12/03/24
October 24, 2010
Fumble Call Helps Steelers Defeat Dolphins: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Miami Dolphins 23-22 Sunday with a little help from the zebras. A late fumble by Ben Roethlisberger near the goal line was originally ruled a touchdown. It was overturned by replay, but officials couldn't determine which team recovered the ball in the end zone. Jeff Reed kicked a field goal after the call to put the Steelers ahead. See the video.
looked pretty clear that Miami recovered - not sure how you read the Miami player coming away with the ball as anything else
posted by kokaku at 07:02 PM on October 24, 2010
FWIW, during halftime of the late game, Roethlisberger said that he recovered the fumble when an official told him that he called a touchdown and then he let it go.
So if Roethlisberger is to be believed, it's actually the Steelers who were screwed on the play.
posted by cjets at 07:24 PM on October 24, 2010
And the Chargers must be the worst coached team in football. False start on the FG to tie it? Are you kidding me? After two of the most boneheaded turnovers I've ever seen?
posted by cjets at 07:25 PM on October 24, 2010
So if Roethlisberger is to be believed
Because he is a perfect model of truth and integrity.
posted by sgtcookzane at 07:41 PM on October 24, 2010
I still don't get the conclusion of this call. Ben obviously fumbled the ball before crossing the TD line, but there was nobody but Dolphins there to recover it.
posted by NoMich at 09:42 PM on October 24, 2010
Here's what I saw on the replay: The football's on the ground in the end zone and a Dolphins player falls on it. He's lying down. The instant a Steelers player touches him, he's down and it's Dolphins ball.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:29 AM on October 25, 2010
Depends on what replay you're looking at. The sideline view looks as though #59 for Miami clearly gains possession, but the view from the back of the end zone shows that #59 for Miami doesn't have definitive possession when #64 and #72 for Pittsburgh dive into the pile. Then the cameras are obscured, and there's no way to see what happens after the dive into the pile. I don't see how they can give the ball to Miami in that situation. It sucks for the Dolphins, but there's no way to justify a turnover...
posted by MeatSaber at 01:18 AM on October 25, 2010
Either a Steeler recovered it, or a Dolphin did. They basically ruled it was not recovered. If this wasn't in the end zone, then what would they do? Take the ball and go home? It's bizarre, to say the least.
posted by rumple at 01:53 AM on October 25, 2010
Either a Steeler recovered it, or a Dolphin did. They basically ruled it was not recovered. If this wasn't in the end zone, then what would they do? Take the ball and go home? It's bizarre, to say the least.
Do Over !
posted by tommybiden at 07:56 AM on October 25, 2010
Aaron Smith: torn tricept. They are saying this may be a career ender in Pittsburgh.
posted by Debo270 at 08:23 AM on October 25, 2010
Either a Steeler recovered it, or a Dolphin did. They basically ruled it was not recovered.
How could they rule otherwise, when the whistle had been blown and the ball appeared to be in no one's clear control when the pileup began? Normally in that situation without the whistle, the ball changes hands multiple times as players beat the hell out of each other under the pile.
posted by rcade at 09:40 AM on October 25, 2010
Yeah, unfortunate, questionable ending to a big game. And like rcade said, after a whistle blows, you don't know who has the ball, who had the ball, and who gave the ball up thinking the play was over.
posted by dyams at 10:31 AM on October 25, 2010
From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "I had the ball but the official said 'Let the ball go, it's a touchdown," so I did. But I knew I had the ball because I was losing the feeling in my arm from squeezing it." -- Jonathan Scott, Steelers RT who said he recovered Roethlisberger's fumble in the end zone on the bizarre replay review
The refs blew the call, but made the right decision.
posted by scully at 02:58 PM on October 25, 2010
The simple solution is to train the referees NOT TO BLOW THE WHISTLE until they are absolutely sure the play is over and there is no possibility that a review could change possession. Two calls in the NE vs San Diego game illustrate this. In the first, a rookie San Diego receiver falls to the ground untouched after a catch. He gets up and begins to celebrate when a Patriot defender falls on the ball. No whistle until the recovery, and no controversy. In the second, SD quarterback Rivers, under pressure, attempts a dump off pass to a back. The pass is dropped, but after much screaming from the NE sideline, a linebacker picks up the ball and returns it to the 8 yard line. Again, no whistle. The pass appeared to be a lateral, and upon review, the play stood. In either case, had the officials been too quick to make a call, NE could have been deprived of a change of possession in their favor.
In the Miami call, here is another case where a delay in the whistle could have made the difference. The official sees the ball cross the plane of the goal line, but he also should have seen the ball come loose. At this point, swallowing his whistle, letting play continue until possession in the end zone scrum is determined, and allowing the replay guys to sort everything out is the best way to go.
You can say that player safety determines the need for quicker whistles, but such cases are very rare. Officials, please have some patience and discretion.
posted by Howard_T at 04:50 PM on October 25, 2010
Blown call, Dolphins ball.
Fumbled before breaking the plane, Dolphins are in possession of the ball before and after the pile is cleared.
Let the officials who made the call view the video footage and phone the Dolphins to apologize for their mistake.
posted by cixelsyd at 07:44 PM on October 25, 2010
Dolphins are in possession of the ball before and after the pile is cleared.
I love how you can determine this when no one else can. To the rest of us it looks like a group of guys fighting over the ball (at least 2 steelers have shots at it including Ben). Yes a dolphin comes out with the ball afterward, but only after everyone has stopped fighting for possession because the ref ruled td. The ball changes possession lots of times in the bottom of piles and whose to say 1 of those steelers doesn't end up with it if left to fight for it? That's why the ruling is made.
posted by bdaddy at 08:58 PM on October 25, 2010
The simple solution is to train the referees NOT TO BLOW THE WHISTLE until they are absolutely sure the play is over and there is no possibility that a review could change possession.
Simple... from your couch, with the benefit of replay. Much easier said than done on the field, and your examples aren't comparing like with like. The league will probably issue new guidance this week, but for rare plays like that, you end up with fudges.
posted by etagloh at 10:50 PM on October 25, 2010
It's an unsatisfying decision, but it's hard to imagine it done differently, because the whistle and the TD call change the action on the field, and the officials don't want players injured in a scramble for the ball after a whistle. There are hypothetical variations where review could resolve things properly -- say, a called fumble recovered by the Dolphins that becomes a TD when replay makes clear that the ball broke the plane -- but that particular sequence wasn't one.
Trying to adjudicate both possibilities at the same time would give you a kind of "Schroedinger's Football" situation.