NFL says Big Ben's lateral was legal.

I can certainly see Blandino's stance.

 

Let's just be glad it didn't come to a review then. Play really should have never happened in the first place though.

 

I am sickened how close we came to one of the worst losses I have ever seen. To have endured that ending if Brown had not stepped out....We played so well and came back to take the lead....Would have killed me

 

anyone have a gif, screenshots?

 

I think is legal, if you pause the video aviable on nfl.com when the ball lefts Big Ben hand and then when Brown catch it, it looks like is the same yard. What happened is that the ball starts going forward and the comes back.

 

Ask SI to put a huge photo in the next issue ala NO

 

I agree but...no flag. We would be here talking about how we got robbed and knocked out of the playoffs! Wow, don't even want to think about it.

 

the only pic i could find


still watching the video in slow motion it looks like a definite forward pass to me.

 

Yeah, it looks like Ben threw a little curveball somehow. Yet I still maintain it went slightly forward. At game speed it obviously appeared forward to me.

 

But it did. And we were inches from being the laughing stock of the NFL again.

 

I know. But we can't ignore the fact we let this happen. Even if we got lucky it was still an embarrassment. And I bet a lot of us were like, "there goes the Dolphins again." I almost ripped my hair out. It was sloppy crap at the end of this game. If I'm Joe Philbin I'm going into the locker room furious.

Guys were standing around as if they didn't know what to do. Shows we were unprepared for something like this. Reflects on the coaching. One thing everyone can learn from Belichick is situational football. He prepares his team for any situation that might pop up. It's his mantra. Games are won and lost with just one or two clutch situations by those most or least prepared for it. We've seen it, play well for 55 minutes, then lose at the end.

We were not prepared. Pitt was. And they came within inches, done in by a mostly unforced error.

 

Hmmm, a lot of people's tunes have changed since Sunday afternoon. Better lucky than good I guess.

 

Actually what he said was that it would have been too close to overrule the non-call on the field. It was, however, about a foot/2 feet forward, that much was pretty obvious...

Oh and they didn't even comment on the fact taht several stillers were moving around at the snap...

 

Not sure I like this new approach to reporting, that the Media is engaging in at our expense, but it seems we're exceedingly having to defend, or endure cynical discourse lodged against the team for various conduct or gameplay, based purely on proposed speculation, and/or what "could have happened", but didn't.
This was a desperation time play, of a sort that rarely succeeds, and ultimately failed here, yet as a result of hypothetical regurgitation and rehashing, theres an implied sense created, that the game was closer that it was.
In truth, the Steelers were extremely lucky to have even gotten as far as they did with that play, which was called because they were actually beyond the arms reach of a hail mary.

 

From the NFL rule book:

"When a player is in control of the ball and attempting to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass"

http://static.nfl.com/static/conten...pdfs/11_Rule8_ForwardPass_BackPass_Fumble.pdf

My interpretation of that rule is that the pass began when the QB started his motion of the ball, not when the ball came out of his hand. If that interpretation of the rule is correct, then it is absolutely a forward pass and it would have been obvious should the play have been reviewed.

 

Sweet Christmas, really? Officiating this year is worse than it was with the replacements. It's scary bad.

 

I can't believe officials would be that inept. Why not just own up to a terrible call

 

If they did that as often as is warranted, more people would realize just how inept they are.

 

Right. The argument would be that he was not attempting to pass it forward, but lateral it. My argument for this play is that the concept of a pass that travels exactly sideways is not really possible in the real world, meaning that passes are either traveling forwards or backwards. You can evaluate the pass based on that. It can be ruled that the pass is clearly not traveling backward and is illegal

 

In the end justice was served because he did step out. Illegal motion and the forward lateral did occur on the play and we tackled horribly but the play never should have taken place because of the illegal motion. Not an ideal way to end the game but I'll take it.

 

I swear some fans here still seem upset that we won.

