worst reffed game ive seen

[BLeonard]

What did you think about that roughing the kicker non-call at mid-field? It was at least running into the kicker to me. Last time I checked, you can't hit a kicker when he is in mid-air and cause him to land on his back.

That was at mid-field, wasn't it?

I recall it (albeit vaguely)... What I don't recall is a Patriot actually hitting him. I didn't have the game on DVR or anything with any benefit of rewinding, so I can't be sure...

I'm not saying the officiating was stellar... Far from it... What I'm saying is, I didn't see any major call(s) that directly affected the Bills' chances to win the game.

Like I said before, you can't fumble punts, you can't dick around under 2 mins down by a TD, you can't burn timeouts because you can't count to 11.

At the end of the day, the Bills held NE to 20 points in their home stadium, which I believe is their lowest point total of the season... Unfortunately, the Bills couldn't get to 21 points.

-Bill

[feldspar]

The reason that the "inadvertent whistle" was called is because the ref was trying to keep Brady from getting hit. Period. I have watched football my whole life, and a whistle means the ball is dead. In New England, though, it apparently means you get a 20 yard catch plus another 15 yards b/c the other coach walked on the sidelines. Another game orchestrated for NE to win. Don't get me wrong; our offense sucked. But the calls were going against us yet again. How many obvious facemask flags could they pick up?

The thing about that inadvertent whistle is that there is no way Darby wouldn't have made that tackle. He was right there in prime position to make the tackle, but gave up on the play after he heard the whistle. No doubt about it. Then you have to hear the announcers go on and on about how the Patriots got done wrong...they got another 15 yards out of it including the penalty. It was like a 29-yard play altogether, more than half being the penalty.

The whole thing worked to the Patriots advantage, really.

But that whistle fiasco DID NOT stop a TD like how they tried to spin it. I watched the play several times. Darby didn't go for the tackle because of the whistle, again. Period. He more than likely makes the tackle on the spot without the whistle.

And the whistle was blown when the ball was still in the air, without a doubt. How is that still a live ball and called a catch according to the rules? I've NEVER seen anything like that before. The play is dead at at the whistle...that's the rule I thought. I've seen whistles blown too soon before legitimate fumbles happened, and they say "sorry, that was no fumble because we blew the whistle already."

Did they circumvent the rules in favor of the Pats in the name of some on-the-spot fairness this time? Seems like it.

I'll tell you, if you put a whistle in my hand for five years, I don't think there would ever be a time where I blew it accidentally. "Inadvertent whistle" is the PC way of saying "we ****ed up" in the most fundamental way. Could be they didn't want to see Brady get hit there, like you said.

[BLeonard]

The thing about that inadvertent whistle is that there is no way Darby wouldn't have made that tackle. He was right there in prime position to make the tackle, but gave up on the play after he heard the whistle. No doubt about it. Then you have to hear the announcers go on and on about how the Patriots got done wrong...they got another 15 yards out of it including the penalty. It was like a 29-yard play altogether, more than half being the penalty.

But that whistle fiasco DID NOT stop a TD like how they tried to spin it. I watched the play several times. Darby didn't go for the tackle because of the whistle, again. Period. He more than likely makes the tackle on the spot without the whistle.

And the whistle was blown when the ball was still in the air, without a doubt. How is that still a live ball and called a catch according to the rules? I've NEVER seen anything like that before. The play is dead at at the whistle...that's the rule. I've seen whistles blown too soon before legitimate fumbles happened, and they say "sorry, that was no fumble because we blew the whistle already."

Did they circumvent the rules in favor of the Pats in the name of some on-the-spot fairness this time? Seems like it.

I'll tell you, if you put a whistle in my hand for five years, I don't think there would ever be a time where I blew it accidentally. "Inadvertent whistle" is the PC way of saying "we ****ed up" in the most fundamental way. Could be they didn't want to see Brady get hit there, like you said.

No disagreements at all on that one... In fact, the ESPN "Referee Analyst" (or whatever their "official in the booth" is called ) Gerry Austin said that if it's an inadvertent whistle, the play is dead and there can't be a penalty, yet, they flagged the Bills anyway.

In the end, though, the Pats missed the FG on that drive and it led to a Bills TD, so, while a terrible, horrible, ****ty call, in the end, it played no effect in the final result.

But, it's beyond time that the NFL get serious and start hiring full time, 365 day a year officials, instead of these geriatric part-timers that have been around forever.

-Bill

[jills]

Funny, when we get calls going our way I don't see anyone here complaining. Double standard FTW!

[feldspar]

No disagreements at all on that one... In fact, the ESPN "Referee Analyst" (or whatever their "official in the booth" is called ) Gerry Austin said that if it's an inadvertent whistle, the play is dead and there can't be a penalty, yet, they flagged the Bills anyway.

In the end, though, the Pats missed the FG on that drive and it led to a Bills TD, so, while a terrible, horrible, ****ty call, in the end, it played no effect in the final result.

But, it's beyond time that the NFL get serious and start hiring full time, 365 day a year officials, instead of these geriatric part-timers that have been around forever.

-Bill

I can't say whether or not it played a role in the out come just because the Patriots missed the filed goal, because nobody can tell what otherwise would have happened. Time off the clock...flipping field position, etc. this was only a one-score game.

