Anybody see the Offensive PI call in the Rams game?

[TC in St. Louis]

Last night the Rams were leading San Fran 14-3, and on a nice drive. The QB hit the tight end with a short pass, and he broke a few tackles to get a first down at about the 20.

 

Flag. Offensive pass interference. Replay showed absolutely unequivocally indisputably NO infraction. Not even close. (a worse call than the one on Woods the other day).

 

Instead of first down at the 20 and the opportunity to run down the clock to the end of the half and get at least a field goal (17-3) or a td (21-3), they were moved back to the 45, ended up punting, and San Fran got a TD before the half.

 

Instead of going in to the locker room with a 14 or 18 point lead, the Rams led 14-10, lost all momentum, and lost the game.

 

I am saying this: That bad call cost the Rams the game.

[YoloinOhio]

Last night the Rams were leading San Fran 14-3, and on a nice drive. The QB hit the tight end with a short pass, and he broke a few tackles to get a first down at about the 20.

 

Flag. Offensive pass interference. Replay showed absolutely unequivocally indisputably NO infraction. Not even close. (a worse call than the one on Woods the other day).

 

Instead of first down at the 20 and the opportunity to run down the clock to the end of the half and get at least a field goal (17-3) or a td (21-3), they were moved back to the 45, ended up punting, and San Fran got a TD before the half.

 

Instead of going in to the locker room with a 14 or 18 point lead, the Rams led 14-10, lost all momentum, and lost the game.

 

I am saying this: That bad call cost the Rams the game.

Completely agree. Total BS call. Changed the game.

[Captain Hindsight]

That was an awful call.

 

The over officiating needs to stop. Truly ruining the game

[Bangarang]

The poor calls are league wide. Happens in every game to every team. That's the way the league is now. Might as well put flags on their hips at this point.

[Lord_MacDonald]

The NFL is a lot more interesting if the 9ers win that game. The 9ers being 3-3 lessens the Hawks and 9ers rivalry which is great at snagging viewers and producing big games. Also, everyone knows the rams aren't going anywhere this year....

 

Not saying, just saying.

[Captain Hindsight]

The NFL is a lot more interesting if the 9ers win that game. The 9ers being 3-3 lessens the Hawks and 9ers rivalry which is great at snagging viewers and producing big games. Also, everyone knows the rams aren't going anywhere this year....

 

 

Which is why everyone should be mad. If the NFL is calling games that way, then whats the point of watching?

[All_Pro_Bills]

Last night the Rams were leading San Fran 14-3, and on a nice drive. The QB hit the tight end with a short pass, and he broke a few tackles to get a first down at about the 20.

 

Flag. Offensive pass interference. Replay showed absolutely unequivocally indisputably NO infraction. Not even close. (a worse call than the one on Woods the other day).

 

Instead of first down at the 20 and the opportunity to run down the clock to the end of the half and get at least a field goal (17-3) or a td (21-3), they were moved back to the 45, ended up punting, and San Fran got a TD before the half.

 

Instead of going in to the locker room with a 14 or 18 point lead, the Rams led 14-10, lost all momentum, and lost the game.

 

I am saying this: That bad call cost the Rams the game.

My wife and I watched the 1st half last night and when I saw that play I looked at my wife and she told me 'don't say it'.

 

I said 'Well, you know what I'm thinking'. 'I guess the ref's thought the Bills were playing tonight.'

[ko12010]

That was an awful call.

 

The over officiating needs to stop. Truly ruining the game

What is so mind-boggling is when the call is so blatantly wrong you don't know how the ref ever even got it in his head to pull the flag out. What was he thinking? Why pull the flag at all? It's calls like this that give fuel to the 'game is fixed' fire.

Edited October 14, 2014 by ko12010

[peterpan]

Does the NFL ever fire refs??

 

Because they certainly need to.

[negativo]

The new pass interference enforcement is more damaging to the NFL than every strike, lockout, concussion and scandal combined. The very integrity of the game ON THE FIELD has been compromised. I can't stand it. Roger Goodell may be good at maximizing TV advertising revenue and franchise values, but between the powder puff football rule changes, his cover-up scandal with Ray Rice, his cover-up scandal with the Saints bounty, his scandals with screwing retired players out of medical benefits while covering up PCS, no commissioner in the history of the game has brought more harm to the integrity of the sport than he has.

[BaltimoreFanBills]

The PI call on the Rams TE was super bogus and the call on Woods was bogus too.

