Low moment: Missed call on Favre hit inexcusable

[daneblazer]

I agree...


Low moment: Missed call on Favre hit inexcusable

Jan. 25, 2010
By Clark Judge
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Clark your opinion!

The Minnesota Vikings have no one to blame but themselves for missing the Super Bowl. If you commit five turnovers and can't count to 12 you don't deserve the Lombardi Trophy. But the Vikings aren't the only ones who screwed the pooch in the NFC Championship Game.
Pete Morelli screwed it with them.
Remi Ayodele hit Brett Favre high while Bobby McCray hit the QB below the knees from behind. (AP) Morelli was the referee in charge of the game, and normally I try to steer clear of officials because of the complexity of their jobs. But not this time, because Morelli missed a call that could've changed a game ... and a career at the same time.
I'm talking, of course, about Bobby McCray's blindside hit on Brett Favre -- a blatant violation of the "Tom Brady rule" that was adopted at last year's NFL owners' meetings.
Essentially, the rule says that defenders can't hit quarterbacks below the knees, as Kansas City's Bernard Pollard hit Brady in the 2008 season opener -- and it's easy to see why: The blows are dangerous and can be season-ending and/or career-threatening.
When Brady's season ended with torn knee ligaments, the NFL decided to intervene to prevent others from suffering similar injuries. So it clarified a rule prohibiting defenders on the ground from lunging or diving at the quarterback's legs, as Pollard had done to Brady.
The rule was simple and easy to understand. You hit a quarterback below the knees –-- provided you're not blocked into him -- you get flagged. I get it. You get it. So how come Pete Morelli missed it?
I mean, if you watch a replay of the hit, McCray flashes from Favre's right side and lunges at him from behind, hitting him below the knees and toppling the quarterback to the ground. Granted, Brady was hit from the front and Favre from behind, but that's the only difference.
Not only was the hit illegal, it could have ended Favre's career -- and watching Favre helped off the field and his wife's reaction in the stands I thought it had.
The blow was bad. What was worse was that nothing happened. There was no flag. There was no foul. Nothing. So Favre limps off the field, the New Orleans Saints run on and the game proceeds as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
But something had.
Favre had thrown a pass that was intercepted and was hammered to the ground in a textbook violation of league rules. As one friend of mine said, "Favre's decision was bad, but Morelli's decision was worse."
Amen.
I ran the play past several persons I trust with NFL clubs, and all agreed that it fit the definition of the Brady rule. Yeah, they said, it was a judgment call, but it might have been ... OK, probably should have been ... called, and they explained it as I explained it to you: You hit a defenseless quarterback below the knees, you violate the Brady rule.
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Simple as that.
McCray wasn't flagged, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets fined by the NFL because I believe it will see what Morelli should have -- namely, that McCray committed an egregious personal foul. All I know is that the intent of the Brady rule was to prohibit hits like the one we witnessed Sunday, and I'm not waving the flag because it's Brett Favre; I just don't like seeing defenseless quarterbacks struck at or below the knees.
Neither does the NFL, which is why it adopted the rule in the first place. Like it or not, the NFL has made it a point to protect quarterbacks, and it didn't protect Favre on Sunday.
To be clear, when the league clarified the "Brady rule" it said, "it is not a foul if the defender is blocked [or fouled] into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him." But McCray had every opportunity to avoid Favre, and he was not blocked into him. He was going for the sack and, if that wasn't going to happen, he was going for the pressure.
That's fine. What isn't is hitting below the knees.
"We're trying to make the game safer for the guy getting hit and the guy doing the hitting," Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said last March.
Well, tell me how they made it safer for Brett Favre.
Saints fans can tell you that, yeah, well, so what? The game wouldn't have changed. I wouldn't be so sure there, people. First of all, Favre's pass was intercepted. Second, it was intercepted at the New Orleans 28. Third, a penalty not only would have overruled the interception; it would have put the Vikings in business at the New Orleans 19. Last, of course, it would have kept a drive alive and, in all likelihood, led to a score the Vikings never had.
Look, I don't blame Morelli for costing the Vikings the game. Minnesota lost this one fair and square all by itself. But I do blame him for not doing his job. It's one thing if McCray was blocked into Favre, but he wasn't. He lunged into the quarterback, hammered him below the knees and hurt him.
Fortunately, Favre was not seriously injured, but Morelli's reputation was -- at least, it was for me. I understand missing a call. It happens. But I don't understand missing a call that you witness. Pete Morelli blew this one, and he blew it bad.

[FishFace5]

He had got 1 b4 that, that was pretty questionable.
It was a make-up call.
Vikings have nothing to be upset over but the 5 turn overs they committed

[TarHeelJ]

12 men in the huddle penalty at the end of the game, not to mention the 5 to's....they f*cked themselves

[donnyguru]

Morelli didn't call it because he had called the other two. The one where he was carrying out the fake and McCray smoked him was not called when it happened to Sanchez in Indianapolis earlier. I thought the lift-and-drive-to-the-ground one was a penalty, but Aikman and others did not. So he let the third (and most obviously illegal imo) hit slide, probably because he did not want to be vilified as Favre's ball washer in the media. But Brad Childress called a way worse game than Pete Morelli.

[Powderguy]

That was such a penalty. If that happened to Brady, he would have cried till the field became unplayable because of all his tears.

[THEGREAT30]

borderline dirty, officials are worthless, they missed the facemask on Aaron Rodgers also

[BobHarvey]

I agree...


