NFL decides Bryant catch was 'no good'

[Bengalzona]

And in the "Just a Little Too Late to Mean Anything" Department:

http://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/1/15/10777390/nfl-says-martavis-bryant-touchdown-should-not-have-counted-ryan

Quote:NFL says Martavis Bryant touchdown should not have counted; Ryan Shazier hit was legal

Just when the pain of last Saturday's debacle may have begun to subside, the Bengals and their fans are once again having salt poured into their wounds.

As if that gut-wrenching loss at the hands of Pittsburgh wasn't bad enough, the NFL today revealed that one of the game's biggest plays that went in favor of the Steelers should not have. During the third quarter with Pittsburgh leading 9-0 and in the red zone, Ben Roethlisberger fired a pass for Martavis Bryant in the back of the end zone that he pulled in but pinning it towards his butt.

To be honest, I thought it was a touchdown, but I'm not the NFL, who says this in fact was not a score and should not have counted.

NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino says in his mind the Bryant catch should not have been a catch but also said because it was initially ruled a catch, there wasn't enough to overturn it via instant replay.

While that play actually resulted in points, the play Bengals fans were far more upset about was the hit linebacker Ryan Shazier put on running back Giovani Bernard. What appeared to be an obvious targeting call was not flagged, even though Bernard left the game due to the hit with a concussion.

However, Blandino says this was not targeting because Bernard was, "not a defenseless receiver at the time of contact."

That looks like obvious targeting of Bernard's helmet by Shazier, but Blandino doesn't see it that way.

"There’s three elements to that rule," Blandino said. "You have to line up your opponent, you have to lower your head, and you have to make forcible contact with the very top of the helmet. The key issue here is the line up, and when we’re talking about angles, and the players are moving at different angles, where you have Bernard is moving in this direction, Shazier is moving in this direction, then we don’t have the line up. You’re really dealing with the players moving in the same direction towards each other when this rule would apply. The theory being, when players are moving at angles, they don’t have as much opportunity to avoid that contact. That’s where the rule does not apply."

Blandino did go on to admit the NFL is, "concerned with players lowering their head. We don’t want players to lower their head to initiate contact."

That makes it sound like he wasn't 100-percent confident this wasn't worthy of a personal foul penalty and that the rule should possibly be further looked into.

At the end of the day, the Bengals still beat themselves Saturday night, but maybe they shouldn't have had the chance to beat themselves if not for several 'questionable' calls going against them.

Hey, NFL! You suck!!!

[TKUHL]

Figures, I made a thread about this after the game. This just proves that not only do we the fans not know what a catch is but neither do the refs. I wish the NFL would just change the rules back. If the ball dosent hit the ground and you get 2 feet in it should be a catch, wish they could make it that simple. I was mad about that TD because the NFL tells us its not a catch but call it a TD anyway. Even when the refs are in contact with the head refs in NY. The Refs and the NFL contradict themselves every week. The Gio hit for example, These rules are put in place for player safety so why is it leading with the crown is a penalty UNLESS the player establishes himself as a runner? so the NFL is only concerned about player safety in certain situations. The Gio hit was a missed penalty due to poor judgement by the refs. he didnt have time to become a runner. Shit where is the Tylenol.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

This all makes sense now on the Shazier hit. Now , when folks say the Bengals got hosed on the catch , the league can point to the Shazier play and say they erroneously took a defensive TD off the board so it's a push.

[Atomic Orange]

Both calls were bull shit and both calls should be admitted as such.

again

**** the nfl

[Aquapod770]

Well they also said the Shazier hit was legal. According to their own rules it's not. Any credibility they had is completely gone.

[Sovereign Nation]

The key issue here is the line up, and when we’re talking about angles, and the players are moving at different angles, where you have Bernard is moving in this direction, Shazier is moving in this direction, then we don’t have the line up. You’re really dealing with the players moving in the same direction towards each other when this rule would apply. The theory being, when players are moving at angles, they don’t have as much opportunity to avoid that contact.

