out. Was it caused by the way his carrying arm got hit or was it the violence of the runner getting compacted by simultaneous collisions? I think we need to see this in super slow-mo and super close up where we can see exactly what forces are acting by looking at how the runner's body gets momentarily deformed.

Need I point out that the poll is missing that third option ("both" or "neither, it was just butterfingers Mendenhall")?

[mraynrand]

From the second angle (13:00) it looks to me like it was either both or Matthews, but not just Pickett. Mendenhall is holding the ball with his right arm. Matthews hits the right arm (not the ball) and Pickett hits his left shoulder (not the ball). The ball pops out. Was it caused by the way his carrying arm got hit or was it the violence of the runner getting compacted by simultaneous collisions? I think we need to see this in super slow-mo and super close up where we can see exactly what forces are acting by looking at how the runner's body gets momentarily deformed.

Need I point out that the poll is missing that third option ("both" or "neither, it was just butterfingers Mendenhall")?

James Harrison would have voted "butterfingers Mendenhall"

[bobblehead]

I vote both. Its on the superbowl DVD produced by the NFL and goes over the whole play really well.

[MJZiggy]

James Harrison would have voted "butterfingers Mendenhall"

[pbmax]

The both option is for the timid. I want to sniff this out, not reach a compromise. This is my outlet for having to hope the players and owners reach a compromise.

For what its worth, when I watched the replay via Justin's earlier thread about this video, I thought Picket got the ball with his helmet, contrary to my memory. But repeated viewings have made that seem unclear. There is also the suggestion that Pickett's hit drove Mendenhall toward Matthews, increasing the contact there as well like hoosier posted.

[Joemailman]

Looked to me like Pickett put a helmet on the ball. A helmet on the ball is more likely to cause a fumble than hitting the arm that the ball is being held in.

Look at the video at the :09 mark. I don't know how you can say Pickett didn't cause the fumble.

[Guiness]

is this where we bitch about lack of poll options?

It was Justin Harrel, wearing an invisibility suit!