Patriot-Panther Call Correct?

[Freak Out]

I don't care really just because it was Brady and company.

Does he ever go out and meet the other team at midfield after the game?

[woodbuck27]

That was my first impression. If he had tried to come back and fallen over the defender, the call might have gone the other way. He didn't appear to even try.

Gronk was wrapped up.

Gronk reacted to the fact he was interfered with.

Certainly Panthers NO. 69 Luke Kuechly clutched NO. 87 Gronkowski with both arms around Gronks body. Kuechly clears Gronk to the rear of the end zone and opened up the passing lane so that Panthers NO. 38 can move to his right across the end zone and intercept Tom Brady`s pass.

Luke Kuechly was assigned to Gronkowski all game. Luke Kuechly is fast and very strong; a tremendous defensive asset to the Carolina Panthers.

With his ( Kuechly`s) arms around Gronk and guilty of an obvious pass interference.

Does Gronk have to wrestle him to the ground before moving to the ball which was intercepted about 6-7 feet towords the goal line from his position ?

Is that necessary to negate an obvious defensive player HOLD on him? It shouldn`t be.

Think about that play and final call as if that was Jordy Nelson trying to make that same play with a defender giving him any form of bear hug.

[woodbuck27]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2013/11/19/former-officials-disagree-panthers-patriots-pass-interference-non-call/3641985/

Ex-NFL officials disagree on non-call to end Patriots-Panthers game

Tom Pelissero, USA TODAY Sports 9:36 p.m. EST November 19, 2013

"...former official disagrees — and says others are on his side.

"As soon as I saw the play, I knew there was a foul," Jim Daopoulos, who spent 11 years as an NFL back judge and umpire and later was a supervisor of officials with the league, told USA TODAY Sports by phone Tuesday.

"I guess what troubled me the most was officials getting involved when they don't need to be involved in that and trying to talk this young guy out of throwing that flag. Every official I've talked to today has said, 'It's a foul. You've got to keep the flag down.' "..."

and:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000284486/article/referee-we-made-right-noncall-in-panthers-win

" Reasonable minds disagree (with the officials final call).

Fox Sports analyst and former NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira believes there was clear contact before the interception and the officials should have stuck with the penalty call.

NBC officiating analyst Jim Daopoulos also believes the officials made the wrong call. He believes the ball was catchable.

Gronkowski didn't appear to have a chance to "sit down" on his route or move back to the underthrown ball because he was being held..."

[Guiness]

Looks like PI to me. I don't know how you can wrap up a the intended target like that while the ball is in the air and get away with it. I think if Gronk had sold it a bit more he would've gotten the call.

Seems like the league is changing their story up. Blandino apparently said:

Blandino said the back judge threw a flag on Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly for grabbing Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski but the side judge came in and told the back judge that Panthers safety Robert Lester had already touched the ball before Kuechly restricted Gronkowski’s movement.

pretty sure Lester hadn't touched the ball yet

[Patler]

No, he doesn't have to stumble over the guy for the call to be made, but receivers do stuff like that all the time to make it an "easier" call for the official. If he doesn't try to get to it, it can look uncatchable, or the interference can look incidental.

[woodbuck27]

Looks like PI to me. I don't know how you can wrap up a the intended target like that while the ball is in the air and get away with it. I think if Gronk had sold it a bit more he would've gotten the call.

Seems like the league is changing their story up. Blandino apparently said:


pretty sure Lester hadn't touched the ball yet

and your correct.

Look at the clip and as Gronk cross`s the goal line ** hit your pause and study the positions of the two defenders relative to Gronk.

** Repeat that** until after the interception is made by the Panthers Safety NO. 38 Robert Lester.

The flag was correctly thrown by the back judge and shouldn`t under all circumstances been removed from the ground. That penalty was obvious and should have stood up.

The Patriots should have been awarded one more play based on a clear PI or an obvious defensive player hold on Pats TE Gronkowski.

