Colin Cowherd on Rams Saints

joemad wrote:

most fans here see it this way…

Most RAMS fans.

Not most football fans.

You guys just posted 2 dissenting views but it’s not the majority view.

My point on that is simple. As Rams fans we know better but the non-call dominates everyone else’s view of that game. To the point where we will just have to live with it, like it or not. Once the McVay Rams win a lot the non-call won’t be as important but it’s never going to go away.

…

joemad wrote:

Most fans “Here” = the fine folks of our message board…

Yeah. Agreed.

Zooey wrote:

I’m not surprised that today was spent crying about that call. It was a mistake, and it happened at a crucial moment.

But my guess is that Phase Two of this conversation is going to belong to the Cooler Heads. I think we will hear more of the Colin Cowherd kind of perspective tomorrow.

A football team has 60 minutes to put away the other team. That’s the task. Put the other team away…so that no Variable can come into play, and change the outcome.

A Variable is one of those plays that can turn the tide that is not under control of the team. Things like a gust of wind, a fluke bounce, an injury, a bad call, a blown assignment, a drop, a time mismanagement, a deserved penalty…. Every team strives to put themselves in a position that they are far enough ahead that a Variable can’t affect the outcome.

Here’s the deal: The Saints had the advantage in the beginning of the game, and they failed to put a lock on the game. They had two red zone opportunities in the first quarter, and came away with 2 FG. They failed to score TDs. In any game, there are several Opportunity plays. Several situations in which a team has an Opportunity to force its will on the other team. The Saints came out on the short end of those Opportunity plays.

The Saints got out to a 13-0 lead. The Rams failed to get a first down in the first quarter. But after that point, the Rams won the game statistically. They kept Bashing On, Regardless.

The non-PI call was not the last play of the game. It did not determine the winner. On the very next play, in fact, the Saints kicked a field goal and took a 3-point lead with 1:40 to go. They were winning AFTER that play. They did not lose because of that play. They lost because of what happened AFTER that play.

The Rams took the kickoff, and drove down the field to get close enough for GZ to kick a 48-yard FG – with the season on the line, on the road – and he drilled it. Tie game.

THEN. The Saints won the toss and got the ball. Suh and Fowler collapsed the pocket, and Fowler got a hand on Brees, and his pass went up for grabs (a Variable), and JJ made the play.

THEN. The Rams got close enough for GZ to try an NFC record 57-yard FG on the road, with the season on the line – and he drilled it.

There were several Opportunities in this game, and the Rams won most of them. They won statistically. And they scored more points.

The Saints lost this game because – over 60 minutes – they came up short. Not on one play. The Rams won. The Saints lost. And I think intelligent sports fans will see that. To say that play cost the Saints the game is Cherry-Picking. It ignores the entire story.

I absolutely do not believe that the Rams were unworthy of that victory, or given a Gift. No asterisk.

As for the people who see it otherwise…enh…don’t care. Yeah, for some people, this will be the Blown PI game.

I don’t care. They are wrong, and I don’t care.

This is the best, most epic post I’ve seen on this board in years. You nailed it, Zooey.

You’re right…it wasn’t one play. It was failure on the Saints to press the accelerator when they had a 13-0 lead. They played not to lose and lost. Sucks to be them. Of all fan bases, we know that very well, having endured it in SB 36.

One thing is certain. The refs in SB 53 won’t hesitate to throw the flags…and that evens the playing field for us.

Zooey wrote:

As for the people who see it otherwise…enh…don’t care. Yeah, for some people, this will be the Blown PI game.

I don’t care. They are wrong, and I don’t care.

Good post.

You kept your poise with a heavy disagreement bearing down on you and still got it off on time to exactly the right spot in the thread. Well done.