The play caught everyone off guard because they weren't set, it was ankle breaker conditions, we actually stopped the play when we tackled Big Rape forcing him to throw an illegal forward pass, then we caused the runner to put himself out of bounds. All in all, we stopped an illegal play twice in horrible conditions and people are still acting like we ****ed up.

Someone, please, tell me how in the hell that's not hater agenda rhetoric.

For crying out loud most of the people *****ing now would be the first ones to say "we need to find a way to win those games" if we had lost. We did find a way to win and they are still steady *****ing.

 

But the rule says "any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass", and the QB's initial movement to get rid of the ball was intentional forward movement of his hand with the ball. He kind of hooks the ball around but his first movement with the ball was forward, which according to the rule, would constitute a forward pass. We may be splitting hairs here, but I am assuming that the rule is literal and not implied.

 

Thank God he stepped out of bounds they would have boned Miami.....

even though it was a forward pass...

 

I think originally it was about winning/losing, but with the NFL revealing their interpretation of the play, the focus is now on the sloppy officiating (and some may digress it is intentional) we have seen across the NFL this season.

 

I'm talking about the people that act like we were lucky and who are acting like we are sloppy and deserved a loss.

Of course the refs want to **** us. They've been doing it all season and even did it last time we played the Steelers. There are two games this year, off the top of my head, the refs cost us (Balt & NE).

 

The NFL just proves over and over again that they're much more concerned with protecting their brand rather than being fair. It was obviously a forward lateral, however, they decided to make a marketing decision and support their perennial playoff team.

Whatever. We won. Suck it, Steelers.

 

Guys, we have to move on from this, and stop feeling guilty for winning the game. We won, Steelers lost, end of story.

Like many of you, I've been obsessing over this play since Sunday evening, but no more - I'm moving on, it's time for the Patriots.

Did we get lucky? Sure, but - darn it - we were more than due for some!

And, besides, like many have mentioned, it really shouldn't have gone off to begin w/ due to the motion. Thank God, it all worked out, we're 7-6, not 6-7, and we have some momentum going into a huge game Sunday. We aren't the laughing stock of the NFL, and we don't have to see this play replayed till we're 106. In a few weeks, we'll laugh about it, hopefully while watching the Phins in the playoffs.

So let's move on guys - enough of the obsession over the play. We won!!! That's right - we won!!!

 

Not trying to be nitpicky here, BUT.................BillaCHEAT didn't have his team prepared for the wildcat. They were totally embarrassed. It's not like he is perfect. Neither is Philbin.

The pass/ lateral can be debated till the end of time but the pre-snap movement by the steelers is NOT debatable.

Fin-D, I actually see something different with this game. I kinda felt like we got some call on the field that we normally would not get. The refs were actually leaning more to our side, for once. If I was a conspiracy nut, I would wonder if the league told the refs to help us out as a further punishment for Tomlin's sideline stunt from last week.....i.e. penalty is a big fine, a low draft pic and a loss while fighting for the playoffs.
I don't believe that, but............

 

I think the field conditions had a lot to do w/ the play extending as far as it did. Guys can't adjust as fast, nor make a play as quickly. The Steelers could lateral the ball backwards easier than the Dolphins could move w/ their legs at that point. For one, I think Jimmy Wilson makes the initial tackle on Sanders if there's no snow, and it never even gets that far. At the end of the play, both Jones and Clemons were stuck in the snow, trying to play low and see which way Brown was going to go. Just like in the passing game when there's snow on the field, it's easier for the receiver to run and cut than it is for the DB to adjust.

Frankly, on a clean field, it never gets to the point of heart-stoppage.

 

Not one person said that they were upset that we won or that we deserved to lose. People are saying that we came very close to losing a game we outplayed the Steelers...in their house..with the playoffs on the line. After the league agreed that it probably would not be overturned, those feelings are legit..legal or not. To pretend that play almost did not happen is weak, it did. So thankful we won and soon we can laugh about it.

 

Bladino is wrong.

 

I still think Roethlisberger fumbled the ball on the sack during the same drive. I don't understand why it wasn't even challenged from upstairs?