[Pugger]

I didn't see the play, and it isn't clear from the photo, but could he have stepped on or over the end line? If he did, I think it is automatically considered uncatchable to him, and P.I. doesn't apply to him.

Are you asking if Gronk stepped out of bounds? I don't think he did.

I thought it was PI because Kuechly was impeding Gronk with his arms around him. Gronk couldn't get near to the ball to attempt a catch because he was impeded by the defender.

[Patler]

Interesting that Gronkowski said yesterday that there was no pass interference and the flag should not have been thrown in the first place. Apparently no controversy in his opinion.

[woodbuck27]

Interesting that Gronkowski said yesterday that there was no pass interference and the flag should not have been thrown in the first place. Apparently no controversy in his opinion.

Holy Mackeral !

Here it is and it's too clear that the officials missed on this one.

What is wrong with any of you that you can't see that?

Give it your open mind please and study that play and you'll see that Gronkowski was clearly interfered with.

The next thing you know this sort of slip shod officiating will be 'in your face' as a Packer fan.

*** http://russellstreetreport.com/bad-o...ining-the-nfl/

Bad Officiating is Ruining the NFL

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Tony Lombardi

Look at this LINK and clearly you should see that the NE Pats were victimized by BS officiating on that end of game play.

Two Times *** !

http://russellstreetreport.com/bad-officiating-is-ruining-the-nfl/

[pbmax]

No, he doesn't have to stumble over the guy for the call to be made, but receivers do stuff like that all the time to make it an "easier" call for the official. If he doesn't try to get to it, it can look uncatchable, or the interference can look incidental.

It looks like Gronk doesn't think its catchable which is precisely the opposite reaction receivers usually have.

EDIT: It looks like Gronk agrees with his own in-game assessment.

[TravisWilliams23]

How much of the players not criticizing the officials can be attributed to warnings and fines from the league from doing so? They know they won't change the outcome of the call or game so is it worth $5000 or $10000 to vent? TB vented with the official right after the game with profanity but by the post game interview he had a total "relaxed and rational" answer to the reporters questions. Sounded like he knew it wasn't worth the trouble to blame the call. Kudos to him and Gronk for controlling their responses.

[red]

if the ball doesn't get to the receiver then how is it catchable?

no ball= no catch

[woodbuck27]

if the ball doesn't get to the receiver then how is it catchable?

no ball= no catch

Your referring to this play?:

http://russellstreetreport.com/bad-officiating-is-ruining-the-nfl/

Gronkowski is impeded from getting back to the ball by Panthers MLB Luke Kuechly; obviously held and moved away from the destination of the ball (pass) in the end zone. Even with that hold Gronk was maybe at most two of his steps away from the destination of the ball or not much more than his body length.

Secondly..... If Gronk isn't interfered with and moved back by the Panthers MLB. The Panthers safety NO. 38 Robert Lester would otherwise be blocked from getting to the pass (ball).

Gronk would have had some opportunity to make the catch. With the PI that opportunity was lost.

The PI was obvious and thus the flag was correctly tossed by the backline judge. That should have stood as a penalty against the Panthers.

[Patler]

Woodbuck, I understand you passion for the letter of the rules. I tend to think that way too. But, Gronkowski's comments yesterday, that there was no P.I., is making me think about this differently. I suspect he is evaluating it with respect to what normally happens and what is allowed on an average play. Contact is common. Defenders trying to shield a player from his intended route, the receiver pushing to separate, all happen to some extent on a majority of plays, especially in the confined area of the red zone.

Maybe in his own mind, Gronkowaki knows he could never have made it back to the ball, and he knows he didn't try. Thus, while the defender was clearly shielding him, he knows it didn't actually affect anything that he tried to do. He knows he intended to go to the back of the endzone, and he knows he didn't even try to come back to the ball. The rest was just typically jostling that he deals with all the time.

Could that be it??

[Patler]

Gronkowski is probably thinking; "If pretty-boy Tom had thrown it high and deep in the endzone, I could have caught the dang thing!"