Ben's fumble--right call or Touchception 2.0???

[packa7x]

I think the refs botched this one. Understandable that they made the call they did, but even though the ball was moving I feel that Ben maintained possession and secured it prior to the ball coming out. Anyone have any thoughts/evidence to support or deny my view?

[mikesteelnation1]

I'll say one thing on the subject. The best team on the field won today. That call is inconsequential, one way or the other.

That call didn't decide the game at the last second like the pack vs Seattle game. Maybe I'd have more to say if that was the case. It isn't, I don't. Best team won, and quite convincingly, if you watched the game.

The team that scored 14 unanswered points and held the explosive giants offense to under 200 yards while piling up 147 yards to -9 in the 4th quarter won that game.

[Pruitt]

Was that call a "get well soon" gift to the folks in New York and New Jersey? Otherwise, there is no possible explanation. That was a replacement ref call.

[Trumpetbdw]

I thought it was the tuck rule, myself, but the ball shifted a bit when Ben was hit, so perhaps that allowed for it to be inconclusive.

Missed calls happen all the time, but tend to even themselves out. It's still a big improvement over the replacement crews, and in the end, there's nothing that can be done about it one way or the other.

[brauneyz]

I don't usually fret publicly about blown calls, but watching Bill Leavy's crew rape the Steelers all night long was disheartening. Glad it made no difference, but ....

[packa7x]

I don't usually fret publicly about blown calls, but watching Bill Leavy's crew rape the Steelers all night long was disheartening. Glad it made no difference, but ....

I felt the same way. I guess I was a little bit biased because I freaking HATE the Giants and all of their idiot fans around here, but they were out in full force on Facebook. I must have been told a hundred times that there was NO WAY he maintained possession and that it was CLEARLY a fumble. Now, I'm not going to say there isn't a CHANCE that it was legitimately a fumble, but it wasn't definitive.

here's a great quote:

The ball got knocked lose in his hand. Yes he was coming forward bt didn't have complete control and he tried to grab it and hold it back. FUMBLE

A) The ball was not loose, it was jarred a bit in his hand, but he regained possession with his fingers.
B) As long as his arm was moving forward BEFORE the ball was jarred loose (it was) it's incomplete.
C) He never tried to grab it and hold it back.

Here's another good one, not on the Ben fumble/incomplete, but rather on the Ryan Clark hit on Cruz:

such a late hit on cruz ... cough bounty

He then posted this video:

http://notbillwalton.lockerdome.com/media/102064298

The video clearly shows that Ike Taylor was in perfect position to pick the ball off. Ryan Clark (I'm guessing) thought that Taylor had the ball, and hit Cruz in an attempt to block him so if Taylor ran it out, Cruz wouldn't immediately tackle him.

I'm convinced these guys aren't even watching the same game as me.

[Curtis]

The fumble was a bad call as was the Cruz hit. While both were bang bang plays and judgement calls, only the Cruz call is justified under those terms. At speed Cruz looked like he got his head drilled and he sold it by playing possum. The flag was thrown, it can't be reviewed and the refs are going to err on the side of caution to protect the players.
Ben's fumble looked like a fumble at speed, but after review it was pretty clear it was not a fumble. I don't understand what the refs saw to not overturn that.

In the end, Steelers won so it doesn't matter much. But had they lost...

Packa, you are spot on about Giants fans. Totally spot on. For years I had to deal with those smug morons. I don't know how many parking lot fights I've been in with them. Giants Knicks or Rangers, doesnt matter. They win or lose and they are all up in your face.

[Pruitt]

The Cruz hit at first glance looked like a vicious cheap shot. But watching the replay, it seemed as though Clark's view of the ball was screened a milisecond before he launched himself. I'm thinking that he was trying to hit Cruz as the ball arrived (which it would have had Taylor not got in the way). A hard, nasty hit, but in no way a penalty.

[packa7x]

Haha, I've gotten into 2 bar scuffles this year alone with Giants fans. ELIte has 0 TDs in the last 2 games. Just 12 on the year. He's so damn overrated, but you can't even begin to tell them without them crying. I can show you a 130 comment FB status where I trolled the hell out of Giants fans where like 3 of them had a meltdown because they couldn't imagine Eli as less than elite.

[brauneyz]

On the Cruz hit ... even in real time I knew he got hit in the armpit and screamed that it was a good 10" from his head.

Just as an aside, both my brothers and my late dad, a real sweetheart, are lifelong Giants fans. Fans are like voters, running the spectrum. You get what you get, and no one deserves to be labeled for a particular affiliation. I think FP represents that sentiment well.

Peace, B