Of Steelers-Patriots game
going to the ground, in the end zone or whatever, you’ve got to finish the play. Especially if you’re going to the ground, you’ve got to hold onto it. Don’t assume it’s going to be a touchdown. Either don’t go to the ground or don’t let go of the ball.”
As for the final play of the Giants’ 3429 loss to the Eagles, the 14-year veteran wasn’t up in arms over rookie tight end Evan Engram possibly being interfered with by Philly defensive back Corey Graham on the high 4th-and-11 throw.
“It could have been called, but I don’t think it was an obvious call,” Manning his body to stretch and attempt to score. What happened to the ball after it crossed the goal line should have been irrelevant. The only question up for debate should have been whether the ball had already crossed the plane of the goal line when his knee hit the ground. The only two options for the replay officials should have been to uphold the touchdown call on the field on place the ball around the 1-yard line. Alas, common sense isn’t a criterion for these “rules,” which insult everyone’s intelligence. “In flag football, high school football, college football — any place you play football other than the NFL — that’s a touchdown,” NBC analyst Tony Dungy said on air. “But because of Calvin Johnson in 2010, they’re trying to justify that we have all these plays that everybody knows are touchdowns. But now they’re incomplete passes.” James joined Johnson (2010 season opener), Dez Bryant (2014 divisional playoffs) and the countless others to get hosed by an illogical rule that must be purged from existence. It’s laughable awful, brainless and just plain horrible. Worst of all, the rule shouldn’t have even been applied to this play because of James’ secondary action after the clear catch. What could Steelers coach Mike Tomlin say to ease the pain of this screw-job that almost certainly means that his team will have to go through Foxborough to have a shot at going to the Super Bowl now? “It’s really irrelevant how I feel about it, to be honest with you,” said Tomlin, who surely was cursing on the inside. “It’s not going to change the outcome of the game. I’m not going to cry over spilled milk and all of that crap. And talk about replay.” The NFL’s paid apologists shockingly didn’t even address the fact that James made a football move after the catch, determined to jam the Catch Rule down our throats. “He just didn’t survive the ground,” referee Tony Corrente said to a pool reporter at Heinz Field. “That’s the terminology that we use in officiating. You have to survive the ground, which means that you have to maintain control of the football.” How about this: You have to survive the refs and this halfbaked rule. It’s flat-out garbage. That’s the terminology we use in the real world. NFL officiating guru Al Riveron’s explanation posted on social media shortly after the game only inflamed the outrage. “James is going to the ground as he reaches the goal line,” Riveron explained in a video posted on @NFLFootballOps. “And that’s the key here: He is going to the ground. By rule to complete the process of the catch, he must survive the ground… and by that he must maintain control of the football. As we see here, he does put the ball over the goal line extended. Once he gets there, he loses control of the football and then the ball hits the ground. We can see here the ball touches the ground. So, therefore, two things occur: He loses control of the football and the ball touches the ground prior to him re-gaining control. Therefore, the ruling on the field of a touchdown was changed to an incomplete pass.” Roethlisberger fake-spike pass intended for Eli Rogers two plays later was picked off in the end zone, crushing a chance at a short gametying field goal attempt at the end of regulation. Steelers players were muttering four-letter words as they disappeared into the locker room, while Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were celebrating their ninth consecutive AFC East title. “That was great,” Brady said. “That was a lot of fun.” Yeah, great fun. Maybe the NFL can reinstitute the Tuck Rule too said. “They were kind of going back and forth, so, hey, we’ve gotta throw the ball a little lower and try to make the play. That’s football sometimes.
“I could have put the ball a little lower, I guess…They had it covered up pretty well, I tried to throw him open and put it up high where he can make a play. It just didn’t work out. Obviously, there’s some contact, but whether that’s enough to be pass interference, it can go either way.”
Still, it sounded as if interim coach Steve Spagnuolo had a different take after reviewing the game film, admitting it “looked like” Engram’s arm was held before the ball got there.
“Yeah, you could make an argument for where you’re going,” Spagnuolo said. “I won’t make the argument, but I’m just saying that you could make the argument.”
Manning, who was benched for one game in favor of backup Geno Smith before GM Jerry Reese and head coach Ben McAdoo were fired two weeks ago, is expected to make his third straight start Sunday in Arizona, Spagnuolo added. Manning threw for a season-high 434 yards and three touchdowns against the Eagles.