2015 NFL Playoff thread

[ben voyonsdonc]

Wow. Watching it live I thought that it was pass interference. I didn't really see anything to show that it wasn't pass interference on replay either. As a Cowboys fan, I'm happy that it went our way but I think the Lions got robbed on that one.

RE: Dez running onto the field - apparently the refs have some discretion about the call. Bryant better not be doing that again though.

[troutman]

Weather could be a factor in all 4 games.

[Red John]

Originally Posted by transplant99

1/10 4:35 ET At New England -7 Baltimore 48
1/10 8:15 ET At Seattle -11.5 Carolina 40.5
1/11 1:00 ET At Green Bay -6.5 Dallas 53
1/11 4:40 ET At Denver -7 Indianapolis 53.5

Those lines are going to get even bigger as the week goes.

Anybody wanting to pick favourites this week should get in early. Especially in the Broncos game. That one could be at 9 points by Sunday.

[Flabbibulin]

I can't see any of the wild card winners moving on next weekend.

[Cheerio]

Originally Posted by transplant99

1/10 4:35 ET At New England -7 Baltimore 48
1/10 8:15 ET At Seattle -11.5 Carolina 40.5
1/11 1:00 ET At Green Bay -6.5 Dallas 53
1/11 4:40 ET At Denver -7 Indianapolis 53.5

New England wins, Baltimore covers
Seattle wins and covers
Dallas wins
Denver wins and covers

[Senator Clay Davis]

Before it's even pass interference, it's holding...


And then there's these...





Refs in that game should never work another playoff game again and should probably be relegated to preseason work from now on. Morelli was already involved in one of the worst officiated games ever, the 2009 NFC Championship between Minnesota and New Orleans.

[MillerTime GFG]

Lol did you seriously go back and pick random plays/calls that were missed? There were plenty of missed calls in that game on both sides of the ball. Someone on the Cowboys FB page even went back and did the same thing as you, but I can't find it now. One of the pics he posted was on that same play, where it proves there was a clear hand in the face of Hitchens.

Witten was interfered with on a big third down play earlier in the game that went unnoticed. Of course this play is garnering much more attention because of when it happened. Again, lots of missed calls on both sides of the ball. At one point, the penalties and yards against for the penalties were lopsided AGAINST the Cowboys.

[devo22]

Taking back that PI and missing the Bryant call were brutal and it sucks that these things helped decide that game. Hope the Cowboys will get destroyed next week ... but to be honest, I wouldn't have been over the moon (haha) with a Lions win either after that Suh decision.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by MillerTime GFG

Lol did you seriously go back and pick random plays/calls that were missed? There were plenty of missed calls in that game on both sides of the ball. Someone on the Cowboys FB page even went back and did the same thing as you, but I can't find it now. One of the pics he posted was on that same play, where it proves there was a clear hand in the face of Hitchens.

Witten was interfered with on a big third down play earlier in the game that went unnoticed. Of course this play is garnering much more attention because of when it happened. Again, lots of missed calls on both sides of the ball. At one point, the penalties and yards against for the penalties were lopsided AGAINST the Cowboys.

First of all, the Cowboys had a total of 45 penalty yards. There is literally no scenario where it can be considered lopsided at all. So crying that the refs were against you earlier doesn't play. Penalty yards by quarter:

1: Dal 10, Det 1(this was a 15 yard penalty however, only half the distance so 1 yard...)
2: Dal 20, Det 10 (two penalties each)
3: Dal 10, Det 0 (the obvious Witten holding on the Murray TD)
4: Dal 5, Det 30 (hmmmm)

So never is it lopsided at all. Not even close. 100-20 is lopsided. It would have been more lopsided if they called the game correctly, but they didn't.

One single play had 4 (!!) penalties that could have happened, and the NFL called zero. If they called any of the penalties like they should have, Detroit benefits and probably goes on to at least get a FG and maybe the clinching touchdown. Instead, not only is there no penalty, there's no explanation either. Congrats on benefitting from it, but only the homer-iest of Cowboy fans are saying they didn't get a gift. Take the gift and be grateful.

This is without question one of the worst officiated games in history. Had the calls gone the other way you'd be totally furious. The Dez debacle is the worst part. The NFL has serious integrity issues right now. Goodell has been a disaster to everything except making money. Best part is the head of NFL officiating on Jerry Jones party bus before the year. It's gonna be a fun week to watch the NFL break it's ankles backtracking here.