 

What baffles me about poor calls is that it always seems like they are on the underdog, smaller market, etc. team. I have yet to make a stance on if the refs are more willing to make calls on the underdog or if good teams just find ways to win. This would be an interesting study for the NFL to conduct.

[ko12010]

The new pass interference enforcement is more damaging to the NFL than every strike, lockout, concussion and scandal combined. The very integrity of the game ON THE FIELD has been compromised. I can't stand it. Roger Goodell may be good at maximizing TV advertising revenue and franchise values, but between the powder puff football rule changes, his cover-up scandal with Ray Rice, his cover-up scandal with the Saints bounty, his scandals with screwing retired players out of medical benefits while covering up PCS, no commissioner in the history of the game has brought more harm to the integrity of the sport than he has.

Don't forget covering up Spygate and destroying the video tapes

[Buffalo_Stampede]

The NFL needs to teach these refs to call only blatant fouls. A non call is better than a bad call.

[negativo]

The NFL needs to teach these refs to call only blatant fouls. A non call is better than a bad call.

That implies the NFL wants fewer pass interference calls. Quite the opposite. This was made clear in the summer meetings and preseason. What we see is what Goodell and company wants.

[Talley56]

I've come to the conclusion that poor officiating is as much a part of the game as anything else. At the end of the day, the 49ers still get the win and nothing will change that. As frustrating as it can be to play well and work your tail off only to lose a game on a blown call it's just something we have to accept in sports whether there really are conspiracies or the refs just simply make a bad call. Though I do think penalties should be reviewable and that might change some things in the end officiating is an element of the game.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

That implies the NFL wants fewer pass interference calls. Quite the opposite. This was made clear in the summer meetings and preseason. What we see is what Goodell and company wants.

 

There has to be some financial gain. I cant figure it out yet. Doesnt make any sense. Who actually walks into a room and says you know what will make our game better, more penalties.

 

Some of the calls made could be called every single play, thats what I hate most. Need to call only blatant fouls.

Edited October 14, 2014 by TheTruthHurts

[RJ (not THAT RJ)]

There has to be some financial gain. I cant figure it out yet. Doesnt make any sense. Who actually walks into a room and says you know what will make our game better, more penalties.

 

Some of the calls made could be called every single play, thats what I hate most. Need to call only blatant fouls.

 

The long-range goal is to make it so difficult to play defense that there will be more scoring, which is more exciting for the casual fan, the fantasy player, and the gambler. That it is less appealing to people who actually care which team wins any particular game is a negligible consideration for the folks who run the NFL. They figure they got us anyway.

[Mr. WEO]

It was a bad call. But I don't buy that a team loses all possible momentum before the half and still with the lead going into the locker room. Halftime stops all momentum.

 

The call didn't take away points, it took away a first down at the SF 25. Maybe they end up getting 7, maybe 3 (they only scored 3 more points the whole game, so...). It was a tough break ona bad call but there is no reason that call should have caused the Rams to collapse completely from that point froward. Come on. How about the Rams D doesn't give up an 80 yard TD play after their punter pinned down the 49ers at theor own 5 with less than 2 min to play?

 

How about coming out of halftime and extending your 4 point lead, instead of punting 5 times in a row?

 

Sorry--bad call, but not an excuse for them to lose this game.

[MarkAF43]

Does the NFL ever fire refs??

 

Because they certainly need to.

 

It blows my mind that in a multi Billion dollar industry, the on field officials are part time. They all hold other positions during the offseason, which to me makes no sense. If you have players and coaches working year round (basically), why aren't the officials doing the same thing?

[NoSaint]

 

 

There has to be some financial gain. I cant figure it out yet. Doesnt make any sense. Who actually walks into a room and says you know what will make our game better, more penalties.

 

Some of the calls made could be called every single play, thats what I hate most. Need to call only blatant fouls.

 

i wont defend the bad call but the point of the point of emphasis is to change the style of play. if that happens you would see a similar number of overall penalties, but less defensive grabbing play to play.

[Mr. WEO]

i wont defend the bad call but the point of the point of emphasis is to change the style of play. if that happens you would see a similar number of overall penalties, but less defensive grabbing play to play.

 

Many here moaned and groaned about the Seattle DBs getting away with mugging WRs because they (the Seahawks) knew the refs weren't going to call it on every play.

 

Then the league said they were going to do away with that thinking by actually calling a lot more PI (both offense and defense) penalties.

