Somebody 'splain to me?

[theeohiostate]

So, why should it be Miami's ball, if there wasn't conclusive evidence that they recovered it ?

 

 

Recovery seemed VERY VERY conclusive to me. #59 dove on the ball and came out of the pile holding it when they ran the review longer.

 

Basically Dolphins got robbed, pathetic officiating, once again.

[Menudo]

Watched it again....I agree that the Dolphins got screwed. It appears pretty clear when watching in slo-mo that the guy from the Dolpins that came out of the pile with the ball had possession. The refs didn't get in there and dig out the players. It looks like they blew this one completely. I'd be ticked as a Dolpins fan and crying if I was a bitter, Steeler-obsessed crybaby as well.

 

A couple of things to keep in mind. The Steelers would have had 3 TO's and still had a chance to win. Also, the Dolphins did get the ball back with 2 minutes left needing only a field goal, and could have won it. However, I do agree that the Dolphins got screwed on that call, and it should have been a touchback and Dolphins ball.

Edited October 24, 2010 by Menudo

[Grits and Shins]

Watched it again....I agree that the Dolphins got screwed. It appears pretty clear when watching in slo-mo that the guy from the Dolpins that came out of the pile with the ball had possession. The refs didn't get in there and dig out the players. It looks like they blew this one completely. I'd be ticked as a Dolpins fan and crying if I was a bitter, Steeler-obsessed crybaby as well.

 

A couple of things to keep in mind. The Steelers would have had 3 TO's and still had a chance to win. Also, the Dolphins did get the ball back with 2 minutes left needing only a field goal, and could have won it. However, I do agree that the Dolphins got screwed on that call, and it should have been a touchback and Dolphins ball.

 

All good points. Had Miami got the ball on the 20 there is still no telling on what the outcome of the game would have been. However, there is a BIG difference in starting on the 20 and DEFENDING your lead versus trying to score the winning FG. To say it was a foregone conclusion that PIT was going to win that game is pretty far out there IMO.

[Menudo]

All good points. Had Miami got the ball on the 20 there is still no telling on what the outcome of the game would have been. However, there is a BIG difference in starting on the 20 and DEFENDING your lead versus trying to score the winning FG. To say it was a foregone conclusion that PIT was going to win that game is pretty far out there IMO.

 

I agree completely. If the call is made correctly, the odds are solidly in Miami's favor to win that game.

[caddyman]

I agree completely. If the call is made correctly, the odds are solidly in Miami's favor to win that game.

 

 

DAVIE, Fla. -- Upon further review, the Dolphins-Steelers officiating crew made only one mistake on the pivotal play of the game.

 

That's small consolation to the Dolphins, who felt as though they were robbed of a win by "The only 6 time Super Bowl Winners and YOUR DADDY."

 

The lone officiating error -- a biggie -- was the initial ruling of a touchdown for Ben Roethlisberger, former NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira said Monday.

 

 

“

There must be a clear recovery by the defense in order to reverse to a touchback. If there is a pileup and you can't see who recovered the ball, or a long delay with players stopping before the ball is recovered, the offense retains possession.

 

”

-- NFL's Instant Replay Manual

 

After that, Pereira said, the crew handled the situation correctly, despite debate about the subsequent replay review and explanation of the final ruling.

 

The ruling proved crucial in Miami's 23-22 loss.

 

"For the game to end like that and us to get the raw end of a deal, it hurts," safety Yeremiah Bell said.

 

The Dolphins (3-3) had a right to be angry, because the erroneous TD call by the head linesman may have cost them the game. Miami linebacker Ikaika Alama-Francis emerged from an end-zone pile with the ball fumbled by Roethlisberger with 2:30 left.

 

A replay review determined Roethlisberger's touchdown was instead a fumble, but because the video didn't provide clear evidence as to which team recovered, Pittsburgh kept the ball and kicked the winning field goal on the next play.

 

Because the touchdown was overturned, only the video review could determine which team recovered the fumble, said Pereira, now the officiating analyst for Fox. Any ruling on the field as to which team recovered was irrelevant, because the play is considered over when a touchdown signal is given, and the officials don't continue to officiate.

 

Regarding the recovery, conclusive video evidence is required.

 

 

AFC East blog

ESPN.com's Tim Graham writes about all things AFC East in his division blog.

 

• Blog network: NFL Nation

 

 

"There must be a clear recovery by the defense in order to reverse to a touchback," the league's Instant Replay Manual says. "If there is a pileup and you can't see who recovered the ball, or a long delay with players stopping before the ball is recovered, the offense retains possession."

 

Said Pereira: "Once you decide it was fumbled, you have to find out if there's indisputable visual evidence of one player recovering the ball before it enters into any kind of a pile. It's not what happens when a player comes out of a pile."

 

Pereira said the rules allow for players to play beyond the whistle to recover a loose ball, even if the play has been blown dead, and Roethlisberger's fumble triggered a scramble.

 

Various Steelers claimed Roethlisberger, Jonathan Scott or Doug Legursky recovered the ball. The Dolphins all said it was Francis.

 

If the linesman hadn't signaled a touchdown, the scrum would have determined possession.

 

"If the officials had ruled it a fumble, they would have been in the pile digging the ball out, and it would have been survival of the fittest," Pereira said. "If Miami had come up with the ball at that point, it would have been Miami's ball."

 

For that reason, Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington argued, the linesman shouldn't have been so quick to signal a touchdown. That way the officials on the field would have determined who recovered the ball.

 

"If it looked like the ball was loose, play it out," Pennington said. "Don't throw your hands up in the air, especially in the last two stinking minutes of the game."

 

 

AFC North blog

ESPN.com's James Walker writes about all things AFC North in his division blog.

