A Catch or Not a Catch, That is the Question

We award the rouge to Edmonton! – photo courtesy of Jon Lok, Seattle Times

It all came down to one play last night in Seattle for the Seahawks and the Packers. Golden Tate came down with the game-winning touchdown pass, that is according to the referees. Packers fans will swear that M.D. Jennings had the interception. The play has created quite a controversy across the nation. Both players had hands on the ball and replays don’t really show anything definitive or do they? The NFL rule states that simultaneous catch always goes to the receiver, but was this a simultaneous catch? That is the question and the guys here at No Fair Weather Fans weigh in with their opinions of the catch, the referees and the game.

Ben Kelley

First, let me say I am glad the Seahawks got the win. I am going to completely ignore the blatant offensive pass interference, that happens on every Hail Mary on both teams. I want to actually analyze the catch. There are a few angles that look like a simultaneous catch. There is an angle that looks like it’s from the near front pylon. You can see Golden Tate’s right arm comes off the ball. Jennings maintains two hands on the ball the entire time. You can’t ignore the fact that Tate got two hands on the ball at the same time, but he doesn’t maintain two hands on it. The other point of view I have heard is Tate, had two feet down and two hands on the ball before Jennings. If you were to ask me to make a call one way or the other and I had to pick one, I would have to say interception.

The game shouldn’t have even come down to a last throw. That play shouldn’t have happened. There was a pass interference call on Kam Chancellor on Green Bay’s go-ahead drive that shouldn’t have been called. The call extended a Packers drive that should have been stalled, getting Green Bay a field goal at best. Not to mention Aaron Rogers coming up short of a third down later that drive and the call being overturned to give the Packers a first down. They were sending in the field goal unit before Mike McCarthy challenged the call. Seattle could have been kicking a game winning field goal in a 9-7 game instead of throwing to the endzone in a 12-7 game.

Seattle got bailed out earlier a couple of times, as well. There was a roughing the passer call that reversed an interception thrown by Russell Wilson. The pass interference call against the Packers on a long pass to Sidney Rice on 1st and 30 was more offensive PI than defensive. There was a no call on a PI by Charles Woodson on Evan Moore on the last drive, as well. Needless to say, this was a poorly officiated game all around.

Last thing, M.D. Jennings will never try to make an interception on a Hail Mary, again. Just knock it down, dude. Go Hawks!

Brad Dobbs

After having some time to cool down on this a little bit, I don’t think this is even about a touchdown, a game “taken away” from Green Bay or Golden Tate’s inability to remember that he pushed off before he “caught” the ball.

This is the catalyst that the national media needed to elevate the discussions about the refs to a point where it just makes Goodell and team look like they don’t care about the product that they are putting on the field.  Plain and simple.

The image of one ref holding up a touchdown and the other signaling touchback is the image that will be the rally cry of coaches, players and fans to get the NFL to the table and negotiating for real.  Many times, there are symbolic events that happen that in themselves are the catalyst for larger things, like Mr. Ed Hochuli getting a pension plan for his Sunday’s work on top of being a lawyer.

In the end, I am not going to argue a judgment call made by these guys, just like I wouldn’t if these were “real” refs.

The angles I saw, I think Golden’s left arm was inside the play, between the ball and the chest of the defender.  He also came down first with two feet, and the defender landed on him.  In my opinion, M.D. Jennings won a jumping contest.  However, I can see it going the exact other way depending on which replay you saw on ESPN.

Like I said in the beginning though, this is what the national media needed to point a giant middle finger at Goodell.  Will he listen?  History says, probably not.

Ryan Johne

Frankly, I’m sad that the spotlight is on the officiating and not somewhere else.  In the first half, the Seattle defense had EIGHT sacks and only allowed 82 yards of offense against the best Quarterback on the planet.  Doesn’t that deserve more than a footnote?

The spotlight could also be on this year’s tame Green Bay offense.  The Packers average 19 points per game this year.  They averaged 35 points per game during the regular season last year, while their personnel hasn’t changed much.  Isn’t that worth discussing?

However, the entire nation is killing Roger Goodell with his fake referees, and petitioning that Green Bay be awarded the win.

Sure, it was a bad call.  We all saw two referees standing over the pile giving differing signals…but there were a myriad of bad calls – some for Seattle, some for Green Bay.  That being said, bad calls are part of the game.  Super Bowl XL had a number of terrible calls (with “real” referees), but Seattle was forced to swallow that bowling ball of a loss.

Seattle fans should not be apologizing, just as Pittsburgh fans should not apologize (as if they were going to, anyway) for Super Bowl XL.  Instead, the NFL needs to decide if they want a product that possesses integrity, or a product that emulates a circus.  Given last night’s game, as well as the entire 3rd week of this young season, they’re dangerously close to the latter.

Skip Bayless called this play “the worst robbery in Seattle since the Sonics moved to OKC.”  Although funny (and somewhat bitter), I think the Sporting Gods are finally smiling on Seattle.  This was no robbery.  Seattle put themselves in a position to win at the end with superb defense and just enough offense to make it happen.  It’s too bad it happened like that, but a win is a win.