Sunday, September 14, 2008

The NFL - Either It Is Fixed or It Needs to Be

Today's Chargers v. Broncos game was won by the officials. The Chargers were flat out cheated.

First, on their second play from scrimage the Chargers Chris Chambers catches a pass (dual possesion with a defender) is down by contact and then the defender takes it. They rule an interception. The Chargers challenge the play, and, low and behold, the replay equipment does not work. So, even thought the images are clear, they can't reverse the call, and the Broncos get a cheap 19 yard TD drive.

Finally, after a long wild game the Chargers have over come this and have a lead 38 to 31.

Broncos have moved down to the 3, and their quarterback drops back and when throwing, the ball pops out of his hand (while the arm is going backwards) and the ball goes BACKWARDS. A Charger jumps on the fumble/lateral. After reviewing, the same official, decides that yeah it was a fumble, and yeah the Charger got it, and yeah it was BACKWARDS so it couldn't have been an incomplete pass, even if the arm was moving forward, but I decided to blow the whistle, so Broncos get to keep the ball. To the Broncos credit, they put the ball in the end zone and go for and get a two point conversion to win 39 to 38 (with several obvious holds not called).

Either the officials are completely incompetant, or they have been bought and sold.

Pick one.

So again, either the NFL is fixed, or it needs to be.

In either case I'm off the NFL. I stopped watching the NBA a few years ago because I felt they were fixed (and it turns out I may well have been right), now I'm doing it for football.

Thank goodness for baseball.

3 comments:

K T Cat said...

When the play was ruled an incomplete pass on the field, the whistle to stop play was blown. From there on out, they could not overturn the play because it had been blown dead. The head referee agreed that the Broncos fumbled the ball, but NFL rules prevent the call from being overturned because the play had been blown dead.

It was a pretty sad way to end it, but that's the rules. Of course, the Chargers could have just stopped the Broncos once or twice and kept them from racking up 39 points...

Ohioan@Heart said...

KT, I understand what he says. I understnad what he did, but KT, how can you rule a BACKWARDS pass incomplete? That's a live ball no matter if you think it is a pass or not.

And it wasn't kinda backwards, it was backwards from in front of the 10 yard line to behind the 10 yard line. BACKWARDS!

It was so obvious that I have to conclude it can't be simple incompetance. Like I said, I'm done with the NFL. My (formerly) beloved Browns are playing the (formerly) hated Steelers right now. I'm not watching. I won't watch.

End of discussion.

Dean said...

Both of you are right (I love being bipartisan!).

The play had been whistled dead so there was no way the Chargers were going to get the ball back.

But Hochuli absolutely blew the call. I mean, he butchered that thing nine ways to Sunday. I don't know what that guy was looking at because "ball lands behind QB" and "forward throwing motion" do not equate in my, or anyone else's I know, universe.

In the end, Hochuli made one of the worst calls I can recall and Charger defensive coordinator, Ted Cottrell, should get on his knees every night to thank the good lord that he has been able to somehow bamboozle a pay check out of the front office for over a year now.