2017 AFC Championship
Follow us here for rolling coverage of the calls and rules interpretations of the AFC Championship game from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
If you have any questions or comments, use the comments section of this post, or tweet us @footballzebras.
Today’s crew is headed by Clete Blakeman.
Yrs | 2017 crew | College | Occupation | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
R | 34 | Clete Blakeman | 10 | Nebraska | attorney | |
U | 11 | Fred Bryan | 9 | Allen | Northern Iowa | superintendent, juvenile correctional facility |
DJ | 28 | Mark Hittner | 21 | Wrolstad | Pittsburg State | investment broker |
LJ | 79 | Kent Payne | 14 | Cheffers | Nebraska Wesleyan | teacher |
FJ | 50 | Aaron Santi | 3 | Torbert | Southern Oregon | middle school principal |
SJ | 109 | Dyrol Prioleau | 11 | Blakeman | Johnson C Smith | manager, law firm |
BJ | 112 | Tony Steratore | 18 | Boger | California (Pa.) | co-owner, supply company |
- Replay: Carl Madsen
- Alternates:
- John Parry (R)
- Patrick Turner (DJ)
- Greg Gautreaux (FJ)
Mutual hand fighting called pass interference on the defense. Horrible call that heavily affected the game.
First good call at around 6 minutes of fourth quarter. However, refs ignored holding on Patriots that led to punt. Officiating has definitely favored Patriots.
One penalty on the Patriots. One. All game.
It’s sad. It’s almost WWE-like to watch it happen.
On Jaguars drive around 7 minutes of fourth quarter, the last pass play had the Patriots give the Jaguars as much if more restrictive contact as was called on the Ravens in their loss to the Patriots during the Patriots near perfect season. With the doubtful call at the end of the second half, the referees need to call the game both ways.
With extremely lopsided calls, the officials have given the patriots the win.
And people say refs don’t decide games.
When will the league end this part time joke?
NE +88 beneficiary net penalty yards. Just wow! NE 1 penalty to JAX 6 penalties. NE last four regular season games and their two playoff games must have set some kind of NFL positive beneficiary yards as they were at least +25 yards or more per game.
No official ever makes a call for against a team. Pats only got called for 1 penalty because they only Commited 1 penalty William the pass interference call in the first half was correct,
Sorry Edkargir…there are plenty of calls that were not made. Heck there was a holding call missed on the last run that iced the game.
https://twitter.com/Jdemz/status/955217832551182336
The two longest plays of the game were DPI. Both against JAX.
And one aided another PATS TD drive (they lead the league in those) and was nowhere near as bad as the ZERO DPI calls that were made against the JAX last week.
It has to be the most amazing coincidence in the history of sports that one team can have that happen every week for six weeks in a row.
How did Santi get 3 playoff games in 3 years? I thought the 1st year they were not eligible?
https://twitter.com/derrick_daKidD/status/955222506155200512
New England clinched the AFC Week 15 in Pittsburgh on the “controversial†review.
Since Week 15, Patriots opponents have been penalized 35 times for 390 yards.
In that same span, the Patriots have been penalized 13 times for 110 yards.
Do whatever you want with that info.
Yeah…this guy writing this crap is a Pats fan. what a joke!
Just add the Jaguars game to the 2017 list.
You could see, maybe, them getting one of these critical calls wrong. But all of them? All going against the Patriots’ opponent?
Calling one penalty on the Patriots in the Championship game? While at the same time calling a dubious pass interference call that marched the Patriots right up the field for their only TD in the first half? The TD that was the deciding points in their win?
Blakeman knew he did what was expected out of him, and walked up to The King himself to accept his gratitude and to kiss his ring.
Sure, you see the head official of the officiating crew in all other major sports walking up to the star player, the leader and captain of the winning team, as the game ends, before even his own teammates, to congratulate him. Happens all the time in hockey, baseball, and basketball. Right????
It’s a sad pathetic joke, the NFL and its so-called officiating. And you all at NFLZebras will be right back here next season ignoring the obvious that only those that comment here seem to be able to notice. That the game is clearly rigged in favor of which ever team or teams the NFL decides it wants to move forward into the playoffs, and reach the Super Bowl. And for most of the last 17 years, that team has been the Patriots.
Are the Patriots the best team in the AFC and deserving of the championship? Possibly, even probably. But we’ll never know, thanks to the league and the so-called officials making sure they win. Between the Patriots cheating, and the league using the so-called officials to ensure victories for them in critical games like this, it is amazing any team manages to beat the Patriots in any game of consequence.
The only good news? People everywhere are on to this obviously rigged sport. TV ratings for the season – down. TV ratings for the playoffs – down. Americans are walking away from football.
how can that guy say a well officiated game, come on what game was he watching. One call the entire game on the pats, no way. NE player head butted one of the Jags players and didn’t get called. WR and TE getting held the entire game for the Jags and nothing was called. Holding on the last run that wasn’t called. Blackman should not be allowed to call another Pats game.
I am praying Gene Stertore manages the game and that he does a great job with the officials.