 

Now everyone is moaning and groaning about all the penalties that are being called in repsonse to the way the Seahwks played defense (and the Broncos played offense, actually).

 

The refs are doing what the league has told them to do--simple as that. This had been reported endlessly during the off-season, we saw it in preseason and are seeing it continue now--yet people here are still baffled as to what is going on. Still guys are claiming it's the refs and a conspiracy at that.

 

People are crazy.

[negativo]

There has to be some financial gain. I cant figure it out yet. Doesnt make any sense. Who actually walks into a room and says you know what will make our game better, more penalties.

 

Some of the calls made could be called every single play, thats what I hate most. Need to call only blatant fouls.

The league wants less hitting and more scoring. Penalties are the way they enforce this intention. Financially, owners don't like multi-million dollar contracts being paid to players on injured reserve, and they think Arena Football scoring is better for ratings. They also want to reduce the bad press that comes with stretchers and concussions.

 

Goodell and the owners want the NFL more pink, less black and blue.

[Best Player Available]

Does the NFL ever fire refs??

 

Because they certainly need to.

And, how often are refs drug tested?

[CardinalScotts]

at least Gruden is willing to say something, we all know TV guys are told do not talk about it- we know this because they say so right before some will blurt out what a brutal call. Tirico on the other hand is like most afraid to upset big brother so I'll pretend it didn't happen.

 

The officiating quality has been going down dramatically for about 5 years, super fast the last 2. I will still contribute a lot of it to OLD referees trying to move around with 25 year old super athletes your 65 (no glasses of course) and most of the time are in horrible position to make a call, and despite really knowing what happened they throw the flag anyway.

 

Google Walt Coleman it's not just Bills fans when we play New England

[mannc]

PI needs to be subject to instant replay challenge. The penalties are huge and the refs on the field simply cannot get the calls right, except in the most obvious instances. This needs to happen now.

[TC in St. Louis]

It was a bad call. But I don't buy that a team loses all possible momentum before the half and still with the lead going into the locker room. Halftime stops all momentum.

 

The call didn't take away points, it took away a first down at the SF 25. Maybe they end up getting 7, maybe 3 (they only scored 3 more points the whole game, so...). It was a tough break ona bad call but there is no reason that call should have caused the Rams to collapse completely from that point froward. Come on. How about the Rams D doesn't give up an 80 yard TD play after their punter pinned down the 49ers at theor own 5 with less than 2 min to play?

 

How about coming out of halftime and extending your 4 point lead, instead of punting 5 times in a row?

 

Sorry--bad call, but not an excuse for them to lose this game.

 

You make some valid points here. However, I believe that the Rams would have gained some yards from 1st down at the 25. And worn down the clock in the process. And their kicker has made 60+ yard field goals at least 3 times, so I believe they would have gotten at least 3 points.

 

Janoris Jenkins totally blew the coverage on that 80 yard touchdown. That probably had more to do with the crush on the morale of the team. Had they held them, I think coming out for the second up by 11 is a lot better than being up by 4.

 

The call changed the game. The Rams are the youngest team in the league, and did not recover from what happened.

 

I can't believe they have one sack all year. That's bizarre with all the talent on that line. Maybe Greggo cannot coach any more.

[Mr. WEO]

You make some valid points here. However, I believe that the Rams would have gained some yards from 1st down at the 25. And worn down the clock in the process. And their kicker has made 60+ yard field goals at least 3 times, so I believe they would have gotten at least 3 points.

 

Janoris Jenkins totally blew the coverage on that 80 yard touchdown. That probably had more to do with the crush on the morale of the team. Had they held them, I think coming out for the second up by 11 is a lot better than being up by 4.

 

The call changed the game. The Rams are the youngest team in the league, and did not recover from what happened.

 

I can't believe they have one sack all year. That's bizarre with all the talent on that line. Maybe Greggo cannot coach any more.

 

If you can't regroup at halftime and come blazing out with a 4 point spot....if you can't score on 5 consecutive possesions, then your team was probably not going to win the game even if they were up by 11 at the half (they lost by 14...).

[JPS]

It was the worst OPI I've seen this year. I'm not sure he even touched the defender. And it MAY have cost the Rams some momentum and ultimately the game (who knows), but good teams battle through bad calls and are able to win anyways. The Rams were not able to do anything in the 2nd half. Can't hang that on refs.

[PO'14]

It was a bad call. But I don't buy that a team loses all possible momentum before the half and still with the lead going into the locker room. Halftime stops all momentum.

