Has NFL Given Any Explanation Why Flag Was Picked Up?

[st pete gogolak]

Any explanation why flag for ineligible lineman downfield picked up?  Do they have to give an explanation or is it too bad so sad?

[Big Turk]

It was egregious...

 

1) It was a forward pass

2) The man was 5 yards downfield(allowed to be 1 yard downfield)

3) It is irrelevant if the pass thrown is behind the line of scrimmage. This is the NFL, not High school. In the NFL that doesn't matter.

 

That was a 100% penalty and was so bad the NFL could use that in their training videos for officials on what constitutes an illegal man downfield penalty. 

Edited October 24, 2023 by Big Turk

[BADOLBILZ]

 

No and they need not.

 

If you play poorly for 58 minutes and find yourself in a tight game at the end because of it you have earned the right to have the random officials calls help decide the outcome.

 

And the more angry fans get about it the more bonded to their teams they become.

 

[st pete gogolak]

Not saying it determined outcome of game or Bills played well enough to win. Just curious if NFL said anything about the call.

[Bferra13]

1 minute ago, st pete gogolak said:

Not saying it determined outcome of game or Bills played well enough to win. Just curious if NFL said anything about the call.

Honestly, it probably did determine the outcome. But the Bills still deserved the fate they got.

[BillsFanSD]

36 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

No and they need not.

 

If you play poorly for 58 minutes and find yourself in a tight game at the end because of it you have earned the right to have the random officials calls help decide the outcome.

 

And the more angry fans get about it the more bonded to their teams they become.

 

It can simultaneously be true that the Bills richly deserved to lose this game and also that the officials were wrong to pick up this flag.  

[Long Suffering Fan]

2 minutes ago, st pete gogolak said:

Not saying it determined outcome of game or Bills played well enough to win. Just curious if NFL said anything about the call.

 

What made it so bad was not that it was missed.  The flag was thrown.  Calls get missed all the time, but It wasn't missed.  It was picked up.

[st pete gogolak]

3 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

 

What made it so bad was not that it was missed.  The flag was thrown.  Calls get missed all the time, but It wasn't missed.  It was picked up.

Precisely. That’s why I was curious if NFL commented on it.  

[BADOLBILZ]

2 minutes ago, BillsFanSD said:

It can simultaneously be true that the Bills richly deserved to lose this game and also that the officials were wrong to pick up this flag.  

 

Why stop there?    It can also be true that this is just part of the game.   The SB was sealed on a legit but often not called pass interference........the Bills won Sunday with a controversial non-call ending the game.    The hope is that you mostly keep yourself out of those situations and that when you do, you get the breaks.   You string a bunch of them together.......the odds are you get burned.   The Bills still had plenty of opportunity to keep NE out of the end zone.  They failed.

[Jerome007]

17 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

What made it so bad was not that it was missed.  The flag was thrown.  Calls get missed all the time, but It wasn't missed.  It was picked up.

THIS!!! I don't get it. There needs to be a league explanation here. If the flag was never thrown, maybe we would not have noticed. But it was thrown, and the replay so clear! The center was at least 5 yards downfield. He wasn't blocking anyone or near anyone tough, so is that the reason? I don't think so... but we need to know!

 

What is this "Bills didn't deserve to win crap"? Both teams played the game, and there are rules in this game. The center didn't impact the play, but rules are rules. If the Cheats go back 5 yards instead of going forward 30 yards, that's a HUGE difference. Bills likely win. 

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Just give it to 'em ring any bells?

 

[BuffaloBillies]

I'm guessing refs are told by the NFL to do their very best not to make calls in the final couple minutes of the game that can impact the outcome, especially if they believe the infraction didn't "materially" impact the play. So perhaps when the zebra's got together after the play, they did acknowledge that he was downfield but that it didn't impact the play, so they picked it up. I very much disagree with this, of course. A penalty should be a penalty whenever it happens. But that's my guess.

[2003Contenders]

27 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

 

What made it so bad was not that it was missed.  The flag was thrown.  Calls get missed all the time, but It wasn't missed.  It was picked up.

I suppose the thought could be that the possible infraction had no bearing on the play given that the center did not actually block anyone. But that is not for the officials to decide. It smells of the NY office calling down to the field to tell the officials to pick the flag up so that Billy B. could get a shot at winning #300 at home. Not saying that is what happened, but sometimes perception is reality.

[Big Turk]

31 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

 

What made it so bad was not that it was missed.  The flag was thrown.  Calls get missed all the time, but It wasn't missed.  It was picked up.

 

Reminds me of the "Just give it to them" call against the Pats.

1 minute ago, 2003Contenders said:

I suppose the thought could be that the possible infraction had no bearing on the play given that the center did not actually block anyone. But that is not for the officials to decide. It smells of the NY office calling down to the field to tell the officials to pick the flag up so that Billy B. could get a shot at winning #300 at home. Not saying that is what happened, but sometimes perception is reality.

