Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

[winwithd]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

Did Santonio ever get both feet down when he caught the last minute one in Baltimore several years ago? I know he maintained control to the ground but it was not totally clear that the ball had even broken the plain on that one. I think we won it 13-9. Are the rules different from then?

When I saw the one today live I thought it was not a TD because the ball came out before the second foot hit the ground.

[Steel Life]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

Ball was out before the second foot came down...simple call, good call - no matter what the Ratbirds conspiratists think.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

League defends decision not to review Evans non-catch

Posted by Mike Florio on January 22, 2012



Shortly before Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff did his best Gary Anderson impersonation (to the chagrin of Matt Birk), Ravens receiver Lee Evans had the ball in his hands, in the end zone. But Patriots defensive back Sterling Moore knocked the ball out of Evans’ hands, and the ruling on the field was that the would-be touchdown pass was incomplete.

Though it wasn’t a scoring play, fewer than two minutes remained in the game. Thus, the decision (or not) to review the play was to be initiated by the replay assistant in the booth. Even though the slow-motion angle shown by CBS seemed to suggest that it may have been a catch, the replay assistant didn’t instruct referee Alberto Riveron to take a look via the on-field portable TV on wheels.

As to whether a catch was made, the standard is simple. From Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 3: “If a player controls the ball while in the end zone, both feet, or any part of his body other than his hands, must be completely on the ground before losing control, or the pass is incomplete.”

There’s no Calvin Johnson component. No requirement of a football move. Possession plus two feet down equals a catch, and a touchdown.

So why didn’t the replay assistant direct Riveron to take another look? Absent indisputable visual evidence that the call on the field was correct, the replay assistant must tell the referee to look for indisputable visual evidence to overturn it.

The league disagrees. “The ruling on the field of an incomplete pass was confirmed by the Instant Replay assistant, correctly, and as a result, there was no need to stop the game,” the league said in a statement forwarded to PFT by spokesman Michael Signora. “The receiver did not get his second foot down in the end zone with possession, and as a result, it was an incomplete pass.”

Former V.P. of officiating and current FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira expressed a similar sentiment via text message to PFT. “Clearly not a catch,” Pereira said. “Ball coming out before second foot clearly down. . . . No need to review it because it was clearly incomplete.”

But where’s the harm in taking a look at the play? The left foot may have been down a nanosecond before the ball was dislodged. Why not have Riveron decide whether or not that was the case? Moreover, a different camera angle may have shown that Evans had the ball before his left foot previously left the ground. (There’s no doubt that the right foot was down while Evans had the ball.)

It could be that the replay assistant erred on the side of not giving Riveron a chance to make what could have been another Bill Leavy-style error. Either way, under the league’s standard for initiating a booth review, we think a booth review should have been initiated. And if it had been initiated, Riveron would have been faced with a decision that wouldn’t have been quite as easy as the league seems to think it would have been.

[url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/22/league-defends-decision-not-to-review-evans-non-catch/"]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... non-catch/[/url]

[Steel Life]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

It's this kind of thinking (that espoused by Florio & Co.) that was at the root of all the whining when we beat the Cards & there were those that wanted a replay (if not a federal investigation) on the fumble & subsequent recovery to end the game. Apparently a Ref making the right call - right away - isn't good enough for those who want to "lawyer up the game. The Refs & NFL aren't wrong here...the whiners are.

[chiken]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

Receiver has to maintain possession throughout - The ball cannot hit the ground.

but I Thought all scoring plays were reviewed upstairs?

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

Receiver has to maintain possession throughout - The ball cannot hit the ground.

but I Thought all scoring plays were reviewed upstairs?

it wasn't ruled a scoring play...

[ikestops85]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

Receiver has to maintain possession throughout - The ball cannot hit the ground.

but I Thought all scoring plays were reviewed upstairs?

They are but that wasn't a scoring play.

[MaxAMillion]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

I thought the call was correct. Of course you always have fans who want to blame officials for losses. It is a way to make an excuse so that people can feel better.

[Steelgal]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

Mel Kiper was just on Mike and Mike and wouldn't let that call go. The Rats homer that he is, didn't understand why it wasn't even looked at by the replay officials.

[feltdizz]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

I don't think it was a TD but why not review it?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

I didn't think he got the second foot down

[fezziwig]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

If that was a Steeler we would mostly think we got robbed but, I think the call was correct. The guy didn't lock onto that ball and the defender did what, he was coached to do. Knock the ball out.

[steelblood]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

If you CROSS the goal with the ball in possession, it doesn't matter what happens after that.

But if you throw it over, then a different set of rules apply. You must maintain possession after the catch and do a full dance.

More or less. But, if you catch the ball just in front of the goal line and then cross as two feet hit the ground, but still lose possession just after crossing and before making a football move or coming to the ground, it is not a catch (I believe).

This whole football move thing is not what we need to be leaving to a bunch of guys who never made a football move in their lives to rule on. Waaaaay to Gray.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

The ruling on the field of an incomplete pass was confirmed by the Instant Replay assistant, correctly

Per the NFL the play was reviewed upstairs. So, the refs called it incomplete, the replay man upstairs ruled it incomplete, but for some reason we need a third governing body to rule it incomplete before we can go on?

[Ghost]

Re: Pass to Lee Evans - TD?

The lesson here, as always, don't put the ball on the ground and you remove all doubt. Once it comes out, you are at the mercy of a mysteriously vague rule book. Hold on to the damn ball!