Unfairness in the replay rule?

[oldecapecod11]

Unfairness???

The unfairness involved is two-fold.

1. They have made rules for the sake of making rules - most of which have done absolutely nothing to enhance the game.
The game played in the 1950s was just fine, thank you.
Rules preserving health and safety are good but most of the rest are nonsense. Those on-air interpreters who ply their trade
for the reward of the buck are low-life morons.

2. And now, the unfairnessest cut of all - Replay.
(And... it should be pointed out that there is no such thing as "instant replay.")
Next, Sports will want to "review" every called third strike. Imagine Yogi calling for a replay when Jackie stole Home?
Nonsense!
He may have been "Out" but he was "Safe."
The coaches are human; the players are human; and the officials are human. If anyone is inhuman, it is the fans and broadcasters at times.
Humans will make mistakes. Just look at the PFRA with its current leadership. A few very bad mistakes there!
(Thankfully, 2016 is just around the corner.)
We cannot expect officials to be perfect.
Were it so, the only venue would be Pearly Gates Park and every day would tingle with the crispness of Autumn.
When coaches coach a perfect game; and players play a perfect game; then - and only then - can perfection be demanded of the arbiters.
Imagine a game with no dropped passes, no fumbles, no INTs, no penalties, no missed FGs, and no inadvertent whistles or flags dropped in error.
Even the biggest dope would find that pretty boring.
The Palmer Method may be gone forever but that does not mean football had to disappear as well -
football as it was meant to be played, that is.

[fgoodwin]

I don't recall the guy's name, but in FOX's broadcast of the Cowboys-Giants game last weekend, a replay showed that Cowboys RB Darren McFadden caught a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage. He went on to score an apparent TD but it was called back for offensive pass interference (a Cowboy WR was downfield blocking on the play).

OPI is not reviewable, but the replay showed that the WR deliberately pulled his hands back to ensure he DIDN'T engage the DB too early, and that he engaged AFTER McFadden made the catch. In other words, no OPI and the TD should have stood.

To his credit, the replay guy FOX turned to did criticize the refs for making a bad call.

[Bryan]

Did anyone see the end of the Giants-Pats game? Beckham caught a pass in the endzone, had two feet down, then the defender stripped him of the ball. Ref calls it a TD...they go to replay...Mike Carey comes on the TV and says its definitely not a catch because of "simultaneous stripping" or something like that...I think Carey is just making stuff up at this point...yet the replay overturns the catch, and no explanation is given during the broadcast.

[luckyshow]

In Pats-Giants game, that was a catch, he took two steps and it wasn't simultaneous.

Does anyone recall a 1960s play when Redskins had a TD against Giants where the receiver had the ball in endzone for a half second and dropped it. Times do change.

How in the world did that Giant not intercept that underthrown Brady pass? I wonder if on last play if Beckham had not stepped out of bounds if he and the blockers had a clear path to somehow score? In that game, it would have been appropriate....

[luckyshow]

The time noted for these posts is still on savings time, by the way, or is on Central Time.

[BD Sullivan]

Ironic that the thread for replay and controversial catches is brought back today--the 40th anniversary of Mel Gray's infamous "catch" that helped the Cardinals tie the Redskins, before they won it in OT.

[Reaser]

Did anyone see the end of the Giants-Pats game? Beckham caught a pass in the endzone, had two feet down, then the defender stripped him of the ball.

That Golden Tate's TD against the Bears a month back was ruled a catch and Beckham's wasn't sums up everything.

There was two in the SNF game last night also, Graham had a catch similar to Beckham - in that he had poss. in the endzone - that was stripped away after he took 3 and a half steps. Then there was the Cardinals catch and fumble where he caught it, turned up field and fumbled but was ruled incomplete on the field and then after "New York" chimed in - which was a game delaying debacle - the call on the field stood.

As Blandino and Fisher would say, the rules on what is and isn't a catch are very clear and there's no confusion ...

[JWL]

I wonder how all over the place the results would be if some of us commented on these plays by using our own eyes and common sense and interpretations of what we think a catch is and paying no mind to any NFL rules.

I will go first.

Mel Gray 40 years ago- not a catch
Jimmy Graham last night- not a catch
Odell Beckham JR last night- not a catch
Golden Tate vs Bears- not a catch
Dez Bryant vs Packers in playoffs- catch

[bquinn]

And the famous Butch Johnson catch in the Super Bowl for the Cowboys vs. the Broncos back in 1978 would DEFINITELY not be a catch these days.

[Gary Najman]

How about the Calvin Johnson TD catch at Chicago, and the Louis Murphy TD vs. San Diego in a Monday Night? Both to me were catches, even the on-field officials called them that way (like the Dez Bryant play) before instant replay...