 

• Blog network: NFL Nation

 

 

But Pereira said officials aren't trained to hold back on blowing the whistle to let replay sort out a situation.

 

"You make the call your instinct tells you to make," he said.

 

Coach Tony Sparano said the Dolphins wrote the league requesting an explanation, but he expects nothing to change. And he noted many other factors contributed to the defeat.

 

"The thing I'm most frustrated about is just that we got close against a good football team in that situation and didn't finish," he said.

 

The Dolphins repeatedly squandered chances to score touchdowns, instead settling five times for field goals. They were again plagued by mistakes in kick coverage and pass coverage. Even after the disputed call, they had a chance to come back but gained only 4 yards in an ugly four-play sequence, losing the ball on downs.

 

As a result, the Dolphins dropped their fifth game in a row at home, a streak that goes back to last season. They're the first team since the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals to start a season 0-3 at home and 3-0 on the road, according to STATS LLC.

 

The good news: They're on the road Sunday -- at Cincinnati.

[Menudo]

DAVIE, Fla. -- Upon further review, the Dolphins-Steelers officiating crew made only one mistake on the pivotal play of the game.

 

That's small consolation to the Dolphins, who felt as though they were robbed of a win by "The only 6 time Super Bowl Winners and YOUR DADDY."

 

The lone officiating error -- a biggie -- was the initial ruling of a touchdown for Ben Roethlisberger, former NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira said Monday.

 

 

“

There must be a clear recovery by the defense in order to reverse to a touchback. If there is a pileup and you can't see who recovered the ball, or a long delay with players stopping before the ball is recovered, the offense retains possession.

 

”

-- NFL's Instant Replay Manual

 

After that, Pereira said, the crew handled the situation correctly, despite debate about the subsequent replay review and explanation of the final ruling.

 

The ruling proved crucial in Miami's 23-22 loss.

 

"For the game to end like that and us to get the raw end of a deal, it hurts," safety Yeremiah Bell said.

 

The Dolphins (3-3) had a right to be angry, because the erroneous TD call by the head linesman may have cost them the game. Miami linebacker Ikaika Alama-Francis emerged from an end-zone pile with the ball fumbled by Roethlisberger with 2:30 left.

 

A replay review determined Roethlisberger's touchdown was instead a fumble, but because the video didn't provide clear evidence as to which team recovered, Pittsburgh kept the ball and kicked the winning field goal on the next play.

 

Because the touchdown was overturned, only the video review could determine which team recovered the fumble, said Pereira, now the officiating analyst for Fox. Any ruling on the field as to which team recovered was irrelevant, because the play is considered over when a touchdown signal is given, and the officials don't continue to officiate.

 

Regarding the recovery, conclusive video evidence is required.

 

 

AFC East blog

ESPN.com's Tim Graham writes about all things AFC East in his division blog.

 

• Blog network: NFL Nation

 

 

"There must be a clear recovery by the defense in order to reverse to a touchback," the league's Instant Replay Manual says. "If there is a pileup and you can't see who recovered the ball, or a long delay with players stopping before the ball is recovered, the offense retains possession."

 

Said Pereira: "Once you decide it was fumbled, you have to find out if there's indisputable visual evidence of one player recovering the ball before it enters into any kind of a pile. It's not what happens when a player comes out of a pile."

 

Pereira said the rules allow for players to play beyond the whistle to recover a loose ball, even if the play has been blown dead, and Roethlisberger's fumble triggered a scramble.

 

Various Steelers claimed Roethlisberger, Jonathan Scott or Doug Legursky recovered the ball. The Dolphins all said it was Francis.

 

If the linesman hadn't signaled a touchdown, the scrum would have determined possession.

 

"If the officials had ruled it a fumble, they would have been in the pile digging the ball out, and it would have been survival of the fittest," Pereira said. "If Miami had come up with the ball at that point, it would have been Miami's ball."

 

For that reason, Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington argued, the linesman shouldn't have been so quick to signal a touchdown. That way the officials on the field would have determined who recovered the ball.

 

"If it looked like the ball was loose, play it out," Pennington said. "Don't throw your hands up in the air, especially in the last two stinking minutes of the game."

 

 

AFC North blog

ESPN.com's James Walker writes about all things AFC North in his division blog.

 

• Blog network: NFL Nation

 

 

But Pereira said officials aren't trained to hold back on blowing the whistle to let replay sort out a situation.

 

"You make the call your instinct tells you to make," he said.

 

Coach Tony Sparano said the Dolphins wrote the league requesting an explanation, but he expects nothing to change. And he noted many other factors contributed to the defeat.

 

"The thing I'm most frustrated about is just that we got close against a good football team in that situation and didn't finish," he said.

 

The Dolphins repeatedly squandered chances to score touchdowns, instead settling five times for field goals. They were again plagued by mistakes in kick coverage and pass coverage. Even after the disputed call, they had a chance to come back but gained only 4 yards in an ugly four-play sequence, losing the ball on downs.

 

As a result, the Dolphins dropped their fifth game in a row at home, a streak that goes back to last season. They're the first team since the 1982 St. Louis Cardinals to start a season 0-3 at home and 3-0 on the road, according to STATS LLC.

 

The good news: They're on the road Sunday -- at Cincinnati.

 

They need to change this rule. On a questionable touchdown call like this one, they need to sort out the fumble just in case. I know that is a difficult line to draw, but, it needs to be done. It sounds like the refs followed the letter of the law, according to the replay rules, but, those rules need to be altered.

 

Big props to Sparano for not blaming this play for the loss "The thing I'm most frustrated about is just that we got close against a good football team in that situation and didn't finish," he said.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Menudo