Problem with the bang-bang narrative (1 Viewer)

[Lurkquacious]

So Cavaletto calls the pass incomplete, and indicates to Turner (or Payton) that it was a bang-bang play, which is why DPI was not called. McVay echoes that in his post-game comments. The talking heads who are (cough, air-quotes) defending the shield have run with that narrative too...just a missed call, bang-bang, human error, ad nauseum.

My problem - so how do both refs, obviously in perfect position to definitively rule out DPI because, you know - bang-bang - miss the obvious hit to the head of a defenseless receiver? That's 2 'all-star' NFL referees, watching a play in which a defender levels a receiver in the act of trying to catch a pass, making forcible contact in the head/neck area, and deciding that it's not a personal foul.

Yeah, remember the league guidance/rules of emphasis clap-trap at the beginning of the season?

2018 Rules of Emphasis

Oh, and the rule:

Defenseless Player

There's not much wiggle room here. TLL clearly had his hands out when contact was made, so he was clearly a defenseless player ("2. A receiver attempting to catch a pass who has not had time to clearly become a runner...") And there is no possible way that 2 refs could watch that play happen in real time and not see (and hear!) the high contact to the receiver. In every replay, Turner is staring directly at the play. Directly at it. I'm sure Cavaletto has a clear view as well. And this particular foul is a 2018 point of emphasis, so you'd think they'd be pretty good at seeing/flagging this penalty by the post-season.

What's the excuse for this penalty being missed by multiple, best-of-the-best refs? Can't be bang-bang, because timing has no bearing in regards to this foul, only the disposition of the receiver. And no NFL ref or rep can possibly argue that TLL was not a defenseless player, nor that there was obvious, forcible contact in opposition to the rule.

Forget DPI. Play make-believe and say bang bang all you want. Why was this personal foul not called and enforced? Do 2018 rules of emphasis expire on New Year's Day? Did they emphasize it, but not underline, italicize and bold it? Does 'player safety' take a backseat in the playoffs?

Or maybe, just maybe, somewhere, someone, for some reason gave some guidance on 'bailing the Saints out' with a flag. And if entertaining that notion makes me a conspiracy theorist, well fit me for a tin-foil hat, because I can't be that blind man walking with the shepherd anymore...(but I'm tryin' Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard...)



Roger, you got some 'splainin to do. Or just talk to Jeff Probst to find out how to run a believable 'reality' show.

 

[bouxdag]

I don’t understand what bang bang is supposed to mean.

Is the concept that the ball is past the receiver by the time he gets hit?

 

[DavidM]

If the league won’t unequivocally acknowledge it should have been a penalty, every player who is fined for helmet-to-helmet / defenseless player fouls should use the video of that play as their defense.

 

[Gump]

I don’t understand what bang bang is supposed to mean.

Is the concept that the ball is past the receiver by the time he gets hit?

That the play happens to fast, it hard to take in.

 

[0rion]

You guys are gonna drive yourselves crazy with this stuff. There was no bang bang play......it's a missed call and nothing will be done about it near term. Long term you can look for reviews on some penalties next year. Does nothing for us this year.

 

[bonnjer]

Helmet to helmet seems to be a penalty of convenience. Hill got knocked out of the game, didn't see that called either.

 

[GeneHansen]

Bang-bang means 2 things get there at the same time, like the baserunner and a tag by the catcher. In this case, it’s the ball and the DB.
Most of the time those calls end up being debated because they are, in fact, bang-bang, and fans end up debating if the DB got there early. But in those cases, the ball at least gets there and gets deflected/knocked down/crashed into by the DB.
In this case the ball was a perfect spiral from the time it left Drew’s hand until it hits the turf. It never got near the TLL. So, it can’t be bang-bang if one of the bangs (the ball) isn’t involved.

 

[bonnjer]

That the play happens to fast, it hard to take in.

As we all know, this was nowhere close to bang bang. The only way it could have been clearer is if the Rams defender got in a vehicle and drove it across the field to run over TLL.

 

[Gump]

As we all know, this was nowhere close to bang bang. The only way it could have been clearer is if the Rams defender got in a vehicle and drove it across the field to run over TLL.

No doubt. Just answering the mans question. Haha.

 

[saintlyn8]

It basically means that the play occured too fast and was too close call via real time occurence. This is 100% incorrect in this case. They will push that as much as they can though, despite being 100% false. There was nothing bang bang about it. It was clear and obvious - they were told to swallow their whistles and not call penalties... they most likely didnt think they would get one that was so blatant with what was on the line. So it’s thrown quite a bit of sand into the NFL’s gears- not that they care, they’ve gotten what they wanted LA in the garbagebowl.

 

[saint_drago]

From the angle of the pass a bang bang play was impossible. This wasn't like a WR coming over the middle and getting hit as soon as the ball touches his hands. This was a WR running wide open down the sideline who was wiped out before he could even make a play on the ball.

It was all of these things:

A. Pass interference because the WR was destroyed before the ball got there.

B. Illegal hit on a defenseless player.

C. Helmet to helmet.

B and C could have and should have been called no matter where the ball was in the air. If Drew would've thrown the ball into the stands it still would've been helmet to helmet and/or unnecessary roughness.

This is like a SNL sketch or something you'd see on Key & Peele where a defender runs across the field and takes out a guy and no flag is thrown because come to find out one ref was blind and the other ref was texting during the play.

 

[Craig Walker]

Bang - helmet to helmet

Bang - TLL hitting the ground

Bang - the ball finally hitting the ground

So it was actually a bang bang bang play.

 

[superchuck500]

I don’t understand what bang bang is supposed to mean.

Is the concept that the ball is past the receiver by the time he gets hit?

That the play happens to fast, it hard to take in.

Yep - and it clearly wasn’t a bang bang play. It just wasn’t close, end of story.

 

[bouxdag]

It’s just kind of insane to me that refs would use that terminology. You’re either early or you’re not. A referee saying bang bang is essentially saying I have no accountability to make this call because it’s a difficult call to make (which it wasn’t, but even if it was, how can they be permitted to say that).

 

[Grumpy Old Manatee]

Is the term "bang bang play" ever defined in the NFL official's casebook?