[Robbob]

The explanation of why they picked up the flag is a little suspect if you ask me.

Referee Pete Morelli told a pool reporter after the game that the head linesman overruled the initial flag because "contact was minimal."

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf...back_judg.html

[Spuds_Buckley]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

I can't see any of the wild card winners moving on next weekend.

I could see Indy pulling off an upset. The Broncos have been relying on the run the last several games and if Indy can stop them on the ground and force Manning to air it out lot they could capitalize on some mistakes.

As for the Ravens, they have beaten the Pats in Foxboro twice before in the postseason... so I'm not going to say it's a done deal. My biggest concern is if they blitz Brady, then they'll leave some open players down the field... and the Pats can burn you good that way.

Should be a good weekend!

[CaptainCrunch]

There was no question that was classic pass interference.

there are always going to be people mumbling that the fix was in because man this is the cowboys.

The minimal contact is pretty irrelevant, the DB wasn't playing the ball, he never looked at the ball, and because of that the contact wasn't incidental.

As far as next weekends games

1/10 4:35 ET At New England -7 Baltimore 48 - New England pounds the crap out of Baltimore
1/10 8:15 ET At Seattle -11.5 Carolina 40.5 - Seattle destroys Carolina
1/11 1:00 ET At Green Bay -6.5 Dallas 53 - Green bay wrecks Dallas
1/11 4:40 ET At Denver -7 Indianapolis 53.5 - Denver wins a close one against Indy.

[troutman]

How can the refs decide who to cheat for when the NFL's two glamour franchises go head to head?

[troutman]

BTW, the Lions have to take most of the blame for only having a 10 point lead at half time, and scoring only 3 points in the second half. That game was very winnable, despite the worst efforts of the refs.

[Senator Clay Davis]

As expected....

Blandino, appearing on PFT Live, told Mike Florio that Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens did get away with a penalty on the Lions’ fourth-quarter pass to Brandon Pettigrew. But Blandino said the missed call that troubled him most was not the pass interference flag that was originally thrown but later picked up.

According to Blandino, the clear penalty Hitchens got away with was defensive holding: Hitchens grabbed Pettigrew’s jersey while Pettigrew was running his route, and Blandino said that should have been called. If it had been, it would have given the Lions an automatic first down.

Blandino said the pass interference penalty that one official flagged, only to get overruled by another official, was a “close call that could have went either way.” Blandino acknowledged that the officials should have done a better job of communicating, first among themselves so that they could get the call right, and then after referee Pete Morelli turned on his microphone to announce the penalty. Morelli first announced pass interference, then later announced that the pass interference penalty would not be enforced — but that second announcement was so hasty that the FOX broadcast missed it.

Although some observers have suggested that Pettigrew also should have been flagged for facemasking Hitchens, Blandino says that’s not the case.

“I felt that was minimal contact,” Blandino said of Pettigrew’s contact with Hitchens’s facemask.

Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant ran onto the field to argue the pass interference call, and Blandino said Bryant could have been flagged for that. Blandino said running on the field to argue with an official is “not an automatic penalty,” but he added that “I certainly would have supported a call for unsportsmanlike conduct.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...away-with-one/

[MillerTime GFG]

I think the Dez thing would be discretionary, obviously depending what he said.

I still think it was indeed defensive PI (as I've previously said numerous times), but I also think that facemask was not minimal from watching the replay. Offsetting penalties still, IMO. The holding is a different story.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Hopefully we get expanded replay, full time officials, the ability to actually reprimand or fire officials, and ideally Blandino getting fired out of this mess. The party bus stuff is ridiculous and only encourages conspiracy talk. Dude is an idiot.

[MillerTime GFG]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Hopefully we get expanded replay, full time officials, the ability to actually reprimand or fire officials, and ideally Blandino getting fired out of this mess. The party bus stuff is ridiculous and only encourages conspiracy talk. Dude is an idiot.

I think it's great! No ulterior motives, just the Cowboys franchise being warm and friendly.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by troutman

How can the refs decide who to cheat for when the NFL's two glamour franchises go head to head?

New England isn't playing Dallas though, so we wont find out.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by transplant99

New England isn't playing Dallas though, so we wont find out.

They might in February.