At least it counts in our hearts.
It was an easy mistake — especially if you’ve been a confused referee throughout the entire game.
The Official explanation from Green:
We should have let the play go through in the end, yes…. It was misinterpreted that instead of killing the play, we should have let the play go through.”
The confusion exists, even in their explanation. I think the first pass was probably from Rivers.
The first pass was the one that was illegal, but it only kills the play if it hits the ground…. That was incorrect to have killed it at that point. The ruling should have let the play go on. That’s just the way that it played out. We believe the second pass (by Tomlinson) was legal.
…
We didn’t kill it on the field…. After (the) discussion we decided … there was some confusion over which pass we were talking about and it was decided that it was the second pass that was illegal that did hit the ground and therefore we killed the play there.
Of course, the pass was not a forward pass, but clearly a backward pass. Duh.
“I know,” Green said. “The rule was misinterpreted.”
I left the game before that play. Actually, I was half way out the gate when Willie walked into the endzone, but I heard the booing and came back in to watch the field goal. I should have looked for a flag.
I don’t usually buy into the cheating/fixing thing, but that game was really fishy. Why bother reviewing that play? Everyone had left the sidelines! It was cold! Plus, how could they possibly get clear evidence that the lateral was forward (to overturn the call on the field) and still think that it hit the ground?
The gambling line thing, plus the amount of money riding on that game, makes a pretty compelling motive for lopsided officiating. One thing the game did was let me boo loudly and frequently, always my favorite part of attending a sporting event.
I enjoyed when Anthony Smith leveled the punt returner after he called for fair-catch. I can see that call.
Ha — I am glad you got to be there. There’s nothing compares.
It was a lot of fun to go to. The best part was watching the defense play. I felt like I wanted more, although it was nice to see the Steelers get the ball for 38 minutes or whatever it was. It was amazing to see how fast they get to the ball though. The Chargers called up some pretty clever plays to get LDT some space, but our backers and safeties closed like bees every time. They would walk Troy up to the line, and he would get back into the deep zones before the receivers.
I know — their defense is incredible this year. The linebackers seem to be playing way above anyone else in the league.