 

The call didn't take away points, it took away a first down at the SF 25. Maybe they end up getting 7, maybe 3 (they only scored 3 more points the whole game, so...). It was a tough break ona bad call but there is no reason that call should have caused the Rams to collapse completely from that point froward. Come on. How about the Rams D doesn't give up an 80 yard TD play after their punter pinned down the 49ers at theor own 5 with less than 2 min to play?

 

How about coming out of halftime and extending your 4 point lead, instead of punting 5 times in a row?

 

Sorry--bad call, but not an excuse for them to lose this game.

 

 

Opinions are like belly buttons, we all have one. St-Louis was rocking the house yesterday until one ahole decided to change the outcome of the game. I had money on SF but I know the Rams got robbed. Getting a possible touchdown might have put the game out of reach at that moment. To think and say otherwise is foolish.

 

The way the half ended reminded me of the Texans game. Total domination until one late TD that changes the momentum.

 

Cheers

[section122]

If you can't regroup at halftime and come blazing out with a 4 point spot....if you can't score on 5 consecutive possesions, then your team was probably not going to win the game even if they were up by 11 at the half (they lost by 14...).

They did lose by 14 but the last 7 was from a pick 6 which the Rams had to throw because they were down 7 at that point. None of us have any idea how the 2nd half plays out without that call.

 

This call didn't make St Louis lose the game. That said it was huge blunder and definitely effected the outcome of the game as all calls do. The call didn't give up the 80 yard td but it certainly contributed to the ability of the niners to score the td.

 

Much like the calls against the Pats*. It isn't s much the calls themselves it is what they lead to (even if it isn't points). The call against Hughes gave the Pats* a first down. They didn't score but it did allow them to possess the ball and get another chance that they shouldn't have had to score while tiring out the defense. The timing of the calls is important and the fact that they happen is important regardless of the final outcome. Incompetence should not be accepted or tolerated from officials at this level. I don't think games are fixed but I do think refs play favorites which is and should be completely unacceptable.

[GG]

What baffles me about poor calls is that it always seems like they are on the underdog, smaller market, etc. team. I have yet to make a stance on if the refs are more willing to make calls on the underdog or if good teams just find ways to win. This would be an interesting study for the NFL to conduct.

 

My hunch is that over a course of a year, the calls are evenly balanced between good and bad teams. The difference is that for bad teams, the calls are more visible because the bad team can't overcome errors like the good team has. No one bats an eye about a bad call Patsies may get, because Tommy will hit Gronk for 17 yards on a 3rd & 16, and the last set of downs is forgotten.

[section122]

My hunch is that over a course of a year, the calls are evenly balanced between good and bad teams. The difference is that for bad teams, the calls are more visible because the bad team can't overcome errors like the good team has. No one bats an eye about a bad call Patsies may get, because Tommy will hit Gronk for 17 yards on a 3rd & 16 after Gronk shoves the defender to the ground, and the last set of downs is forgotten.

FTFY

[Punching Bag]

It blows my mind that in a multi Billion dollar industry, the on field officials are part time. They all hold other positions during the offseason, which to me makes no sense. If you have players and coaches working year round (basically), why aren't the officials doing the same thing?

 

A job which is basically 25 weeks with games up to 4 days a week should be full time?

[MarkAF43]

A job which is basically 25 weeks with games up to 4 days a week should be full time?

 

Absolutely. With the fact that it's the most popular sport in America, it's a bit of a black eye to have game day officials that are part timers. They should be full time, consistently reviewing tapes, reviewing calls, looking at constant ways to improve and make the game better for the fans and the league. They shouldn't be part time, and I've yet to see anyone argue in the defense of why they should remain as only part time.

[billsfan89]

No ref is ever going to be perfect week in and week out. And no matter what you are always going to find some bad calls in games. The issue I have with the NFL is the overall lack of quality control. It seems like the refs don't have any real quality control when it comes to bad calls. Even the NBA has started to release their Referee point of emphasis memos and responded quickly and clearly to bad calls the day after (Something I think that would have not happened under David Stern).

 

The NFL needs to be more transparent about their referee operations. Call out bad calls and make sure that institutions are in place to insure the best possible officiating of games.

[Mr. WEO]

It was the worst OPI I've seen this year. I'm not sure he even touched the defender. And it MAY have cost the Rams some momentum and ultimately the game (who knows), but good teams battle through bad calls and are able to win anyways. The Rams were not able to do anything in the 2nd half. Can't hang that on refs.

