I live in Pittsburgh, so I am making NO comment on the game or inflammatory comments regarding how things went. I am only here to say that my heart cannot take another final 2 minutes of a game! Jeez guys, is it too much to ask for a complete blow out to protect my blood pressure!?!?!?
I'm a steelers fan, I cant remember the last time we beat them. At least they didnt make us look like trash like they usually do. I will refrain from my other thoughts of the game. By the way, I HATE THE PATRIOTS!
I didn’t understand the ruling on the last almost Steelers touchdown. I thought once the ball broke the plane of the end zone, all was good or am I confusing college rules with pros.
Steelers fan here not looking to complain just clarification.
This is one of the few games I have watched this year. I usually pull for the Pats, but not a real homer. It was a great game, but I thought the Steelers got screwed. The rule was interpreted correctly, but the rule is just wrong. If i he ball breaks the plain on a running play and is a TD, why not on a pass play. It's even more infuriating in college.
rustybugkiller said:I didn’t understand the ruling on the last almost Steelers touchdown. I thought once the ball broke the plane of the end zone, all was good or am I confusing college rules with pros.
Steelers fan here not looking to complain just clarification.
The best explanation I've read- the ball did break the plane of the end zone, but control over the ball had not been fully established. And you need both. Control over the ball still took contact with the ground to determine yes or no on that question. And since the ball moved in his hands when it hit the ground, he didn't actually catch it. If it didn't move while hitting the ground, it would have been a catch, and the winning touchdown.
As a Jaguars fan I was disappointed in the Steelers. Y'all've helped us so much in the last few years. Couldn't you have beat the Patriots for us to move up in the playoffs?
Conspiracy I say .....y'all were ROBBED!!!! coming from a fan of the mistake on the lake
alfadriver said:rustybugkiller said:I didn’t understand the ruling on the last almost Steelers touchdown. I thought once the ball broke the plane of the end zone, all was good or am I confusing college rules with pros.
Steelers fan here not looking to complain just clarification.
The best explanation I've read- the ball did break the plane of the end zone, but control over the ball had not been fully established. And you need both. Control over the ball still took contact with the ground to determine yes or no on that question. And since the ball moved in his hands when it hit the ground, he didn't actually catch it. If it didn't move while hitting the ground, it would have been a catch, and the winning touchdown.
The issue is that he was basically still in the process of making the catch - he caught the ball, turned, and reached for the TD all in one motion, nothing established the catch prior to making the reach for the endzone. Because of this, the receiver had to maintain control of the ball to the ground, which he did not. It's a moot point that the ball broke the plain prior to popping loose, wouldn't have mattered if he had "caught" the pass 5 yards deep in the endzone, because he never maintained control to establish the catch and possession of the ball in the first place.
I agree, from a common sense standpoint, that the call is a bit silly, but per the letter of the law, I think it's 100% right. I say this as someone who generally dislikes the Patriots but otherwise has no vested interest in the outcome. The trick of it is how the hell you define what a catch actually is, which is apparently much easier said than done. I think most fans would like to define it as one would define pornography, "you know it when you see it," but you can't write a rulebook that way and i have a hard time trying to better define the catch rule without giving rise to a different type of borderline circumstance.
On a tangentially related subject, why does God hate Philly sports? Everything was stacking up in the Eagle's favor and then Wentz goes and blows an ACL with 4 games to go in the season 
As a ravens fan i laughed and laughed and laughed some more. The only time ill ever root for new england is against pitt!
The way I see it, he caught the ball and turned, but as he did this, his knee hit the ground---- which is a "football" move. Since no one touched him, the ball was still live. I think the proper call should have been a TD---- even abiding by the silly rulebook.
Both teams are going to the playoffs, so it wasn't like the call ruined either team's chances. I do think the Steelers got robbed though, and I have no love for either team.
The Packers lost the ball (and the game) on a fumble after the catch. If you can have enough possession to fumble you have enough possession to score.
Just saying.
Joe Gearin said:The way I see it, he caught the ball and turned, but as he did this, his knee hit the ground---- which is a "football" move. Since no one touched him, the ball was still live. I think the proper call should have been a TD---- even abiding by the silly rulebook.
Both teams are going to the playoffs, so it wasn't like the call ruined either team's chances. I do think the Steelers got robbed though, and I have no love for either team.
The rule also says that you have to maintain control of the ball as you go to the ground. That didn't happen, so he never technically had control of the ball.
Here's the rule- https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/nfl-video-rulebook/completing-a-catch/
And the part that was not met:
Item 1. Player Going to the Ground. A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
Item 4. Ball Touches Ground. If the ball touches the ground after the player secures control of it, it is a catch, provided that the player continues to maintain control.
I am a Browns fan, I was hoping for the Steelers to lose, but I think that even if it was a "correct" call it was a bad one.
then again, I am a Browns fan, so I haven't seen too many completed passes.
So here's a question- if that exact thing happened in the normal field of play, would it be a completion or not?
Personally, I would say no, because you have to complete falling to the ground, if you are not on two feet, to be a catch. So a player has to have control of the ball when he and it hits the ground. If that should be a completion, it really lowers the bar for what a catch is, I think.
And, by rule, a catch is a catch, or not, regardless of where you are on the field. One yard forward or one yard back, it's a incomplete pass. So on the line it does not matter.
