My stupid questions

[dieterbrock]

NFL should definitely revisit this rule in the off-season.

It is amazing to me that this is clearly an oversight of the rules, I'm assuming this has never happened before. It just defies all logic that the play isnt a loss of down penalty

 

[CGI_Ram]

 

[Mackeyser]

I've thanked you for your input, but now I feel the need to dig deeper into your answers. My dig in is specific to the Bucs/Rams game.

4. Thank you for your clarity about the refs not wanting attention to a clearly subjective rule they are unwilling to enforce to the letter of the law that is written. To this point, I strongly suggest courage over expediency.

When Evans pushed down on Ramsey's head, it was a clear violation but one not likely to be overturned. When Evans pushed off Ramsey from a low position, there's a chance (though unlikely) that both players could've been flagged resulting in a do-over. I get the conundrum. There will never be perfect officiating but that doesn't mean they should shrink from doing the right thing.

3. I'm asking again for you to re-post your response to something I'm truly upset about. If a defender turns his back to to ball carrier by geometry, a blocker should not be flagged for doing his job.

Total judgment call by the refs. In the past, they've seen guys who turn around expressly to draw the foul and they don't throw the flag or pick it up because the player, by stopping, is disengaging from the play and as they are not attempting to make a play, it's ruled incidental contact and no foul. However, there are times when a guy is just good at drawing the foul and the refs feel in that instant that it met the definition, if not the spirit and throw the flag.

There's good and bad aspects to this. Calling fouls explicitly removes much of the subjectivity and involves a "letter of the law" approach which might obviate some bias, but also allows for exploitation of loopholes or results in unintended consequences.

Calling fouls implicitly means discerning context. Did the guy try to draw the foul? Is it incidental contact due to the player disengaging from the play? This approach helps to remove the exploitation and loopholes, but introduces bias.

There's no good answer.

5. If NY has the authority to review PF's, then what triggers their response and why can't that trigger come from a challenge. Again, the inconsistency is maddening.

It's not all personal fouls. It's explicitly referring to disqualifying offenses like throwing punches or specifically trying to injure another player.

7. Was this rule in place in the NFC Championship game with the Rams v Saints? I ask because in 56 years, I've never witnessed a team suffer from the inability to even hear something one foot away like that game. And I personally heard piped in music and noise OVER the crowd. That game was the impetus of my question.

That game was record loud, but I highly doubt that happened b/c the Saints were one of the teams the league put on notice to STOP pumping in crowd noise. It was just stupid loud... Music, yes, but crowd noise? no. And the league checks.

(FWIW), Goff overcoming that and many other issues that day renders all arguments that he isn't a clutch, money, tough. F'ing stud, moot.

Agree.