Saint of Killers
Formerly "WhoDatHank"
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I was so furious after yesterday's loss, that I avoided all types of technology that would remind me of our game vs Oakland. That includes TV and internet, thus I never checked SR after the game, like I usually do. I'm sure y'all discussed the two PI calls against us, on the final Raiders drive, but I wasn't around to see what the consensus was on those calls and if they cost us the game.
All I can say is, those calls were both made so late and both were so blatantly wrong, that I spent most of yesterday wondering if NFL games are as predetermined and rigged as WWE matches. Seriously, I watched the replays so many times on both of those phantom PI calls and I'm convinced that the refs straight up robbed us. The first call was garbage. They said the defender grabbed the jersey of the receiver, but he didn't. That was obvious when I watched the replay the first time. It was so obvious, you didn't even need to watch it in slow motion. The defender did physically touch the back of the receiver's jersey, but he didn't grab it, nor did he affect the receiver's ability to run his route or make the catch. There was ZERO interference on our part, during that play, but they called it anyway and that gave the Raiders offense a first down, when they should've been facing 4th down. The second PI call against us was even worse. The pass was simply not catchable. The ball was thrown too high and too late. Even if Craig Robertson had just stopped covering his man and collapsed to the ground when Carr threw the ball, it would've sailed over the receiver's head, out of bounds. That one was on 4th down, which made it hurt even more. Had the ref not thrown that flag, we win. Both times the refs took 3-5 seconds after the play was over to throw the flag. Both times they were right there to clearly see what happened. It was like they needed a second to decide what penalty to call, since none occurred. Atleast, that's what I saw. I know the TV announcers disagreed with both calls. Hell, even my friends who are huge Cowgirls fans called me immediately, to say they think we got robbed.
So, today when I got online to check SR and my other Saints sites, I was pretty surprised to see so many fans blaming the defense for our loss. Now, do I think the defense played well yesterday? No. Our passrush was basically non-existent and after we lost Breaux to injury, our secondary was having a lot of trouble covering anything. They let the Raiders come back and the Raiders did score that TD, that tied the game at 27, without any help from the refs, atleast as far as I remember. Still, they did look improved from last year, even if it wasn't as improved as I had hoped. So yeah, the defense did play poorly and they allowed the Raiders to catch up and get in a position to win. Still, they straight up stopped the Raiders on that final drive and made them go 4 and out, fair and square, which should have ended the game and made us 1-0. They did it once and were one play away from doing it twice, but both times the refs saved the Raiders and gave them a new set of downs. We could not stop them a third time, thus we lost.
I know it's pretty typical of some fans to blame the refs, when their team loses. I can honestly say, this is the first time in my life that I've blamed the refs for us losing. Refs make bad calls all the time, but usually I think it's a mistake they made because they are human, after all. If a team loses, 99% of the time, it's because they were the inferior team or they made too many legitimate mistakes, such as turnovers or they committed real penalties. I can't recall any other Saints game, where a bad call was the primary reason we lost. Yesterday, that's what happened. It was so blatant and obvious, I'm 100% convinced the refs were aiding the Raiders and they did it at the perfect time. If it had happened once, I would've been mad and a little suspicious, but after the second time, I feel certain, especially considering how long they took to throw the flags. I'm convinced now, that had we stopped them on the two point conversion attempt, the refs would've thrown a flag to give them another chance.
So, now I want to know what the consensus is on SR. What does the board think is the primary reason we lost? Please don't say both. I know the defense contributed to the loss, but they made the game saving stop when it was all on the line and the refs flagged them for a penalty they didn't commit. That was the primary reason we lost, IMO. What ya say, Who Dats?
All I can say is, those calls were both made so late and both were so blatantly wrong, that I spent most of yesterday wondering if NFL games are as predetermined and rigged as WWE matches. Seriously, I watched the replays so many times on both of those phantom PI calls and I'm convinced that the refs straight up robbed us. The first call was garbage. They said the defender grabbed the jersey of the receiver, but he didn't. That was obvious when I watched the replay the first time. It was so obvious, you didn't even need to watch it in slow motion. The defender did physically touch the back of the receiver's jersey, but he didn't grab it, nor did he affect the receiver's ability to run his route or make the catch. There was ZERO interference on our part, during that play, but they called it anyway and that gave the Raiders offense a first down, when they should've been facing 4th down. The second PI call against us was even worse. The pass was simply not catchable. The ball was thrown too high and too late. Even if Craig Robertson had just stopped covering his man and collapsed to the ground when Carr threw the ball, it would've sailed over the receiver's head, out of bounds. That one was on 4th down, which made it hurt even more. Had the ref not thrown that flag, we win. Both times the refs took 3-5 seconds after the play was over to throw the flag. Both times they were right there to clearly see what happened. It was like they needed a second to decide what penalty to call, since none occurred. Atleast, that's what I saw. I know the TV announcers disagreed with both calls. Hell, even my friends who are huge Cowgirls fans called me immediately, to say they think we got robbed.
So, today when I got online to check SR and my other Saints sites, I was pretty surprised to see so many fans blaming the defense for our loss. Now, do I think the defense played well yesterday? No. Our passrush was basically non-existent and after we lost Breaux to injury, our secondary was having a lot of trouble covering anything. They let the Raiders come back and the Raiders did score that TD, that tied the game at 27, without any help from the refs, atleast as far as I remember. Still, they did look improved from last year, even if it wasn't as improved as I had hoped. So yeah, the defense did play poorly and they allowed the Raiders to catch up and get in a position to win. Still, they straight up stopped the Raiders on that final drive and made them go 4 and out, fair and square, which should have ended the game and made us 1-0. They did it once and were one play away from doing it twice, but both times the refs saved the Raiders and gave them a new set of downs. We could not stop them a third time, thus we lost.
I know it's pretty typical of some fans to blame the refs, when their team loses. I can honestly say, this is the first time in my life that I've blamed the refs for us losing. Refs make bad calls all the time, but usually I think it's a mistake they made because they are human, after all. If a team loses, 99% of the time, it's because they were the inferior team or they made too many legitimate mistakes, such as turnovers or they committed real penalties. I can't recall any other Saints game, where a bad call was the primary reason we lost. Yesterday, that's what happened. It was so blatant and obvious, I'm 100% convinced the refs were aiding the Raiders and they did it at the perfect time. If it had happened once, I would've been mad and a little suspicious, but after the second time, I feel certain, especially considering how long they took to throw the flags. I'm convinced now, that had we stopped them on the two point conversion attempt, the refs would've thrown a flag to give them another chance.
So, now I want to know what the consensus is on SR. What does the board think is the primary reason we lost? Please don't say both. I know the defense contributed to the loss, but they made the game saving stop when it was all on the line and the refs flagged them for a penalty they didn't commit. That was the primary reason we lost, IMO. What ya say, Who Dats?