It's in no way, shape, or form the same as a running back extending to the endzone and loosing the ball as he hits the ground diving across- there's not a question of control in that situation. For a catch to be a catch, there has to be a full definition of what that means and it has to apply to all 120 yards of the field.
Is it wrong that I wanted them both to loose?
Furious_E said:On a tangentially related subject, why does God hate Philly sports? Everything was stacking up in the Eagle's favor and then Wentz goes and blows an ACL with 4 games to go in the season
Another Eagles fan, and Philly native, here. Yes, Wentz doing down sucks...big time sucks...and just seems fitting for Philly sports. However, I will say that I have more confidence in Foles as a backup than I would in Case Kenum as a starter, so all hope isn't lost.
As for the Steelers game, great finish. I agree the catch rule is stupid. By the rule as it's written, it wasn't a catch, but it should have been. Then again, you can't blame that alone on the loss. The Steelers had many chances...the interception that was dropped (by a linebacker I think), then the fake spike and subsequent interception...what the hell was Big Ben doing???
In reply to Furious_E :
The issue is that he was basically still in the process of making the catch - he caught the ball, turned, and reached for the TD all in one motion, nothing established the catch prior to making the reach for the endzone. Because of this, the receiver had to maintain control of the ball to the ground, which he did not. It's a moot point that the ball broke the plain prior to popping loose, wouldn't have mattered if he had "caught" the pass 5 yards deep in the endzone, because he never maintained control to establish the catch and possession of the ball in the first place.
Ok make sense. I feel better now but Ben blew the 2nd chance on the following play if he did call the play.
In reply to Klayfish :
Yea Ben effed that last play up big time, should have just chucked it out the back of the endzone when there was obviously no one open. I can almost guarantee that was a call he made on the spot, looked like half the offense thought it was a spike.
Agreed on Foles, probably isn't a backup in the league I'd rather have and he's better than at least a handful of backups as well. Played well enough yesterday, which is more than can be said of the defense. Still isn't Wentz and can't replace what he can do, though. Just hope he can have a full and speedy recovery and maybe Foles can make some noise in the meantime. Totally fitting, though 
Correct ruling according to the 'letter of the law' interpreted but also a stupid rule as in runner vs receiver crossing the goal line. Common sense rule would say any ball carrier just break the plane. E36 M3, opinions are still divided and hashing this out on SC. Similar instance w/ Dez Bryant, the competition committee reviewed it off season but did nothing.
Great game though, not the usual Steeler vs Pats game even w/ Shazier and AB out, the team really stepped up, looks like the best team in years. Good defense calling but gotta wonder wtf Haley was thinking w/ some offense calls. Typical Steelers though on their last offensive play... double yoi. All hindsight now, don't matter.
Next time.
I fell asleep in the third quarter thinking the pats were done for. I missed all of it.
fasted58 said:Correct ruling according to the 'letter of the law' interpreted but also a stupid rule as in runner vs receiver crossing the goal line. Common sense rule would say any ball carrier just break the plane. E36 M3, opinions are still divided and hashing this out on SC. Similar instance w/ Dez Bryant, the competition committee reviewed it off season but did nothing.
Great game though, not the usual Steeler vs Pats game even w/ Shazier and AB out, the team really stepped up, looks like the best team in years. Good defense calling but gotta wonder wtf Haley was thinking w/ some offense calls. Typical Steelers though on their last offensive play... double yoi. All hindsight now, don't matter.
Next time.
To me, there has to be a full definition of what a catch actually means, and once that is satisfied, the receiver becomes a runner. Without a firm definition of what a catch really means, then what?
That's the real difference between a running back who was handed the ball vs. a receiver who was thrown the ball.
The running back is the ball carrier by how he was given the ball, the receiver becomes the ball carrier after he actually finishes the act of catching the ball. And James did not finish catching the ball to become a runner, so breaking the plane was moot.
The easy question- is that a catch anywhere else on the field or not?
If you say yes, then that's a TD- but it opens up a whole question of what a catch is, since you can let the ground move the ball as you land....
It was totally clear to me that that was not a catch by their silly rules. I thought it was funny that the announcers seemed shocked. Have they not watched a football game before? It was an incomplete pass (under the silly rules, not by common sense). That being said, Tomlin then went on to make the most boneheaded coaching decisions I think I've ever witnessed.
That was a tough game for me since those are two of my least favorite teams and I usually root against both of them. Tomlin should be tarred and feathered. Does he think OT is still sudden death? The fake spike play might have worked against the other NFL teams, but the one team in the league that I know would be ready for it is the Pats. Stupid call.
I don't know what y'all are looking at. I did not see the game, but watching the catch/no catch on the youtubes, I see a catch. Now when is the receiver considered "down?" Clearly, his knee touches the ground while he has possession of the ball. It is my understanding that the ball, wherever it is, should be spotted at the point where the receiver is down. So I see a catch, but I would spot it just inside the one yard line.
Appleseed said:Is it wrong that I wanted them both to loose?
This is the only correct answer.
In reply to 1988RedT2 :
When the receiver is considered down has nothing to do with it. He did not establish possession before going to the ground, nor did he maintain of the ball going to the ground. Therefore, no catch.
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