No credibility. You are the same guys who were fine with the refs in the steelers jags game being flag free on a lot of contact on the Steelers WRs , yet you justify that borderline call on JAX AJ Bouye for PI on Cooks???? You don’t mention that NE offense got away with some major holding on a couple of key plays?
As no more you guys are here with your half-witted takes. After I called the Superbowl illegal batting and then nobody here agreed with me I stop coming here well after it was proven both by Peter King and by Von Miller. If anyone wants ask me I’ll go and I’ll pull back up the the pages.
So now you know what I thought about the game. It was horribly officiated I will take it down to three simple plays that drastically affected the game. 1 that delay game was very close. We are either need to get a set standard for delay of game or realize will never be called fairly favoring favorites favor and big teams they bring TV.
Number two that pass interference holy moly where is that coming from if that’s pass interference about your guy who’s touch not within 30 yards of where the ball landed we need to end the game just have a pitching catch no touching game.
3. The fumble the fumble the fumble the fumble what is that rap doing blowing his whistle? The only one dumber than him blowing the whistle as you not addressing it in this article. There’s no reason it was her shirt blown he was so antsy and realize it so far above his head to referee in the NFL or playoff game but he just blew his whistle for no reason he was so consider getting a fumble call right he had no patience to look at the rest of the game and recognize what was happening. Almost like the ref in the Super Bowl who didn’t notice the Von Miller illegal batting because he was so intent of getting in the middle of the play and not observing like the referee is supposed to.
Bonus call that holding call how did they miss that 3 and 8 Holding call???? Again another thing I got no mention is stupid article guys running away from him he’s helped clearly much more information on the play than that 32 yard pass interference.
Bad I just reread your Bumble and Recovery rule what the f are you talking about what what we talkin about you and making things up so now you said he’s supposed to Envision touches when there wasn’t one what are you talkin about the wonder why every time you apply to work in the NFL you are denied. Now you write these puff pieces but they’re trying to get in but you already failed I already have all your failing records on file.
You like that nobody else has eyes? Couple was Loose wasn’t ever touched. Didn’t take from his hand and fell out of the other guy’s hands after it hit off of side what are you talkin about do you have eyes or you think we’re all idiots
I’m not really getting this explanation of the fumble while reading the rules.
What does down by contact actually mean ?
> when a runner is contacted by an opponent and touches the ground with any part of his body other than his hands or feet. The ball is dead the instant the runner touches the ground. A runner touching the ground with his hands or feet while in the grasp of an opponent may continue to advance; or
A runner doesn’t have to be touched after the play. If he is tripped, and no where near a defensive player once on the ground he is down by contact.
But that is the rules for runners. You have to be a runner to be what we would refer to as down by contact. Which means you have to already have possession of the ball long enough to be considered a runner.
I can not find rules which cover contact for someone who is not a runner, or prior to being a runner, or ‘gaining control’ probably because down by contact can’t work for players who don’t have the ball – to suggest so is pretty damaging: because that would blow a play dead anytime any player hit the ground.
Prior contact before gaining possession is not something ever touched on in the rule book I can find, and that would be pretty bad, suddenly that means all players who catch the ball and fall over are down by contact if they were touched at any point before catching the ball. Lets not go there.
Same with possession in this instance; The possession is there or it isn’t. There are not special rules for people ‘gaining control’. Beginning to gain control = Not possession at that time.
The ‘considered contact’ of players without possession is not a concept within the rule book hinted or otherwise.
Stripping a ball from a ground player is completely irrelevant in this situation, the player wasn’t downed before the ball came loose – that’s what is ‘not a fumble’ . The player is either down, or it is a live ball, there is nothing in between these two ‘states’ and no interaction between these two rules. That rule is addressing a completely different circumstance clarifying picking from grounded players is not a fumble with very dodgy justification for joining the two.
As far as I read the rules, clear fumble, contact and possession rules covering the situation on the field already exist and can be ordered easily.
Some rules rely on judgement calls, the judgement call here was if Patriots maintained possession, or it was in fact a fumble. This is mostly on the possession rules.
The next part of judgement call would be WHEN Jaguars had possession of the ball and is able to become a runner. At this point he is eligible to be down if contacted and blown dead.
The next part is black and white; If he has possession while still in contact with the opposing player he is down by contact. If he has possession when there is no contact with the opposing player he can become a runner.
Sometimes refs miss things, sometimes they blow stuff dead accidentally. It sucks, its part of the game. This is a unusual fumble But I really disagree with using a different rule for a different circumstance to try to interrupt the normal ordering.
I know I’m a bit late on this, but I have a question regarding the first half 2-minute warning.
NE recorded a sack, and a defensive holding was called. The penalty was declined. Does this not mean that the sack stands and the clock should run to the 2-minute warning? The clock was stopped at 2:02, effectively giving NE an additional timeout.
Brick,.
don’t pay much attention to Ben’s attempt at making up a rule. He is a clown. He cant admit the truth. The ref messed up and changed a super bowl participant.
Also why did Clete Blakeman pat Tom Brady on the back after the game, That to me is a sign of favoritism towards the patriots. I thought referees were supposed to not show favoritism. Explain that.