Seahawks Defeat Packers, 14-12: Disputed Replacement Referees' Call Results In Golden Tate TD

I was rooting for the Hawks. But this was bullshit, pure and simple. Fuck the NFL until they can get the real refs back and the scabs are back judging toddlers and tiaras or whatever the hell it is they do when real football is being played.

The whole 2nd half was just brutal. I've never seen such a travesty, and I watched the 2005 SB. I'm glad the hawks got the "win" but yech.

No more scab referees. It isn't just about questionable outcomes. it's about the game becoming unwatchable because there are so many bad calls throughout.

...is how unsafe the game is because of the scabs. Look at the hit on Bey yesterday in Oakland that didn't get called. The NFL talks a good game but god forbid they lose a dime to poorly paid officials for the sake of player safety.

I was watching that too. I'm not sure whether Bey doesn't get hurt either way, but when the guy gets knocked out cold and taken off the field in a stretcher, that's a helmet to helmet hit on a defenseless receiver. No flag at all there is just inexcusable.

And one thing I did see in this game is players on both sides pushing the envelope to test what they could get away with.

No question the scabs make the game less safe, less enjoyable, and they are changing outcomes as well.

I wonder what would happen if someone in the public eye used the word "scab" to tell it like it is with people who aren't even qualified to wear that striped shirt at Foot Locker. I sure don't expect Mittens and the Republicons to use it, but how about a player, a former player who is an announcer, or even a Democratic officeholder?

Would that put things in perspective here?

This is absolutely awful.

many bad calls throughout

these so-called refs should be ashamed

I odn't really care much about the Seahawks (I'm a Saints fan when I give a damn at all) but I do love me some sports hysteria.

I don't usually hope for mayhem, but it would be cool to see people in cheese hats burning cars in downtown Green Bay

The bottom line for the owners is M.O.N.E.Y. Stay home from the games, don't buy tickets until they get refs that can handle NFL games back on the field. That kind of protest might work. The owners won't give a rip how much mayhem occurs in the streets as long as they are pocketing proceeds.
The winning touchdown call wasn't the first rotten call in that game. Who knows how it would have turned out if the real refs had been calling the game.

had sent a letter to NFL Commissioner, that the replacement refs being used appeared to be in violation of the Players Contract. Looking for link, if I find it I will edit this post.

Link below, letter was sent to NFL owners, New Orleans quarterback, Drew Brees was one of the signers.

http://www.nesn.com/2012/09/nfl-players-union-sends-letter-calling-for-removal-of-replacement-officials.html

issue too. and if you are the quaterback, all this is really leaving them pretty vulnerable.

And also, I believe the players have been very vocal about the controversy.

There will be so much fan outrage that the NFL will see it at a threat to there bottom line.

I'd just let things play out a little longer and secure a better deal...

From the NFL rulebook Rule 8, Article 3, Item 5: "If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball."

Video is embedded with this article: http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=320924026

I can't believe even after review they gave it away. Amazing.

From what I could see he only had one hand on the ball.

Then there was the issue of the offensive interference call that didn't occur.

49ers @ Vikings game. The game had just started and a flag was thrown. It was against the 49ers. The next thing I know a wresting, shoving, boxing match broke out on the field. I thought I had accidentally switched to watching the movie The Replacements. It was a very strange thing to see, as it seemed to involve every player on the field. Shoving between players is nothing new of course. But, I have never seen anything like that where everyone on both teams are practically wrestling/boxing each other. Then the thing that really struck me is no flags were thrown for that the ref barely blew on his whistle and the fight just sort of broke up.

Announcers were commenting on every game that refs weren't taking control and needed to start throwing flags to establish order when the players started milling around and jostling each other after the play.

As I said in another post, the players and fans may finally wake up to what a dictator Goodell is - a little Romney or Bush. As Steve Young said, though, if the fans go and the fans watch and the money flows, the owners don't care.

Bread and circuses. Complete with would-be Caligula's and Nero's.

I hate cheating in any form.

Been a Saints' fan since day one, btw.

And you say Payton is vindicated?

Wow!

and didn't rely on Fox Sports or its cousin ESPN.

Check out what the GB TE had to say.

vindicated my ass.

Bush had Fox. Goodell has ESPN.

Read Florio, a national reporter and Vikings fan.

Get the facts.