 

He certainly made contact as he was coming across the flat. Still a bad call.

 

Opinions are like belly buttons, we all have one. St-Louis was rocking the house yesterday until one ahole decided to change the outcome of the game. I had money on SF but I know the Rams got robbed. Getting a possible touchdown might have put the game out of reach at that moment. To think and say otherwise is foolish.

 

The way the half ended reminded me of the Texans game. Total domination until one late TD that changes the momentum.

 

Cheers

 

Not really foolish. A better team takes a 4 point lead into the half and looks to extend it. You are arguing that STL could only win with at least an 11 poitn halftime lead. I don't buy it. That one call so derailed them that they punted 5 times in a row in the second half?

 

Too much of a stretch for me to believe. Rams just aren't good enough yet--that's what we saw. They were what, a 7 point dog agaisnt a much better team which played lazy D and spotted them 4 points going into the half..

 

They did lose by 14 but the last 7 was from a pick 6 which the Rams had to throw because they were down 7 at that point. None of us have any idea how the 2nd half plays out without that call.

 

This call didn't make St Louis lose the game. That said it was huge blunder and definitely effected the outcome of the game as all calls do. The call didn't give up the 80 yard td but it certainly contributed to the ability of the niners to score the td.

 

Much like the calls against the Pats*. It isn't s much the calls themselves it is what they lead to (even if it isn't points). The call against Hughes gave the Pats* a first down. They didn't score but it did allow them to possess the ball and get another chance that they shouldn't have had to score while tiring out the defense. The timing of the calls is important and the fact that they happen is important regardless of the final outcome. Incompetence should not be accepted or tolerated from officials at this level. I don't think games are fixed but I do think refs play favorites which is and should be completely unacceptable.

 

Was it too much to ask for the D to stop the 49ers from going over 90 yards in under 2 minutes before the half? If so, then there is no way the Rams were going to win that game/

 

And yeah--the pick 6 came when the Rams were only down by 7. They had to throw because they had squandered every other drive in the half except the FG drive.

 

None of this can be traced back the that call.

[TC in St. Louis]

It can all be traced back to that call. All of it. A team rolling into the locker room with an 18 point lead has momentum. The crowd is behind them. It made a huge difference.

 

The 90 yards....80 of it was on one play, blown by the db and no safety help. It was horrifying. Completely took any wind from the sails. The shoulders sagged. Even though they had a 4 point lead, they were destroyed by the call.

 

What happened in the second half was a direct result of the call. That's what I believe.

 

If you disagree, that's fine. You can post all you want. It won't change my opinion. And I won't change yours. No big deal.

 

I'd rather talk about the Bills anyway. Go team.

[metzelaars_lives]

at least Gruden is willing to say something, we all know TV guys are told do not talk about it- we know this because they say so right before some will blurt out what a brutal call. Tirico on the other hand is like most afraid to upset big brother so I'll pretend it didn't happen.

 

The officiating quality has been going down dramatically for about 5 years, super fast the last 2. I will still contribute a lot of it to OLD referees trying to move around with 25 year old super athletes your 65 (no glasses of course) and most of the time are in horrible position to make a call, and despite really knowing what happened they throw the flag anyway.

 

Google Walt Coleman it's not just Bills fans when we play New England

I was at the gym and happened to catch that play but without any sound. I couldn't believe it. Then they panned to Jared Cook on the sideline and he wasn't shaking his head in disbelief so I figured maybe I was missing something. What did Gruden say?

 

FTFY

The acronyms are now officially overdone on this site. What in the world does this mean?

[Mr. WEO]

It can all be traced back to that call. All of it. A team rolling into the locker room with an 18 point lead has momentum. The crowd is behind them. It made a huge difference.

 

The 90 yards....80 of it was on one play, blown by the db and no safety help. It was horrifying. Completely took any wind from the sails. The shoulders sagged. Even though they had a 4 point lead, they were destroyed by the call.

 

What happened in the second half was a direct result of the call. That's what I believe.

 

If you disagree, that's fine. You can post all you want. It won't change my opinion. And I won't change yours. No big deal.

 

I'd rather talk about the Bills anyway. Go team.

 

Fair enough.

[34-78-83]

It would take longer to finish games, but I'd sure be fine with it if interference and D holding were challenge-able calls. The networks may not be ok with the extra time unfortunately