These games are a joke.SB Nation has the play from three different angles if you have the stomach for it.
— Troy Aikman (@TroyAikman) September 25, 2012
The game was a disaster for the refs with calls, no-calls, phantom calls against both teams, but none of them were matched the Top 3 that went against the Packers. First, the game winning touchdown, with no better summation of the replacement refs debacle than two refs, standing a few feet apart, making different calls (one INT, another TD). Bonus screw-up: Jon Gruden was all over the non-call on pass interference against CB Sam Shields, as WR Golden Tate shoves him to the ground. Second, the pass interference call on Shields, as WR Sidney Rice was draped all over his back, that bailed the Seahawks out of 1st and 35. Third was the overturned interception by rookie S Jerron McMillian after a phantom roughing the passer call against LB Erik Walden (QB Russell Wilson must have had the red jersey on for that play).
The game was hard to watch. I've always taken the opinion that bad calls even out over the long run, but this game was extreme. Seattle had a couple of bad calls go against them (LT Russell Okung was called for holding when his hand brushed against LB Clay Matthews, and a non-call pass interference on CB Charles Woodson late in the game, are two examples), but none of those bad calls had the impact of the ones that went against the Packers.
This would have been an ugly game even without the refs. Seattle had no offense except for two long touchdowns to Tate. RT Bryan Bulaga completely fell apart in the first half which started the cascade of 8 sacks in the first half (zero allowed in the second half, but Rodgers rarely tried to throw down field). The Packer offense needs to connect on big plays and they can't if their o-line can't protect for more than 2 seconds. On the bright side, it was a second consecutive great game for the defense.
But it's impossible to have an honest review of their performance when the game is punctuated with so many penalties and so many bad calls by the refs. It's not just this game, it's been a bad season for the replacement refs who are just overwhelmed with responsibilities that are beyond them. All any team can do it play hard, press the boundaries (and work the refs) on every play, and hope for the best. Right now, the NFL is out of control.
2 comments:
You are absolutely right about the last play being a cluster you-know-what of gargantuan proportions. However, I thought the refs were actually a little worse for the Seahawks, at least until the final drive. What I mean is I thought I saw some obvious holding penalties against the Packer lineman that were not called in the 2nd half, for example.
And there was on obvious Jerrel Worthy offides call that was missed (Tom Silverstein pointed that one out)
And more directly, I am VERY concerned that over that past seven games, the Packers are 3-4. And really they are 1-4 in games that "really count" since the Chi and Detroit wins at the end of last year were very meaningless.
I'm concerned that our offense struggles against top 10 defenses (the Best defense we faced last year was KC, ranked 11th, and we only managed 7 points through the first 58 minutes till a late TD made it look closer)...
I, like you, am feeling better about the D...and some kudos to Nick Perry and McMillan, they really showed something tonight.
I'm very high on the Seahawks, as you know (and I was really high on Bruce Irvin, and now you see why). So this loss was not completely unexpected to me.
Anyways, on to New Orleans...
I forgot about Worthy's offside non-calls too. Still, none of the offside calls missed would have taken an INT away like the two bad calls that went against the Packers.
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