 

That has NO relevancy to the play.  Whether he is blocking anyone or not, doesn't make it OK for him to be more than 1 yard downfield.  It's still a penalty even if he is dancing by himself downfield.

[LABILLBACKER]

32 minutes ago, Bferra13 said:

Honestly, it probably did determine the outcome. But the Bills still deserved the fate they got.

Not only that but Taron deserved a flag on Waller.  When you need flags to barely beat bad teams, your season is already a mess.  Try scoring more than 3 pts in the first half.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

 

23 minutes ago, Long Suffering Fan said:

 

What made it so bad was not that it was missed.  The flag was thrown.  Calls get missed all the time, but It wasn't missed.  It was picked up.

"Hello, NY NFL referee ubermeister?  This is..'Richter' in Bronxville.  Pick up the flag and some important bets pay off.  Don't ask why, just pick it up."

 

Get me an 'X' account, I am on a roll. 😁

[starrymessenger]

I think that the ref also actually announced the penalty over the loudspeaker. Weird.

[Big Turk]

1 minute ago, starrymessenger said:

I think that the ref also actually announced the penalty over the loudspeaker. Weird.

 

He said "There is no foul for illegal man downfield on the play"

[MJS]

26 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

Why stop there?    It can also be true that this is just part of the game.   The SB was sealed on a legit but often not called pass interference........the Bills won Sunday with a controversial non-call ending the game.    The hope is that you mostly keep yourself out of those situations and that when you do, you get the breaks.   You string a bunch of them together.......the odds are you get burned.   The Bills still had plenty of opportunity to keep NE out of the end zone.  They failed.

Most games are close in the NFL. Yes, ideally you don't want the game to come down to a bad call, but often it does.

 

You seem offended that fans want to discuss one of the negative aspects of that game, which was a poor call by the refs. Everyone is in agreement that the Bills sucked and played poorly, but that doesn't mean we can't also discuss a specific play that was at least curious from the refs.

 

We all get it. There are bad calls. You don't want to be in a position where that impacts your ability to win. Yada yada. We aren't children. We understand.

4 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Not only that but Taron deserved a flag on Waller.  When you need flags to barely beat bad teams, your season is already a mess.  Try scoring more than 3 pts in the first half.

That is not the topic of this thread. Everyone understands this. The question was about a specific call from the refs.

[starrymessenger]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

He said "There is no foul for illegal man downfield on the play"

Thanks. I guess I misheard what he said. Or maybe I just heard what I wanted to hear.

[DrDawkinstein]

42 minutes ago, st pete gogolak said:

Not saying it determined outcome of game or Bills played well enough to win. Just curious if NFL said anything about the call.

 

No, and they never will. At least not publicly. They may communicate with the team if the team sends it in. But we'll never know, and NFL officiating will continue to live behind the veil of smoke and mirrors. Exactly where the league office wants it.

[Augie]

1 hour ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

No and they need not.

 

If you play poorly for 58 minutes and find yourself in a tight game at the end because of it you have earned the right to have the random officials calls help decide the outcome.

 

And the more angry fans get about it the more bonded to their teams they become.

 

 

That wasn’t the question. He asked if there was any explanation as to why the flag was picked up. Not throwing a flag or missing a call is one thing. Throwing a flag, then picking it up when it appears to have been justified deserves an explanation. It’s not just that “our team,” got he short end on this one, I think some explanation was warranted. Maybe I missed it?  🤷‍♂️

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Yes. They released a statement saying the referee that threw the flag had money on the Bills but the other referees had money on the Patriots.

 

Understandable.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Jerome007]

5 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

He said "There is no foul for illegal man downfield on the play"

Yep. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be having this thread. I'm surprised the BILLS and media aren't more vocal on  this one. It is one of the weird ones. Sure, the Giants got screwed on the no call on the last play 2 weeks ago... but there was no flag. This is beyond this.

 

And nope, I don't think it was to give Belichick his 300th win. As if that wouldn't happen this season, or that he was soooo loved anyway ha ha. 

[LewPort71]

24 minutes ago, JÂy RÛßeÒ said:

Just give it to 'em ring any bells?

 

Yes it does.   ARRRGGGHHH

[ngbills]

My understanding is they said it was a backwards pass. Music city miracle style. 

[Zag20]

Why are people still saying the center was 5 yards down the field? When Macorkle released the ball he was 1-2 yards downfield with his foot still at 1 yard, which is probably why they picked it up. It’s still a bs move to pick the flag up, but why exaggerate?

 

The PI with 18 seconds left was very impactful as it stopped the clock and gave them an extra down. That was one of those hooking the waist plays, but hardly impactful to the receiver. If that flag isn’t thrown, it’s second and goal, click running and they patriots get 2 plays before having to kick the FG to tie.

