Rubes Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) Sorry if already discussed, I didn't see anything... Without Nick Mendola's permission (which was taken from a screengrab from @TrendingBuffalo), I'm linking to the image of the measurement that was called a first down. This was the play that Chan challenged and failed to overturn. So seriously, under which set of bizarro NFL rules is this considered a first down? Anyone? Edited October 15, 2012 by Rubes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Unexplainable. The spot was bad and the 1st down call on the measurement was beyond belief. Just give it to 'em. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamSandwhich Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I couldn't believe it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 theres got to be some explanation that we just havent encountered. or that from our angle it looked off but was barely touching. i have to believe that if it was legit short, the refs couldnt possibly mess that up.... could they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamSandwhich Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 theres got to be some explanation that we just havent encountered. or that from our angle it looked off but was barely touching. i have to believe that if it was legit short, the refs couldnt possibly mess that up.... could they? If you look at the picture (and I noticed it during the game), the ref is standing behind the ball, why he didn't line up to see it from the side I have no idea. Inexcusable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 If you look at the picture (and I noticed it during the game), the ref is standing behind the ball, why he didn't line up to see it from the side I have no idea. Inexcusable. is the camera angle straight though? if you swing it around to exactly dead on, maybe the tip of the ball barely got there? not saying it was the right call, just trying to figure out how something so easy could end up a head scratcher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerme1 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 A just give it to em moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FitzShowUsYourTitz Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Well these are the replacement refs! No, wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 is the camera angle straight though? if you swing it around to exactly dead on, maybe the tip of the ball barely got there? not saying it was the right call, just trying to figure out how something so easy could end up a head scratcher. The camera angle's not straight. I've seen another one, though, that's straighter and clearer. And I still think it was a bad spot, which makes the point rather moot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Avenger Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 How many times are we told that we came out on the bad side of things because we were looking at it from the wrong angle? This is the homerun throwback all over again - in some sort of alternate reality the rules of physics change and we learly didn't see what we saw.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffOrange Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Well these are the replacement refs! No, wait. There have been some embarrassingly bad pass inteference calls the last few weeks - in the Chargers/Saints & Lions/Eagles games to name a couple. They're ruining the integrity of the game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Not only did the ball look short against the chain, but the replay review looked conclusive from the overhead angle that the ball carrier was a good yard short of the 1st down. So the Bills got hosed inexplicably, twice! on the same play. There was at least 3 or so plays yesterday (and Tasker correctly pointed this out) where the linesman marked the ball, then as he walked closer to the middle of the field to place the ball for measurement, he walked on a slight angle, placing the ball closer to a 1st down than it should have been. Very frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Not only did the ball look short against the chain, but the replay review looked conclusive from the overhead angle that the ball carrier was a good yard short of the 1st down. So the Bills got hosed inexplicably, twice! on the same play. There was at least 3 or so plays yesterday (and Tasker correctly pointed this out) where the linesman marked the ball, then as he walked closer to the middle of the field to place the ball for measurement, he walked on a slight angle, placing the ball closer to a 1st down than it should have been. Very frustrating. that ill agree with. it seemed like he was stumbling around out there on the spots sometimes. as far as the chain measurement here, ill stick with the if you swing the camera a few degrees to a straight shot its likely much closer looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HamSandwhich Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 that ill agree with. it seemed like he was stumbling around out there on the spots sometimes. as far as the chain measurement here, ill stick with the if you swing the camera a few degrees to a straight shot its likely much closer looking. Yeah I noticed this also, annoying! I dont think I've ever seen that much daylight between the stick and the ball and have it called a first down in all of my time watching football 20+ years, angle not-withstanding. I think it was a horrible call, it was not a first down, they screwed the pooch... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Adams Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) The camera angle's not straight. I've seen another one, though, that's straighter and clearer. And I still think it was a bad spot, which makes the point rather moot. Take a long look at that. The camera angle is not straight but it's not from the end zone. Even looking square to the field, the ball is not ahead of the marker. It's pretty clear. When I saw it yesterday, I thought what you said, but the above photo makes me thing differently. WTF? And yes, spot was insane. As that ref walked out from the sideline, he kept tracking upfield from where the ball was. Edited October 15, 2012 by John Adams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buffalover4life Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I think the measurement of ten yards is the yellow chain, not the bar that is holding the chain. They made it to the end of the chain. no way a ref would mess up that call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondslider Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) One of the disadvantages of being a **** team that nobody in the country cares about playing another **** team that nobody cares about is that the network sends the bare minimum of cameras to cover the game, so you end up with ****ty angles and unclear replays. Edited October 15, 2012 by Pondslider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leh-nerd skin-erd Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I think the measurement of ten yards is the yellow chain, not the bar that is holding the chain. They made it to the end of the chain. no way a ref would mess up that call. seriously? so they have to look at the end of the chain, not the stick? You place the end of the chain on the approximate spot of the ball? You'd think that wouold come up once or twice when they measured, no? i think it's to the end of the officials thumb, which in this case, was in his a** just moments before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan_in_tx Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 How many times are we told that we came out on the bad side of things because we were looking at it from the wrong angle? This is the homerun throwback all over again - in some sort of alternate reality the rules of physics change and we learly didn't see what we saw.... Zapruder had a bad camera angle as well. Just ask Arlen Specter (RIP) with a better angle you clearly see the fatal shot as coming from the Depository and not the grassy knoll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhg Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I think the measurement of ten yards is the yellow chain, not the bar that is holding the chain. They made it to the end of the chain. no way a ref would mess up that call. No, the first down is measured from the inside of the bar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 (edited) The NFL has it out for the Buffalo Bills I tell you. Contact down the field (PI) on a lot of plays that were being ignored except for a bogus call against Buffalo in the 4th. I expected a flag on - Kelsey pushing on the helmet 3 times trying to get up and when Fitz had his helmet ripped off, Edited October 15, 2012 by BillsFan-4-Ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 How many times are we told that we came out on the bad side of things because we were looking at it from the wrong angle? This is the homerun throwback all over again - in some sort of alternate reality the rules of physics change and we clearly didn't see what we saw.... Is this the one where Spock has a goatee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