“Every single one of you, before you get off the pile, affect the head. Early, affect the head. Continue, touch and hit the head.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/sports/football/tape-reveals-saints-williams-singling-out-49ers-for-injury.html

did ESPN make that recording up? you need to loosen the tinfoil helmet.

Wow. I didn't know Payton ever said anything like that. He should be banned for life.

If the players union and refs union would stick together, the NFL would have no choice but to give in to the union demands.

Part of the contract forbids sympathy strikes of any kind, which is what a player walkout over this would be.

Sucks, but that's how owners turn worker against worker.

but if they were to walk out with the refs, these billionaire owners would have to give in to the demands. If the fans would not show up for the games, this would help too.

that part of the contract null and void. when the rules that prevent the worst of injuries are ignored, i would think that would give them incentive.

The 49ers used their last timeout to stop the clock and then asked for a review. They had no timeouts left and should not have received a review. They got the review, the play reversed and their timeout back. They still lost but it was totally screwed up.

for incompetence.

http://www.nesn.com/2012/09/report-lingerie-football-league-fired-a-couple-officials-now-working-in-nfl-over-incompetence.html

It's really not the fault of these officials. It's the greedy owners. It's also us, the fans. If we turned off our TVs all at once in solidarity with the regular refs and informed the commercial sponsors, the message would get the attention of the owners. And if the public threw its weight around and stopped funding new stadiums for the rich owners it could take their arrogance down a notch or two and show them who's really the boss.

and this happens. ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Horrific

Hey, it's understandable. The NFL is so poor, so desperately in need of money.

mikey_the_rat

I knew I needed to stay out of the Sports group, but I did think LBN would be safe from spoilers.

I know that I'm unusual in recording it in the middle of the night for me here in the UK, but I think there will also be some people recording a late night finish in the USA too.

chant from the Baltimore crowd? This went on for like three series of plays. At one point you couldn't hear Collingsworth and Michaels over the din.

He needs to resign.

The ref fucked up the Atlanta v Denver game, and haven't seen much of the games, and waiting until the replacement refs are replaced by the union.

Jennings clearly had sole possession of the ball. EVERY camera angle showed that.

who needs to watch the game, we can just ask who the referee decided to award the victory.

much more efficient!

and gave up.
I don't care much for pro football anyway. This situation makes it ridiculous.

ACK! What did I just say?

I must be getting desperate.

The refs want $180-$190K a year plus their pension. Right now they make around $120K. I get the leagues stance that that is a bit much, but every week that goes by the league is loosing their bargaining tool. The league needs to reach a compromise. Give them $150 and guarantee their pension, something this is ridiculous.

The rule book is clear. Dual possession goes to the offense. What is the problem?

I agree that "morally" it was an interception, it just seems to me that the NFL rule is the rule, and the refs called it that way. Tate had what would have passed for possession and as I understand it possession is possession, and there is no matter of degree. It is either possessed or not.

Most neutral observers think that Jennings got possession (2 hands, against his chest) when Tate only had 1 hand on it. Only later did Tate get a second hand on it, let alone against his chest.

You can see that Jennings has both arms wrapped around the ball and pulled to his chest. Golden's hand is on Jennings arm, not the ball, then he removes his arm and places it on the ball.

It was an interception, no question about it. Anyone that says otherwise either doesn't understand the rule, is blind, or is a high school ref (the one that called touchdown).

pushing him to the ground before going up to try to make the catch.

BEcause we love football. Owners know this. Owners do not wish to pay $500k each to fund the NFL refs PENSIONS! NFL feels the refs dont need pensions.
NFL is shooting itself in the foot everytime this happens! It is also happening in the NHL as well, and is the cause of the lockout.

GB left the game up to the refs to decide because they had ONE TD the whole game, Seattle's defense owned their asses

Lord Goodell is pissing on his own shield though, and that's hilarious to me

The only reason the Packers scored a touchdown at all was because of a phantom PI call on Seattle's D which gave them an automatic first down which they then converted into a TD (and missed the 2 point conversion).

Funny how no one mentioned that...the refs 'gave' the Packers that TD, just as much as the refs 'gave' the Seahawks the winning one.

Seattle dominated GB from start to finish.

"If you think the regulars are better, then go back and watch our 2005 superbowl that was robbed from us!"

"Seahawks win. Screw the rest of the universe. We are OWED this shit. Screw EVERYONE! I do not care! Sea!! hawks!!"