But trust me on the roughing the kicker non-call...I DO have a DVR and watched it several times. I'd call it roughing the kicker when you fly into the kicker's leg when he's in the air and send him landing on his back. You'd have to be a blind ref not to see it. That was HUGE. Pissed me off royally.

But I'm with you...I've been screaming about full-time refs for as long as I can remember. I was screaming about a rookie salary cap until that happened too, albeit more quietly than about the refs. There is only so long the NFL can ignore the 500-pound gorilla in the room. The fans get too upset because this crap happens every week, and they aren't doing all they can to stop the horrible officiating moments.

[feldspar]

Funny, when we get calls going our way I don't see anyone here complaining. Double standard FTW!

What calls that went against the Pats come to mind?

[chernobylwraiths]

That "not on the line" call against Henderson hurt too because they made a first down on the play.

Nobody knows what can happen or how the outcome can change.

But I do feel better about not watching the rest of the game. There is no way I would have gotten to sleep by even 1 if I had to be subject to more crappy calls by the refs.

[sahlensguy]

But the Phoenix / Cincinnati game was glorious to watch. Blame the refs but execution or lack thereof makes it almost unwatchable for me.

[CommissarSpartacus]

I can't believe guys are complaining about the inadvertant whistle play.

If the refs had done that to the Bills, the call would have gone down in infamy as an example of the refs screwing the Bills in favor of the Pats.

[chernobylwraiths]

I can't believe guys are complaining about the inadvertant whistle play.

If the refs had done that to the Bills, the call would have gone down in infamy as an example of the refs screwing the Bills in favor of the Pats.

So, Darby gives up on the play. He almost certainly would have been able to tackle him for minimal more gain. AND they added 15 yards on it as well. Let's rehash:

They screw up by blowing the whistle as the ball is in the air.
They give the Patriots the reception, even though it should have been a replay.
They give them 15 more yards even though nobody saw a flag thrown.

Hell, I would have been much more OK with JUST the flag.

Just stop.

[YardRat]

I'd like to know why we didn't get one more play with two seconds on the clock when Sammy voluntarily went out of bounds on the catch, untouched by a defender.

[Ginger Vitis]

You guys have overlooked the worst decision yesterday.. The obvious facemask on Shady where the flag was thrown and then it was picked up.. Absolute ****ing joke.. And the Patriot defenders were barking at the refs almost like they were telling them that wasn't a penalty and to pick up the flag lol

[Night Train]

It's hard for me to watch any NFL game, outside of the Bills. College football is king.

The NFL Redzone is the only other avenue to the NFL for me, since the refs and commercials cannot be stars.

[gebobs]

The reason that the "inadvertent whistle" was called is because the ref was trying to keep Brady from getting hit. Period.

The reason it was blown was because Brady had been grounding the ball, legally by the rules, all game and the sideline judge, his view blocked by Rex's fat ass, did not see Amendola break inside. It should have been a dead ball spot replay, but the 15-yarder was legit.

[sahlensguy]

The reason it was blown was because Brady had been grounding the ball, legally by the rules, all game and the sideline judge, his view blocked by Rex's fat ass, did not see Amendola break inside. It should have been a dead ball spot replay, but the 15-yarder was legit.

What exactly was Rex doing there on that play? What a buffoon.

[Joe Fo Sho]

The reason it was blown was because Brady had been grounding the ball, legally by the rules, all game and the sideline judge, his view blocked by Rex's fat ass, did not see Amendola break inside. It should have been a dead ball spot replay, but the 15-yarder was legit.

Clearly Rex was in the wrong, but if it's a dead ball spot replay like you say it should have been then there can not be a penalty on either team.

[Joe Fo Sho]

I'd like to know why we didn't get one more play with two seconds on the clock when Sammy voluntarily went out of bounds on the catch, untouched by a defender.

The official statement by the refs was that they ruled that Sammy gave himself up in the field of play, which is not reviewable and absolutely ridiculous. If that's really what the refs thought, then it's clear to me that they do not understand the game of football.

[Lucidvizion]

So, Darby gives up on the play. He almost certainly would have been able to tackle him for minimal more gain. AND they added 15 yards on it as well.

Yeah, it was pretty annoying that the announcers kept saying that would have been a touchdown. Our CB (I thought it was Gilmore) stopped covering when he heard the whistle. He would have been in position to maybe break up the pass, but definitely make the tackle.

[Joe Fo Sho]

Yeah, it was pretty annoying that the announcers kept saying that would have been a touchdown. Our CB (I thought it was Gilmore) stopped covering when he heard the whistle. He would have been in position to maybe break up the pass, but definitely make the tackle.

"Look at how much open field he has to work with when the defense stops moving!"

[gebobs]

Clearly Rex was in the wrong, but if it's a dead ball spot replay like you say it should have been then there can not be a penalty on either team.

I know that's what they said, but I don't see how that follows. Ryan clearly obstructed the referee causing the inadvertent whistle. I've tried to find the text for that rule, but haven't been able to so far.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah, it was pretty annoying that the announcers kept saying that would have been a touchdown.

Almost as annoying: Nickel Robie.