Edited October 24, 2023 by Zag20

[Chaos]

2 hours ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Not only that but Taron deserved a flag on Waller.  When you need flags to barely beat bad teams, your season is already a mess.  Try scoring more than 3 pts in the first half.

second half points count the same.  Defense choked away a lead with less than two minutes to play, and the leagues worst offense 75 yards from the endzone.  Loss is owned 100% by the defense.  Bad defense, can't close. We have seen it numerous times. 

[LeGOATski]

I haven't seen any explanation. The NFL could easily be more transparent, like the USFL and XFL are, but they refuse.

 

I'm rooting for the other pro football leagues to succeed. Football is a super entertaining sport and the refs should be a much smaller part of the game. Automating the referee role as much as possible should be the goal.

[Big Turk]

2 hours ago, BuffaloBillies said:

I'm guessing refs are told by the NFL to do their very best not to make calls in the final couple minutes of the game that can impact the outcome, especially if they believe the infraction didn't "materially" impact the play. So perhaps when the zebra's got together after the play, they did acknowledge that he was downfield but that it didn't impact the play, so they picked it up. I very much disagree with this, of course. A penalty should be a penalty whenever it happens. But that's my guess.

 

Except they have been making calls all year more and more that are impacting outcomes of games and many times deciding them.  They virtually handed the Browns a win against the Colts with flag after flag and call after call...that was pathetic.  I would be incensed if I was a Colts fan.

[buffaloboyinATL]

3 hours ago, st pete gogolak said:

Any explanation why flag for ineligible lineman downfield picked up?  Do they have to give an explanation or is it too bad so sad?

Because Patriots*

[BuffaloBillies]

1 minute ago, Big Turk said:

 

Except they have been making calls all year more and more that are impacting outcomes of games and many times deciding them.  They virtually handed the Browns a win against the Colts with flag after flag and call after call...that was pathetic.  I would be incensed if I was a Colts fan.

 

No penalty on Taron end of NYG game (thank god), which you could argue should have been called. Consistency is tough when it's ref judgment, I guess. The issue here though is picking up the flag. That's not cool, especially if they agree a foul occurred. 

[Big Turk]

1 minute ago, BuffaloBillies said:

 

No penalty on Taron end of NYG game (thank god), which you could argue should have been called. Consistency is tough when it's ref judgment, I guess. The issue here though is picking up the flag. That's not cool, especially if they agree a foul occurred. 

 

Typically they let players decide the games on their own at the end.

 

The issue I have had is that you don't even know what you are getting series to series from officials in the SAME GAME, let alone from week to week with the same crew and then with different crews.  

 

Look at the Bourne TD where Henry literally blocks 3 Bills players and knocks them down but there is no offensive PI called which was FAR WORSE than what Murray did that was called earlier.

[Dafan]

2 hours ago, Big Turk said:

 

Reminds me of the "Just give it to them" call against the Pats.

 

That has NO relevancy to the play.  Whether he is blocking anyone or not, doesn't make it OK for him to be more than 1 yard downfield.  It's still a penalty even if he is dancing by himself downfield.

The excuse of picking up the flag because he didn't block anyone is crap.  As a defensive player, you see a lineman down field and it changes your mind set as you are now playing a run as they can't pass the ball 

[BarleyNY]

https://nesn.com/2023/10/why-bill-belichick-thought-patriots-bills-officiating-was-unusual/

[Jerome007]

1 hour ago, Zag20 said:

Why are people still saying the center was 5 yards down the field? When Macorkle released the ball he was 1-2 yards downfield with his foot still at 1 yard, which is probably why they picked it up. It’s still a bs move to pick the flag up, but why exaggerate?

That's what I saw on the TV replay. I might be wrong, but that's what I remember seeing. I haven't double checked. But since others were saying it too, I assumed it was indeed the case. 

[Sharky7337]

Crafty bob sent some asian orchids to the review crew and they needed the flags for cleanup

Edited October 24, 2023 by Sharky7337

[BIGFOOTspaceman]

4 hours ago, st pete gogolak said:

Any explanation why flag for ineligible lineman downfield picked up?  Do they have to give an explanation or is it too bad so sad?

It's simple....big money came in on the Bills in Vegas to trounce the Pats so.....poof, flag goes away.  I hear the ref who through the flag got tuned up by the Pit Boss at the Bellagio though.

 

Of coarse I'm kidding....

 

Vegas would never collude with NFL officiating.

 

never

 

no way 

 

like, it's not even plausible

 

 

 

 

[Low Positive]

I just watched the play on the All-22. At the time that the pass was released, the center was precisely 1 yard downfield. He was 3 yards downfield by the time Stevenson caught Mac's floater. I think that, like usual, Belichick's teams get the details right.

[MikePJ76]

Teams usually put in a handful of plays that they disputed from the game and get answers from ny on tuesday.  I don't think the team nor the league is obligated to make that info public though.