folz Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Absolute hose job as usual...I've been watching football for 35 years and in the thousands of measurements we've all watched, I have never seen a ball that far from the stick called a 1st down...Never. Angle, my eye. You could have done a 3-D panoramic, 360 spin around that ball...it still wasn't a first down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofiba Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I found this story from when the same thing happened a few years back. This is probably the explanation the refs yesterday would give. http://www.footballzebras.com/2009/10/19/501/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlbillsfan1975 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I think the refs got paid a lot of pesos by the Cards for that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odon59 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 The camera angle argument has no merit when you can see daylight between the nose of the ball and the post. There is virtually no "wrong" angle that would show space between the two objects when in fact there is none. It was short, the refs blew it, and the announcers gave them a free pass because they won't say anything criticizing the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 The camera angle argument has no merit when you can see daylight between the nose of the ball and the post. There is virtually no "wrong" angle that would show space between the two objects when in fact there is none. It was short, the refs blew it, and the announcers gave them a free pass because they won't say anything criticizing the NFL. Bingo. That it was short even with a laughably bad spot makes it even worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubes Posted October 16, 2012 Author Share Posted October 16, 2012 I found this story from when the same thing happened a few years back. This is probably the explanation the refs yesterday would give. http://www.footballz...2009/10/19/501/ Good find. However, I don't buy it for a second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalScotts Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 yes i noticed it, brutal spot that when challenged was "laughably" upheld, then they measure and go with close enough. TV guys never said a word...this drive ended in an AZ TD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SactoBillFan Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 It was short, refs blew it twice.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 The camera angle argument has no merit when you can see daylight between the nose of the ball and the post. There is virtually no "wrong" angle that would show space between the two objects when in fact there is none. It was short, the refs blew it, and the announcers gave them a free pass because they won't say anything criticizing the NFL. The angle certainly is the reason the call looks so bad. Look again and you can see that the ball is on this side of the chain, not directly in line with the chain/marker. So with the camera at an angle behind the marker and the ball on this side of the marker it will make it look like the ball is further away from the marker. You can test this out yourself. Take 2 pencils and line them up standing upright on their eraser directly in front of you with them touching each other. Now move the right one straight towards you about the width of the pencil. Now move your head a foot to the left and the right pencil will look like its not even with the other one. Now, that all said, I think that where they marked it was about half a football ahead of where it should've been marked. So although it looks like the call was bad, it was actually just a bad spot. Either way, we still got screwed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 (edited) The angle certainly is the reason the call looks so bad. Look again and you can see that the ball is on this side of the chain, not directly in line with the chain/marker. So with the camera at an angle behind the marker and the ball on this side of the marker it will make it look like the ball is further away from the marker. You can test this out yourself. Take 2 pencils and line them up standing upright on their eraser directly in front of you with them touching each other. Now move the right one straight towards you about the width of the pencil. Now move your head a foot to the left and the right pencil will look like its not even with the other one. Now, that all said, I think that where they marked it was about half a football ahead of where it should've been marked. So although it looks like the call was bad, it was actually just a bad spot. Either way, we still got screwed. Will pens work? Edited October 16, 2012 by San Jose Bills Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Pens only work as a replacement when the refs are on strike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Thanks UD. My wife works in an office… I'll have her bring home a couple of pencils tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsWatch Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 One of the disadvantages of being a **** team that nobody in the country cares about playing another **** team that nobody cares about is that the network sends the bare minimum of cameras to cover the game, so you end up with ****ty angles and unclear replays. Sort of like being a **** poster? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondslider Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Sort of like being a **** poster? Is that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRH Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Good find. However, I don't buy it for a second. I don't buy it either. Coleman got caught and gave a ridiculous explanation that sounded plausible. Almost like when the NHL invented a never-before-heard interpretation of the skate-in-the-crease rule after the fact. Years ago I would have been apoplectic when that happened. Yesterday I just laughed. This is exactly why I didn't care if the regular refs ever came back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPS Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I was listening to game on Sirius and the Cards announcers said he was short....confirmed he was short after they stretched the chains and said they should quick snap before the refs realize their mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wonderbread Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I think after judgment penalty calls this is the single biggest influence that a referee can have on the game. I would like to see some consistency. Unfortunately there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to why some spots look "off". Not calling it any type of conspiracy theory. YET! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Avenger Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Is this the one where Spock has a goatee? Yes. Look carefully and you'll see Fitz was clean shaven and most of the other guys had long beards..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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