New England Patriots

[cleech74]

Last night was gut wrenching.  That was really hard to watch. :x

Classic Ravens. :roll:

They were so close.

[shoreline99]

I'm biased but--

What was Billick thinking with that time out?
What was Faulk thinking the play before, goin out of bounds w/o contact 1 yard short of the marker.

The TD play was close. IMO it was a catch but could have gone either way. There was a little motion to the ball but I wouldn't call it a juggle. Even if it was overturned, the Pats have 3 more shots (from the 2 cause of the unsportsmanlike penalties).

What about the def holding call the play before? Even the home town NE sportscasters called that one questionable.

next week
next week...

that pats/eagles game surprised me..  this game somewhat surprised me... next week either the pats fix something or they are going to lose

yep
I think the Steelers are gonna give the Pats a very tough game next week. The way the Eagles and the Ravens moved the ball, Big Ben scares me.

I agree. I think next week is going to be very interesting. The defense showed how vulnerable they are against the run, but I also think MaGahee was extra pumped last night. The offense needs to get the running game back on track.

[jedifunk]

anyone else read MMQB-TE by peter king over at si.com?

here's the portion about the final minutes and the calls made by the officials.

Let's go over the four fourth-quarter calls, one by one.

• New England ball, fourth-and-1, Baltimore 30, 1:48 left, Baltimore up 24-20. At the last second before the snap, Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan calls timeout. The play went on, with Baltimore stuffing Tom Brady for a loss and, theoretically, that should have been New England's last gasp. One problem. Only the head coach is supposed to be able to call time on the sidelines. But in this case, the league has interpreted the rule on a last-millisecond timeout call that the side official cannot be responsible for seeing whether it's the head coach or another coach who calls time. So it's technically legal for Ryan to have called the timeout, and the league's point is the head coach is responsible for controlling his bench. In this case, Brian Billick has to be responsible for his sideline, and when Ryan calls time, the burden is on Billick to accept the call because it happened on the Baltimore sideline.

• New England ball, fourth-and-5, Baltimore 13, 55 seconds left, Baltimore up 24-20. Brady retreats to pass. From the right side of the line, tight end Ben Watson runs downfield into the end zone, with nickel back Jamaine Winborne riding him tightly downfield. Once Watson gets past the 8-yard line, it's illegal for Winborne to have anything but incidental contact with Watson, but he clearly has an arm on him well past the 8, and all the way into the end zone. Maybe the call should have been holding, maybe the call should have been illegal contact, but it was a legitimate call, not a ticky-tack one. Winborne impeded Watson's path. The back judge, Billy Smith, called holding, a five-yard penalty and automatic first down. I would have called illegal contact, but both penalties have the same impact, which is to give the Patriots a first-and-goal at the Baltimore 8. Great guts by Smith to make a call in that atmosphere.

• New England ball, first-and-goal, Baltimore 8, 50 seconds left. Brady throws to the left corner of the end zone for Jabar Gaffney, who catches the ball in front of his body with both hands while getting both feet down. During the time he gets both feet down, Gaffney moves the ball in front of him but never takes either gloved hand off the ball and never juggles the ball. It is ruled a touchdown, and there is a booth review ordered by replay official Dale Hamer. The play is reviewed by ref Walt Anderson and confirmed. Let's remember what replay is: It's to be used to overturn a call only if there is indisputable visual evidence that the call is wrong. There's no way you can look at this play -- and I've seen it 10 times, in slow-motion -- and say there's clear evidence he didn't have control of the ball.

• Baltimore ball, second-and-10, Baltimore 45, eight seconds left. Kyle Boller throws a Hail Mary to the 3-yard line, and, in the middle of the scrum, Baltimore wideout Derrick Mason puts his hands on Patriot cornerback Asante Samuel's shoulders and pulls Samuel down. Michael Clayton makes the catch and is tackled at the three. There is no flag. Big mistake. There certainly should have been offensive pass interference ... but even if that was the call, it would not have changed the outcome. Because the clock expired, and the game can end on an offensive penalty, the game would have been over without the Ravens having another chance to score.

That's about as heart-stopping an ending as any game can have. The Patriots might be lucky to be 12-0 right now, but none of the vital calls in the final minute of the game incorrectly helped them win.

i saw it the same way... the ravens basically blew it... shot themselves in the foot... and it was a TD

[sls.stormyrider]

thanks. I didn't see the contact foul at the time - I'll watch again if they replay it. Those kind of penalties (pass interference, holding), imo, aren't gifts, but earned cause the opposing player beat you.

i saw it the same way... the ravens basically blew it... shot themselves in the foot... and it was a TD

the other part of it is that the Pats, like any championship team, somehow find a way to take advantage of mistakes and win games they "should have" or could have lost.

[VA $l!m]

last night's game was a classic.
what a game. what a finish. what a team!!

[sunrisevt]

I was beat, went to bed at 11 thinking they got the loss that would make them hungry for the playoffs. Oops.

[rowjimmy]

blah blah blah.... sorry but the pats have that "something special" going on... and there's no way you can say they've looked vunerable when they win 38-7 every week... they've had a few closer games, but thats to be expected

I'm coming in late on this but when I got to this thread I had to chime in.

The Pats almost lost to the freakin Eagles.

nuff said.

[blatboom]

blah blah blah.... sorry but the pats have that "something special" going on... and there's no way you can say they've looked vunerable when they win 38-7 every week... they've had a few closer games, but thats to be expected

I'm coming in late on this but when I got to this thread I had to chime in.

The Pats almost lost to the freakin Eagles.

nuff said.

yeh, they've been fortunate to win the last two games.  but you know, I think that it benefits them playing these close games and having to come back and all that (Indy had them beat for about 3.5 quarters, too).  they are an old team, tho, so maybe the grind of the season is catching up with them.  that fool safety for Pittsburgh should have kept his mouth shut...

[whyweigh5.0]

I was just talking to someone about that.  Smith needs to keep his trap shut.. who does he think he is guaranteeing a win.  Even if you are confident you should go doing that on national TV

[blatboom]

I was just talking to someone about that.  Smith needs to keep his trap shut.. who does he think he is guaranteeing a win.  Even if you are confident you should go doing that on national TV

the last thing you want to be doing is giving those guys extra motivation.

[redrum]

The Pats almost lost...

nuff said.

[antelope19]

I was just talking to someone about that.  Smith needs to keep his trap shut.. who does he think he is guaranteeing a win.  Even if you are confident you should go doing that on national TV

IMO, its a non-story.  Did you guys hear the actual interview?  They took it out of context and the reporter was egging him on.

[rowjimmy]

The Pats almost lost...

nuff said.

exactly.
The eagles blow.

[Guyute]

my prediction against the Steelers, 35-17 Pats.  I think they are going to come out all fired up.  Don't be surprised if they score 42.

[sunrisevt]

my prediction against the Steelers, 35-17 Pats.  I think they are going to come out all fired up.  Don't be surprised if they score 42.

Don't know if they'll cover that spread, dude. 14-10 @ 5 min into 2nd Q ...