http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/controversy-surrounds-seahawks-win-over-lions/ar-AAf90pX
1). The back judge was on the play and in his judgment he didn’t feel it was an overt act so he didn’t throw the flag,” Blandino said.
2). Wright said he did not know the rule and was purposely guiding the ball over the end line.
“That was definitely the thought process just to get the ball out of bounds and not try to catch it and fumble it and hit my foot and the Lions recover it,” Wright said.
Couple interesting points here. The official said he did not feel it was an overt attempt, so he decided against it. The reason I find it interesting is because I watched the game (kinda hoping for a Lion win and a 1-3 Seahawks record), and then the post game show. Ray Lewis and Steve Young were both confused regarding the rule, and then the non call. The indication regarding the back judges came from NY almost, it seemed, 30-40 minutes later. Almost as if that’s the amount of time it took to generate the Corporate Statement, if you will. League Office – Yeah, they blew it, but it REALLY was an interpretation issue, not a case where folks didn’t know the rules. That’s what they want you to believe, anyhow.
And so, looking at Wrights statement, 1). He himself did not know the rule. And, 2). He in fact did, quite intentionally, push the ball out of bounds.
So, maybe, if we’re thinking of eliminating bogus rules, we eliminate those where interpretation can be applied. Not sure how you do that, though.
Another point regarding the bouncing ball, and whether or not a penalty should have been assessed – although it did look as though the ball would have continued out, you can’t accurately say that definitely would have happened. That little pointy end on each side of the ball dictates ball travel. How many times have we seen punts hit and then shoot backwards or sideways into a players foot or leg. How many times have we laughed at replays of attempted fumble recoveries by multiple players, as the ball squirts around. What if Wright tried to pick it up to gain possession, and couldn’t control it, and Detroit fell on it for a TD?
Last point regarding this. After many minutes of wrangling this issue, with both Lewis and Young stating that they had seen this happen multiple times during their careers, they seemed to accept the fact that yes, many QBs and Kickers do swat the ball out of bounds, intentionally. And the reason they do that is to incur a Safety, giving up 2 points, as opposed to letting the other team fall on the ball for a TD. Main point here? There is a penalty added with that action. What happened last night was wrong because there was no penalty assessed. In clear violation of the rule.
