Was his hand going forward?

[brimsalabim]

Point is ...they didn't blow the whistle.... so it's on the defense.

 

[ACFan]

so if the ball slips in the QB's hand while passing, and only goes 20 yards instead of the intended 40, it's a fumble?

He was losing control as the ball went forward. fumble? I don't think so.

 

[ACFan]

Point is ...they didn't blow the whistle.... so it's on the defense.

not the question of the thread, but a great point.

 

[Largent80]

It was a fumble and we had nobody home to get it, that is whats frustrating.

 

[Blitzhawk]

By the way the NFL calls it and what we have seen before, it was actually called correctly by the refs. However, I always thought it was a rule that needed some fine tuning. If the ball flys in the QB's intended general direction without being acted on by another force (ie. the defender actually hitting the ball or knocking the QB's arm forward) then it should always be considered a pass in my opinion.

Magnificent play shrouded by an undesirable outcome. I agree also that the fumbling team should not be allowed such a huge benefit from it.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

If it wasn't against us, it was an incomplete pass.

But if it was Russ and opponent recovered it's a fumble.

I also believe the fumbling team should only be allowed to recover, not advance.

 

[sutz]

What disappointed me the most was not the call being correct but the fact that the defense did not react as if it was a fumble. This defense has always been about opportunity and playing through the whistle. No matter what the true ruling ends up being players are taught to react until they hear a whistle. Seemed to me there was only one player that did that and he played for the Jets. Wrong call or not. The result is the fault of the defense and no one else. A missed opportunity at a turnover.

This. You can't let a ball carrier run free past 5 defenders. Play to the whistle. :34853_doh:

 

[Year of The Hawk]

So how is it a fumble when the ball shoots 10 yards forward while he is sitting stationary and his arm is in a throwing motion. I understand maybe the ruling on field but after replay they still got it wrong. Whatever.

I like how the replay officials were so quick on this one. Every other touchdown review takes a commercial break to figure out but this one was so clear and decisive they just went straight to extra point.

 

[HawkFan72]

It was the right call. Just like when a player catches the ball and the ball starts moving before he hits the ground (it's ruled a fumble), the ball started moving before his arm started moving forward (it's a fumble).

 

[sutz]

Last week's news. I've let it go for now.

But I'm sure the comments in the film room will be more about "Why did you let that guy run free to the end zone when the whistle hadn't blown?" or "Why didn't anybody jump on the loose ball?" than "That @#$%^ referee sucks."

Peace out.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

To me it was a 50/50 call, I could see it both ways............and since there's a heavier emphasis by the refs to not overturn calls unless it's obvious, that wasn't being overturned.

 

[StoneCold]

Real time? Impossible to know for certain. Ref has to make a call and at normal speed, it could have gone either way. But under the microscopic lens of slow motion, this is what happened. His arm was hit, his hand direction was changed slightly, but the laces did not move relative to his hand, his hand began to move forward 1/8 of an inch, when the laces moved and he followed through giving the ball a forward trajectory. Incomplete pass.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

Fumble all the way.

The fact that it went forward was immaterial. It was clearly knocked loose from his grip before he moved his hand forward and he just shot putted the ball forward.

Amazed that the refs saw that in real time. But I believe the call was 100% correct.

I also believe that if we picked it up they would have taken 3-4 seconds before blowing whistles and deeming it incomplete.

 

[253hawk]

I don't think they saw it in real time, but in cases like that where it's so close, they are supposed to let it play out instead of blowing the whistle early and screwing a team out of a recovery. Remember Ed Hochuli? Denver was on SD's 1 yard line and Cutler fumbled it as his arm was going backward and SD recovered, but he called it an incomplete pass. Denver scored on the next play and won.

 

[ACFan]

So how is it a fumble when the ball shoots 10 yards forward while he is sitting stationary and his arm is in a throwing motion.

that's the point I have trouble ignoring.

Fumble all the way.
It was clearly knocked loose from his grip before he moved his hand forward and he just shot putted the ball forward.

pretty sure a even a "shot put" would be a legal forward pass.

I again bring up the example of the ball slipping in the QBs hands.

Say you call a deep pass on a rainy day, the ball slips as it's being released, and instead of it reaching your WR streaking 50 yards down the field, your RB catches it 20 yards down the field.

is that not a still forward pass?

Just glad it didn't change the result of the game, this is a good rule discussion for fun, nothing more.

 

[randomation]

It's possible if Earl was yelling his arm was going forward the D backed off in order to not get a personal foul/delay of game. Only thing that makes sense literally nobody tackled the guy and they had ample opportunity.

 

[Zybot]

I agree with those here that say it's a shame that the runner could advance it and it was the right call on replay.

The thing that's tough is that no one tried to tackle the runner!! However, I bet you they were worried about tackling him and it being called unnecessary roughness (if it was really an incomplete pass). So hard to make a quick decision like that on defense in a questionable situation like that. Sometimes you are damned if you do, damned if you don't. Fortunately, it didn't cost them the game.

 

[253hawk]

To his credit, I think KJ is the only one that kept going. He was chasing the ball and Peake caught it on the hop coming the opposite way, so he had no chance to even attempt a tackle.

F(int)zpatrick did the same thing not long ago, except the Cheatriots recovered it and returned it for a TD (of course).

 

[ACFan]

To his credit, I think KJ is the only one that kept going. He was chasing the ball and Peake caught it on the hop coming the opposite way, so he had no chance to even attempt a tackle.

F(int)zpatrick did the same thing not long ago, except the Cheatriots recovered it and returned it for a TD (of course).

that's a great gif of another forward pass being called a fumble.

looks like his index finger is what propels the ball forward.

 

[razor150]

If you think that is a forward pass you are a homer or blind.