I need to vent (London Fletcher)

[Slateman]

If I said anything untrue, please point it out.

Mrs. Brady wasn't downed when Fletch hit him.

The difference with the Carter call is; Carter did dive at the QBs legs. That is a penalty. Fletcher was called for a penalty he DIDN'T commit.

The refs were pushing on Fletcher to keep him back. Nothing lucky happened to Fletch in that situation, especially a BS call.

Tom Brady is a guy.

Fletcher's call was just as much BS as Carter's.

Fletcher bumped in to the refs.

[HailGreen28]

Tom Brady is a guy.

Not in the sequence of events we're talking about. Brady was up clapping like a little girl after getting the usual love from the officials. And two plays later, Mrs. Brady took full advantage of his preferential treatment to get extra yards on (Gomes ?) , like a *****. That's not how a man goes about his business.

Fletcher's call was just as much BS as Carter's.

Wrong, Fletcher's call >>>>>>> Carter's call. Wussy "Brady Rule" penalty that it is, a defender going at a QBs legs is a penalty. What did Fletch do wrong?

Fletcher bumped in to the refs.

No, he did not. Here you go. LINK Multiple times the refs bumped into / pushing Fletcher, one time an official bumped into Fletch with his shoulder, where you could say Fletch was also moving, and the official turns and pushes Fletch. That's one time at best, and if you look at it, it was actually more the official bumping into Fletcher. So no, Fletcher was not "bumping into the refs".

Please look at the NFL link I posted, and tell me if I've said anything untrue.

[aussieskin]

no way did fletch instigate any contact with any official, officials need to keep away from players and NEVER should an official make contact with a player for any reason.

[Hitman21ST]

Tom Brady is a guy.

Semantics

Fletcher's call was just as much BS as Carter's.

Good one.

Carter's hit was illegal. You can't go after a QB's knees, especially after he throws the ball.

What about Fletcher's hit was illegal?

Fletcher bumped in to the refs.

Wrong. He actually didn't.

[Slateman]

Whatever. Carter got his ankles. Please, sometimes you need to check your inner homers at the door. I can't find anyone who's not a Skins fan that agrees with you. Even the announcers thought both calls were BS.

[Hitman21ST]

Whatever. Carter got his ankles.

Exactly. You can't hit a quarterback below the knees, especially after he throws. What don't you understand about that?

[RANSKINS98]

I agree it was a horrible call but it happens all over the league it sucks we just gotta deal with it, simple solution is to have these types of pennalties reviewable either that or put flags on the QB's. j/p on the flags.

[HailGreen28]

Whatever. Carter got his ankles. Please, sometimes you need to check your inner homers at the door. I can't find anyone who's not a Skins fan that agrees with you. Even the announcers thought both calls were BS.

lol, "Carter got his ankles". That's all you have to say about the BS call on Fletcher?

Admitting that Carter drew a penalty, that's certainly well known along with the infamous Tuck rule, as a "Brady rule"...... is some kind of equivalence to MAKING STUFF UP on Fletcher?

Re: announcers. Did the announcers say that there was nothing to call on Carter? That's what they said about Fletcher.

[Dallsux]

An easy solution is to make the refs full-time employees, subject to punishments and fines for bad calls, much like MLB umpires.

This is the best idea, IMHO. I don't understand why they haven't done this yet. YEARS of questionable calls should have inspired the League to make a move towards doing this. Far too often, refs make bad calls or bad non calls & nothing is ever done about it. They aren't suspended or fined or anything.

One of the worst calls ever was the fumble that was called an incomplete pass in Denver (last year?). I don't know if the League ever did anything, but if I recall, the ref himself pulled himself out of officiating because of how bad he felt. But just because one guy does it doesn't mean that the rest will when they make horrible calls. We never even hear of officials apologizing for these terrible calls, to my knowledge.

Questionable calls coupled with increasingly strict rules on hitting = increasingly bad judgment & terrible descriptions.

---------- Post added December-15th-2011 at 12:50 AM ----------

Jeez. It was a blown call, just like the one on carter, it happens get over it

Truth be told, the call on Carter was a "make-up call". No reason to make that one either. The Fletcher call was more noticable for a couple of reasons. It was a GREAT hit. It was a GREAT hit on Tom Brady. The officials actually confered about it, making it even worse when they stuck to their guns about it.

