Did you just start watching NFL football last night? Have you ever heard of Ed Hocally? Have you never heard of the Tom Brady fumble against the Raiders that was ruled a fumble and kept the Raiders out of the Super Bowl? Why aren't you blaming the replay booth that reviews all scoring plays?
I watched the game at a bar and couldn't see the screen super clearly. My buddy with me looked up "simultaneous possession" and in those cases the rule book says the tie goes to the receiver. Looking at the catch again on my computer screen though I don't see how the Seahawk's player has possession as Jennings is lying on top of him. after the ball with the other player reaching around him to get a hand on the ball. Here are the thoughts from one of the Packers' rivals. http://deadspin.com/5946122/im-a-minnesota-viking-and-i-think-the-packers-got-screwed I’m A Minnesota Viking, And I Think The Packers Got Screwed Chris Kluwe « Previous entry From: Chris Kluwe To: Tommy Craggs, Stefan Fatsis, Drew Magary So when we first started talking, I thought it would be fun to poke at the replacement refs a bit, maybe illustrate that they weren't prepared to operate on the level the NFL requires. But never in my worst nightmares did I imagine we'd see what just happened on Monday Night Football. The outcome of a regular-season NFL game, one of 16 in the season, was determined by the replacement refs, and they got it irrevocably wrong. I'm speaking, of course, of the game that just concluded between the Seahawks and the Packers, a game that came down to the very last play, and a game which illustrated beyond a doubt that the replacement officials simply are not qualified for the NFL. Like I've said before, it's not due to lack of effort or desire, but simply due to a lack of ability. Just like we wouldn't expect a high school player to keep pace with Ray Lewis, it's unfair to think the replacements can handle the pressure and intensity of a stage that they've never been on. Let's be clear: We're past the preseason now. These games really matter, and the Packers just lost one that counts for real, one that by all rights they should have won. As a divisional rival, it pains me to say this, but the Packers got royally horsebuggered on that last play, and this could have serious implications down the road when it comes to playoff seeds and homefield advantage. One of the main points Commissioner Goodell has always harped on is protecting the shield: not letting anything tarnish the brand of the NFL. Commissioner, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but right now the shield is tarnishing faster than a sailor's virtue in a two-dollar whorehouse. Players see it; coaches see it; fans see it. These refs are not fit to stand in for the men you've locked out for what is increasingly looking like nothing more than simple greed—attempting to squeeze blood from a stone simply because you can. The NFL is America's No. 1 sport in part because everyone watching it knows that the players determine the outcome of a game, not the refs. As of right now, you're hurting business by putting a product out on the field that challenges that belief. We all know that the regular refs sometimes get calls wrong, but never this egregiously, never this overtly. Sure, they may miss a pass interference or a holding call, but they always mark off the right yardage, and there's a trust that they'll get the vast majority of the calls right. Right now, there's no trust for the replacement refs. We've seen them make mistake after mistake, and it'll only get worse as players and coaches continue to push the envelope to see what they can get away with (extra timeouts are pretty awesome, not gonna lie). As a player, as someone whose paycheck relies on the fans' interest and their consumption of this game, I'm asking you to do what's best for the NFL and get the regular refs back on the field. It may sting your pride, and that of the owners who employ you, but at the end of the day this is a business, and a very successful one at that. I'm asking you: Please don't risk alienating your customers over something that should never have been an issue in the first place. Bring the regular refs back before it gets even worse. Chris Kluwe is a punter for the Vikings. Follow him on Twitter, @ChrisWarcraft.
One thing to note about this call. The replay refs are the regular refs and not replacement refs so this call isn't totally on the replacement refs.
While I think ultimately it was probably an interception, I don't think it's as clear cut as everyone's making it out to be. Tate did sneak in the left hand under the ball the same time Jennings wrapped both hands around it. So to me, the rule is stated vague enough that if they deem Tate would have made a very difficult one-handed catch with his left hand if Jennings wasn't there (very unlikely), I could see how you could argue that it was simultaneous possession. Ultimately, it comes down to Jennings who had CLEAR possession (two hands, ball to chest) vs. Tate who MIGHT have had possession with one left hand, and it should have been ruled an interception, but depending on how loose you are with what a "possession" in regards to one handed catches, it's not as clear cut as everyone seems to make it. Certainly not to the level of being "the worst call ever". I think everyone's outrage has more to do with the rhetoric behind the replacement refs blowing a call than the call being actually that egregiously wrong. Michael Finley out of bounds was the worst call in sports history
In that case then it should be an incomplete pass. It just doesn't seem to me like Tate has possession.
If that was a catch....Michael Williams should have neen credited with a catch when LSU intercepted Alabama the first time they played last year. If anyone knows what im talking about that cost us the game. Football gods helped us out later on that year though.
I will keep watching. The refs, officials have been screwing up games for years and I still watch, why should anyone stop watching now.
The problem is that Jennings is there. My understanding of possession isn't just touching the ball and we've seen plenty of cases where a pass has been called incomplete even though a player has a hand on the ball. My understanding from the Calvin Johnson play is that the player has to be able to maintain control of the ball all the way through the catch to the ground. Tate can't do that with Jennings on top of him who has two hands on the ball and his body. As I said above even if Jennings is ineligible and can't make an interception I don't see how Tate has possession.