"Simultaneous control; tie goes to the offense. Always has; always will. Screw everyone. We win! End of f'ing story. "

"Call on your the field is final. We've Been told that same shit for f'ing DECADES!!!! From testeverde's helmet td to roethlisbergers. I've Been told to GET OVER IT, so everyone Else can f'ing get over it this time. Suck it up and get over it cupcake! "



http://www.seahawks.net/viewforum.php?f=29&sid=6e257d503c9fdb8daa2e893891ffca6c

The scab refs aren't competent enough to call the games at the level required, that much is now painfully obvious to all.

But what is worse is that they know it, and they have effectively "de-regulated" the sport through non-enforcement of a great many of the rules, particularly holding, interference, and illegal contact. Rather than risk criticism for bad calls, they are simply not making them.

The near-instant result is sloppy, dirty play as both sides attempt to squeak whatever advantage they can get from the non-enforcement.

It also, paradoxically, provides refs with more control over the course of a game, because once things start to look like a decision is near being reached, the refs suddenly and selectively start throwing flags. Perhaps they are trying to keep one side or the other from stealing a game with illegal play, or....

...Corruption, too, should be assumed. Whatever the aspirations of the current crop of refs the one thing that they are never going to be now are full time refs for the NFL. They've broken a strike and their collective performance has been abysmal. It's like having Enron on your resume. So these referees are wide open to bribery, extortion, blackmail, and so on for the duration of their visit. And, as I mentioned above, they have a better chance of affecting the outcome because of inconsistent enforcement of the rules.

I haven't seen figures, but I would also guess that injuries have risen alongside the rise in dirty play. Matt Schaub, for example, lost a piece of ear the other day to an apparently illegal helmet-leading hit. The big reason that the NFL has its ridiculously large rule set is because it is so easy to disable and seriously injure one another.

Edit: We should also see another reaction to the poor officiating, which is when one side gains a lead they will very intentionally run up the score to prevent bad calls from being able to affect the game. Next week I expect to see half a dozen boring total blowouts as teams refuse to slow down once they've hammered out a convincing lead.

In other words, in a few short weeks the meticulously crafted reputation of the National Football League has gone straight down the crapper in a cloud of dirty play, blown calls, and, I am sure we will discover soon enough, corruption from bottom to top.

Because the red tape has been cut.

Everyone is a winner in my book. Why should facts spoil the fun?

NFL Official Statement

NFL STATEMENT ON FINAL PLAY OF GREEN BAY PACKERS-SEATTLE SEAHAWKS GAME

In Monday's game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Seattle faced a 4th-and-10 from the Green Bay 24 with eight seconds remaining in the game.

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a pass into the end zone. Several players, including Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, jumped into the air in an attempt to catch the ball.

While the ball is in the air, Tate can be seen shoving Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields to the ground. This should have been a penalty for offensive pass interference, which would have ended the game. It was not called and is not reviewable in instant replay.

When the players hit the ground in the end zone, the officials determined that both Tate and Jennings had possession of the ball. Under the rule for simultaneous catch, the ball belongs to Tate, the offensive player. The result of the play was a touchdown.

Replay Official Howard Slavin stopped the game for an instant replay review. The aspects of the play that were reviewable included if the ball hit the ground and who had possession of the ball. In the end zone, a ruling of a simultaneous catch is reviewable. That is not the case in the field of play, only in the end zone.

Referee Wayne Elliott determined that no indisputable visual evidence existed to overturn the call on the field, and as a result, the on-field ruling of touchdown stood. The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review.

The result of the game is final.

Fuck the NFL. I'm not watching until the scabs are gone. And if more of this shit happens I'm not watching until Roger Goodel is gone.

As linked in a post above.

right after commercial breaks - an organized Bullshit brigade salute to the NFL - a great idea!

A "touchdown" call was made by one "ref" and an "interception" call were made by a different "ref" after the players were on the ground at the end of the play. So there were two competing calls. Therefore the NFL explanation is nonsensical. The review should have focused on the visual evidence only, not on the calls on the field. And even if one accepts the "touchdown" call as the status quo, the visual evidence was indisputable to anyone except NFL officials covering for replacement "refs."

Unadulterated bs and because it was the last play of the game the NFL should overturn the result and award the win to Green Bay.

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
There is "an agreement in principle at hand" per @mortreport that means the sides are "just about finished with the agreement in principle."

Chris Mortensen | ESPN - The NFL and the NFL Referees Association made enough progress in negotiations Tuesday night that the possibility of the locked-out officials returning in time to work this week's games has been discussed, according to sources on both sides.