The refs are ruining this sport. The rules are bad enough, the refs & their interpretation of those rules are flat ruining it.

[elkabong82]

Exactly. You can't hit a quarterback below the knees, especially after he throws. What don't you understand about that?

Also, after the ball was clearly out, Carter could have just gone to the ground, but decided then to try and wrap up Grossman's legs. I thought the call was ticky-tacky, like so much of Goodell's pussification rules, but it did break a rule. Fletcher's did not, and what the refs flagged him for (forearm to the head) never actually occurred.

[wildbill1952]

The rules have been put in to protect the QB's. The competition committee reviews new rules every year. The rules were put in because there is a large financial investment in the QB. Much like the helmet-to helmet rule it's an attempt to make something black-and-white that could easily be left to the discretion of the ref. When a defensive back is making a tackle and the QB ducks his head as he's about to be hit, it really could be left to the ref's discretion. Same with going for the legs. When a defensive player is being blocked and is trying to make a tackle any part of the body should be fair game. For instance, if the ball is given to the running back, there is no rule against going for his legs below the knee. Same goes for wide receivers, tight ends, fullbacks and any other player who happens to pick up a loose footbal or make an interception. It's a knee-jerk reaction/dumb rule that the NFL made up to protect their investment in the QB, specifcally the Tom Bady's, Peyton Mannings, Tiny Romo sits to pee's (as much as I despise him) that make the NFL attractive outside of the typical NFL fan. The rules should either apply to all players or none, not just the QB.

But the rule is simple - even if stupid - but based on my reading, this was not a correct penalty. See the references below to see if you agree.

The rule is equally simple for a QB sliding - if he is sliding you can't hit him. If he's not sliding, he's a runner and you can. Brady was not "in his slide" (touches the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet) before Fletcher laid him out. The playback clearly shows Brady still airborne. That is not a penalty. The stupid rule was incorrectly applied.

Here's a link to the NFL rulebook http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/2011_Rule_Book.pdf

The rule on a sliding QB is contained under the Dead Ball area.

I emphasized the applicable part.

Section 2 Dead Ball

Article 1: Dead Ball Declared. An official shall declare the ball dead and the down ended:

(a) when a runner is contacted by a defensive player and touches the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet. The ball is dead the instant the runner touches the ground. A runner touching the ground with his hands or feet while in the grasp of an opponent may continue to advance; or

( when a runner is held or otherwise restrained so that his forward progress ends; or

© when a quarterback immediately drops to his knee (or simulates dropping to his knee) behind the line of scrimmage; or

(d) when a runner declares himself down by sliding feet first on the ground. The ball is dead the instant the runner touches the ground with anything other than his hands or his feet; or

Note: Defenders are required to treat a sliding runner as they would a runner who is down by contact.

(1) A defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide. This does not mean that all contact by a defender is illegal. If a defender has already committed himself, and the contact is unavoidable, it is not a foul unless the defender commits some other act, such as helmet-to-helmet contact or by driving his forearm or shoulder into the head or neck area of the runner.

(2) A runner who desires to take advantage of this protection is responsible for starting his slide before contact by a defensive player is imminent; if he does not, and waits until the last moment to begin his slide, he puts himself in jeopardy of being contacted.

The rule on the Carter play:

A.R. 12.52 TACKLING THE QUARTERBACK BELOW THE KNEES

Second-and-10 on A40. As B1 is rushing quarterback A1, he is blocked and falls to the ground. B1 stays on the ground and crawls toward A1, and while still on the ground, tackles A1 below the knees at the A30 by: a) reaching out with one hand and swiping A1’s legs out from under him, or by driving his shoulder into A1’s leg below the knees.

Rulings:

a) Third-and-20 on A30. No foul.

First-and-10 on A45. Unnecessary roughness (12-2-12-5)

[terryb101]

Once again sorry for having an opinion.....get over it.

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Shanny said it best IMO, a blown call, but not much you can do.

The Moss call was borderline, but PI was the proper call IMO.

No need to say anything to the NFL, they would just pretend they never received the mail and fine the Redskins for having fans that actualy care

ok just dont let it happen again..hate to disappoint ya but i wasnt worried about it