Officiating at the End of Game (2 Viewers)

[greg8710]

On a random note…. Vilma was kinda annoying

 

[Mutt]

Even in the nose bleeds in MB Dome, it was obvious the refs were incompetent at best.... Especially those last 5 minutes of the game.

 

[Sailorsaint]

You are being way too literal. The clock was not running before the snap. It was the right call.

Aren't the rules supposed to be taken literally? Or open for interpretation by each individual ref? If you are going by the rules, you follow them literally.
Edit: and it was the wrong call. But, we can agree to disagree, we won, against the odds, that's what matters. They, the refs, just didn't make it easy or fair.

 

[Jazz Cabbage]

I keep watching that play to Landry, and everybody's body language indicates they thought he was touched down in bounds. Vilma thought the penalty was for us not being set. Like wtf dude.

Bad call by the refs - but if they ruled he was out of bounds, that obviously helps us in that situation. It looks like the team got a little excited after the play and didn't verify what the officials had determined. Then we spike it on 3rd down. That was super ugly. We need to be way more composed in those situations regardless of what is called on the field. We definitely didn't need to give ATL (and the refs lol) another possession at the end there.

 

[SaintTupelo]

In watching the Laundry catch again, the ref was not in position to see Landry get touched as he was going to the ground. He did see Laundry step out at the 40 and waved his hands to stop the clock. He was pushed back inadvertently by the Atlanta defender who initially fell behind Landry. When Landry ran the ball back to an official to have them spot the ball the other ref and refs acted as if the clock was still running. That is where I have the problem. The refs should have said Stop and take their normal time to spot a ball.

You can see the ref in the bottom right of the picture with his arms up in a waving formation. Had he rule correctly that Landry was down by contact, then all actions afterward would have been correct. Here is where a blown call that normally would have worked for the Saints where they then huddle up and call their next play, I am sure the replay dude would've stopped the game, after reviewing the catch Ask Atlanta do they want to use a time out or run 10 seconds off the clock. Atlanta would have taken the time out. Which would have left them none on their last play before the FG attempt.

Anyway the end result is a Saints win. Let's move on

 

[FullMonte]

In watching the Laundry catch again, the ref was not in position to see Landry get touched as he was going to the ground. He did see Laundry step out at the 40 and waved his hands to stop the clock. He was pushed back inadvertently by the Atlanta defender who initially fell behind Landry. When Landry ran the ball back to an official to have them spot the ball the other ref and refs acted as if the clock was still running. That is where I have the problem. The refs should have said Stop and take their normal time to spot a ball.

You can see the ref in the bottom right of the picture with his arms up in a waving formation. Had he rule correctly that Landry was down by contact, then all actions afterward would have been correct. Here is where a blown call that normally would have worked for the Saints where they then huddle up and call their next play, I am sure the replay dude would've stopped the game, after reviewing the catch Ask Atlanta do they want to use a time out or run 10 seconds off the clock. Atlanta would have taken the time out. Which would have left them none on their last play before the FG attempt.

Anyway the end result is a Saints win. Let's move on

I agree that one of the refs should have maybe gone out of their way to make sure the Saints knew the clock was stopped, but I can't fault them for the way they spotted the ball. The Saints were in a hurry up offense, and the Saints were rushing to run the next play. It's possible the Saints had a matchup they liked, and didn't want Atlanta to have a chance to adjust or something. I don't think the refs should be expected to slow down a team that is hurrying.

 

[DSnfla]

It's been posted a few times, not sure if it's in this thread.

(bold emphasis mine)

https://nflcommunications.com/Documents/2021%20-%20Rule%20Book%20%20Case%20Book.pdf

I get that's what the rule says but if the clock starts at the SNAP is it not running when JW spiked it?

 

[TenTwo]

On a random note…. Vilma was kinda annoying

He tries too hard to be objective. As much as I was a fan of him as a player, my feelings are polar opposite when he’s commentating

 

[soupcan dan]

on a random note------328% is going to be my new sign of certainty

 

[Chopper Man]

I hope truly that the ref had money on the Falcons and lost a fortune.

 

[EvilMike]

I'll say what I've been saying since the NFC championship game.

Put the refs up in a Motel 6 when they come to town, develop some water, electrical and AC problems in the refs' locker room at the dome and put them in a tent in the parking lot, give them gas station sushi to eat.

 

[ElTorro]

Werner got flagged for too strong of a tackle. I guess it is becoming flag football.

I thought the flag on Werner was for the hip throw. Ticky tacky and a little too letter of the law in my opinion.

 

[SaintswonSBXLIV]

I don’t understand the thought behind it being intentional grounding if the clock is stopped. What possible benefit or competitive advantage are you gaining by wasting one of your downs when you don’t need to do so. Any ideas?

This is a great point except that it would arguably make the rule subjective which is something the league attempts to minimize whenever possible. I remember that the spike rule came into existence in the late 80s because teams would throw the ball out of bounds to stop the clock and the thought was that it was an unnecessary waste of time so they allowed for the spike.