Ummmm.... Wouldn't the same theory need to apply to Shawn Williams AND Burfict? Both of those guys were moving at opposite angles and don't have "as much opportunity to avoid that contact" as Shazier had, Shazier had a lot of opportunity to make a tackle, without having to lower his head and hit with the crown of the helmet. I won't post the rule, since it has been posted so many times, the rule is clear though, any hit like that outside of the tackle box is illegal.

Now both of our PFs lead to points for the Steelers. Add in the non TD catch, that was ruled a TD catch and the points are easily added up. That is 12 points that the Steelers didn't earn.

As the article says, the Bengals wouldn't have been in a situation to beat themselves had the officials called a better, more consistent game.

[tigerseye]

The NFL is going to spin it any way they can. It isn't just the Bengals fans watching. The NFL refs determined the outcome.

The problem is the same teams more times than not benefit from their bad calls which happen at the most critical moments in these big games.

Shazier lowered his head and led with his helmet out side the tackle box. Why do they keep trying to work their way around that?

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

Yes....both are BS calls. Spearing has been illegal for as long as I've been involved in football (33 years). It was one of the first things we learned in Little League at age 7. It's OBVIOUS they blew that call.

Why are they making such a big deal over it to make it look like a good non call? As I said earlier.....so they can point to that play and say we took points away from Pitt on that play , so the non TD is a push. They're trying to save face. Too bad there's no way in hell that can be accomplished.

[StoneTheCrow]

Welp, they're half right.

[reuben.ahmed]

What down was that catch?

[GodFather]

That just puts thieving on the cake, for the refs giving the game to Shitsburgh. Even after that they still had to make sure their kicker had a hipshot FG to win the game.

[M.W.]

Add this to the refs ignoring Porter on the field talking trash to Bengal players.. the NFL is a joke

[Bengalsrob]

Hit to the head outside the tackle box is a clear cut penalty by rule (unless it involves fining a Steeler). Had Gio lowered his head and contacted Shazier, it would have no doubt been a Bengal penalty. Sims and Nance were gushing about how it was one of the greatest catches ever, and we would see the highlights on Sportscenter. Wrong again boys, it wasn't shown much at all, they knew it wasn't a catch. We've been hosed countless times playing the Steelers, but this was on parade for the world to see. A couple of friends of mine (Bills and Packer fans) commented on how Steeler receivers were all over Adam Jones as he was defending against them, and there should have been penalties there as well, they weren't surprised when he blew up. Most people I talked to up here had no idea how the officiating was in these matchups, but they've seen it now. Denver owes them as well, we will see if the refs have the gall to try and bail them out this week, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them try. To me, the token fines to the Steeler coaches were total crap as well. They took a first rounder and doled out massive fines to the Pats for offenses they could not definitively prove they committed, yet fine two Steeler coaches 10k apiece while popping Jones for 28k plus and Burfict a half a mil effectively? Sure, he had it coming, but then again; it wasn't Porter's first infraction if you add in past history now was it? Even had we had replays to assess penalties, it wouldn't have helped here per their decision. Not sure why we bother playing the game against these guys.

[Beaker]

More salt for the wound please.

[Fan_in_Kettering]

[jfkbengals]

I said it was no good from the very first replay.

What bothers me is that the man who oversees the officials and is in contact with them during the review, watching the same angles at the very same time, can come back after the fact and say that they had it wrong.

THE WHOLE REASON HE IS WATCHING IT WITH THEM IS TO INSURE IT IS CALLED CORRECTLY!

Unlike a court case, there was no new evidence. So how did he come to the conclusion that it was a catch before????

[reuben.ahmed]

What down was it? It makes me feel a little better if it was a 1st or 2nd down play, we never know what would have happened I guess.

[yellowxdiscipline]

Salt in the wound.

[Thefinalcut813]

But when your 4 year old son said it wasn't a catch.................... Lets get this boy a hat and a whistle pronto................

— Marvin Jones Jr (@MarvinJonesJr) January 16, 2016

lmao!

[Thefinalcut813]

So are we getting the band back together and travelin up to New England today or nah????

— Marvin Jones Jr (@MarvinJonesJr) January 16, 2016

For real though