The Havenstein fumble recovery

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12intheBox

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If you can, go back and watch where Rob Havenstein was when the ball was fumbled and ignore this thread. Or come back after.

For those of you who can't - and sorry I don't have a clip short of using my phone to video my tv and thats a lot of effort - allow me to summarize.

On the play, Havenstein pancakes Frostee Rucker who was trying to get inside of him. Rob rolls over Frostee, Gurley sidesteps the whole mess and goes thru untouched. He begins to fumble about 2 or 3 yards later when Mathieu knocked it out and when he does, Rob is on his back next to Frostee both on the 5 yard line. The scrum for the ball happens on the 11 yard line. Saffold is the closest Ram with Barnes coming in hot. Kendricks was a yard behind Barnes.

The Cardinals, at the time the ball came out, had Deone Buchanon and Tyronne Mathieu right on Gurley. Mathieu didn't realize the ball had come out and as soon as he did he began celebrating and running away from the scrum. Buchanon looked like he should have the ball but never seemed to get his hands on it. Gurley had rolled from his back to his stomach and was facedown on the ground with his arms outstretched but all he could reach was Buchanon who had at least walled the ball away from Gurley towards an approaching LaMarr Woodley and Kevin Minter.

There are 5 Cardinals closer to the ball than everyone but Gurley and Saffold. Saffold had slipped or tripped coming out of the LOS and just gotten up from his knees. Sadly he never joined the scrum at all. He just stood there - not that he had a sightline to the ball or anything - in fact he was on the wrong side of Gurley. The ball popped thru Buchanon's legs and both Woodley and Minter had it touch all 10 of their fingers - just not all at the same time.

Then Tim Barnes came crashing in made a scrum of it. He was just landing on backs - didn't seem to have his eyes on the ball. Greg Robinson came over and stood next to the pile and just watched with Saffold. Kendricks had jumped in to the opposite end of the scrum and must have done something because between he and Barnes, no Cardinal secured it. By this time, most of the Cardinals were just signaling whose ball it was although no one seemed to have it. Then Frosty Rucker, Rob Havenstein, and Jamon Brown all jumped in 1-2-3. These 3 joined the scrum almost 3 full seconds after Mathieu had started to celebrate. 17 seconds after joining the scrum, Rob came out with the ball.

If anyone has a video - it would sure improve this post.
 

SuperMan28

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Amazing the margin of victory truly is in tight games. Could have easily lost this game and won our last two. Wild.
 

12intheBox

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I never could find a clip of this online but it really is worth a watch to anyone who has the game recorded.

Havenstein may have won us that game in a dogfight for the ball. And I mean dogfight in the Lawrence Taylor sense, not the Michael Vick sense, of course.
 

TheDYVKX

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I never could find a clip of this online but it really is worth a watch to anyone who has the game recorded.

Havenstein may have won us that game in a dogfight for the ball. And I mean dogfight in the Lawrence Taylor sense, not the Michael Vick sense, of course.

This is a really big gif, so sorry if it loads slowly. I tried uploading a YT video but it's taking forever. Not sure how else to do it.

vHbP0bC.gif
 

jrry32

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Crazy to think about but if Gurley doesn't trip, he might be able to cut behind Saffold on that play and take that run a very long way.
 

A.J. Hicks

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Great recovery by Rob. . . actually watching the video he is pretty lucky he didn't get a piling on Penalty. One of those new add ins
 

A.J. Hicks

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Great recovery by Rob. . . actually watching the video he is pretty lucky he didn't get a piling on Penalty. One of those new add ins
 

12intheBox

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Great recovery by Rob. . . actually watching the video he is pretty lucky he didn't get a piling on Penalty. One of those new add ins

If the ball is still free, is it still piling on?
 

bluecoconuts

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Great effort by Rob, but what the hell was Saffold doing? He didn't even make an effort.
 

DR RAM

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Great effort by Rob, but what the hell was Saffold doing? He didn't even make an effort.
It wasn't even clear to the guy, whose legs it was between, or who caused it, that it was a fumble that was still loose. That'd be my guess.
 

RaminExile

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No idea how he got that ball. Mathieu had it! Havenstein was reaching in from the top of the pile ripping with his hands like a vet reaching in to the back of a cow for the calf.
 

HE WITH HORNS

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Those two fumbles bounced our way for a change. We were very lucky to get the ball back both times.