What the hell do some offensive linemen have to do to be called for holding?
Merriman was blatantly held twice that I recall against the Raiders, most obviously on the final Hail Mary where he beat his man and was grabbed round the throat.
Dareus and Merriman were both held on various occasions against the Patriots, again the most obvious was the play after Merriman got to Brady just as he released the pass (think it ended up in a TD pass to Gronkowski), Merriman again beat his man, and you could see his head bent back as he was again grabbed round the neck to stop him getting past.
Yesterday was more of the same, though it was generally Dareus being held, throttled, or jumped on on almost every single play.
That first down run by Dalton that got reviewed, there is no way he makes that if the Bengals OL doesn't have his hand over Dareus' shoulder and have a good hold of his jersey.
The reason this puzzles me is because Scott Chandler did about half what was done to Dareus yesterday on one play against the Patriots and was flagged right away.
I'm not saying the Bills got jobbed on the holding calls, because in other games I've watched there are blatant holding calls ignored as well and I've seen Levitre and Bell get away with virtually tackling a couple of guys, but the inconsistency shown by officials in regards to holding seems to be far more widespread than it has been in previous years. If they're going to allow holding, then do away with the rule all together, if the rule is there, enforce it equally across the board. Don't just throw a damn flag when you feel like it, and ignore it at other times.
Merriman was blatantly held twice that I recall against the Raiders, most obviously on the final Hail Mary where he beat his man and was grabbed round the throat.
Dareus and Merriman were both held on various occasions against the Patriots, again the most obvious was the play after Merriman got to Brady just as he released the pass (think it ended up in a TD pass to Gronkowski), Merriman again beat his man, and you could see his head bent back as he was again grabbed round the neck to stop him getting past.
Yesterday was more of the same, though it was generally Dareus being held, throttled, or jumped on on almost every single play.
That first down run by Dalton that got reviewed, there is no way he makes that if the Bengals OL doesn't have his hand over Dareus' shoulder and have a good hold of his jersey.
The reason this puzzles me is because Scott Chandler did about half what was done to Dareus yesterday on one play against the Patriots and was flagged right away.
I'm not saying the Bills got jobbed on the holding calls, because in other games I've watched there are blatant holding calls ignored as well and I've seen Levitre and Bell get away with virtually tackling a couple of guys, but the inconsistency shown by officials in regards to holding seems to be far more widespread than it has been in previous years. If they're going to allow holding, then do away with the rule all together, if the rule is there, enforce it equally across the board. Don't just throw a damn flag when you feel like it, and ignore it at other times.
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