Low moment: Missed call on Favre hit inexcusable

Jan. 25, 2010
By Clark Judge
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Clark your opinion!


The Minnesota Vikings have no one to blame but themselves for missing the Super Bowl. If you commit five turnovers and can't count to 12 you don't deserve the Lombardi Trophy. But the Vikings aren't the only ones who screwed the pooch in the NFC Championship Game.
Pete Morelli screwed it with them.
Remi Ayodele hit Brett Favre high while Bobby McCray hit the QB below the knees from behind. (AP) Morelli was the referee in charge of the game, and normally I try to steer clear of officials because of the complexity of their jobs. But not this time, because Morelli missed a call that could've changed a game ... and a career at the same time.
I'm talking, of course, about Bobby McCray's blindside hit on Brett Favre -- a blatant violation of the "Tom Brady rule" that was adopted at last year's NFL owners' meetings.
Essentially, the rule says that defenders can't hit quarterbacks below the knees, as Kansas City's Bernard Pollard hit Brady in the 2008 season opener -- and it's easy to see why: The blows are dangerous and can be season-ending and/or career-threatening.
When Brady's season ended with torn knee ligaments, the NFL decided to intervene to prevent others from suffering similar injuries. So it clarified a rule prohibiting defenders on the ground from lunging or diving at the quarterback's legs, as Pollard had done to Brady.
The rule was simple and easy to understand. You hit a quarterback below the knees –-- provided you're not blocked into him -- you get flagged. I get it. You get it. So how come Pete Morelli missed it?
I mean, if you watch a replay of the hit, McCray flashes from Favre's right side and lunges at him from behind, hitting him below the knees and toppling the quarterback to the ground. Granted, Brady was hit from the front and Favre from behind, but that's the only difference.
Not only was the hit illegal, it could have ended Favre's career -- and watching Favre helped off the field and his wife's reaction in the stands I thought it had.
The blow was bad. What was worse was that nothing happened. There was no flag. There was no foul. Nothing. So Favre limps off the field, the New Orleans Saints run on and the game proceeds as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
But something had.
Favre had thrown a pass that was intercepted and was hammered to the ground in a textbook violation of league rules. As one friend of mine said, "Favre's decision was bad, but Morelli's decision was worse."
Amen.
I ran the play past several persons I trust with NFL clubs, and all agreed that it fit the definition of the Brady rule. Yeah, they said, it was a judgment call, but it might have been ... OK, probably should have been ... called, and they explained it as I explained it to you: You hit a defenseless quarterback below the knees, you violate the Brady rule.
.embedVideo { width:354; float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0; } .adContainer { width:100%; margin:0 auto; padding:0; background:#000; text-align:center; } .adContainer a img { border:0; }
Simple as that.
McCray wasn't flagged, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets fined by the NFL because I believe it will see what Morelli should have -- namely, that McCray committed an egregious personal foul. All I know is that the intent of the Brady rule was to prohibit hits like the one we witnessed Sunday, and I'm not waving the flag because it's Brett Favre; I just don't like seeing defenseless quarterbacks struck at or below the knees.
Neither does the NFL, which is why it adopted the rule in the first place. Like it or not, the NFL has made it a point to protect quarterbacks, and it didn't protect Favre on Sunday.
To be clear, when the league clarified the "Brady rule" it said, "it is not a foul if the defender is blocked [or fouled] into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him." But McCray had every opportunity to avoid Favre, and he was not blocked into him. He was going for the sack and, if that wasn't going to happen, he was going for the pressure.
That's fine. What isn't is hitting below the knees.
"We're trying to make the game safer for the guy getting hit and the guy doing the hitting," Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said last March.
Well, tell me how they made it safer for Brett Favre.
Saints fans can tell you that, yeah, well, so what? The game wouldn't have changed. I wouldn't be so sure there, people. First of all, Favre's pass was intercepted. Second, it was intercepted at the New Orleans 28. Third, a penalty not only would have overruled the interception; it would have put the Vikings in business at the New Orleans 19. Last, of course, it would have kept a drive alive and, in all likelihood, led to a score the Vikings never had.
Look, I don't blame Morelli for costing the Vikings the game. Minnesota lost this one fair and square all by itself. But I do blame him for not doing his job. It's one thing if McCray was blocked into Favre, but he wasn't. He lunged into the quarterback, hammered him below the knees and hurt him.
Fortunately, Favre was not seriously injured, but Morelli's reputation was -- at least, it was for me. I understand missing a call. It happens. But I don't understand missing a call that you witness. Pete Morelli blew this one, and he blew it bad.

Judge was dead on. It was pretty obvious from the get go that the Saints game plan was to beat up Favre. The old man took their best shots including several "cheap" shots.

I hope the Colts crush the Saints. America's feel good story my azz....

[Sergeant Rock]

Not quite...

In coming to your conclusion that the low hit was a blatant penalty, you stated "Essentially, the rule says that defenders can't hit quarterbacks below the knees..." This is not correct. You CAN hit the quartefback below the knees. The rule does not say a defensive player may not hit the quarterback in the knees or lower, it specifically says a player may not "forcibly" hit the knees or below, and a note to the rule calrifies that you can hit the quarterback below the knees. The note says that "It is not a foul if the defender swipes, wraps, or grabs a passer in the knee area or below in an attempt to tackle him." With reference to the word "lunge" that you use, a player on the ground may not lunge at the knees. So it boils down to whether the official thinks the contact is the result of swiping, grabbing, or wrapping up, and does not constitute a "forcible" hit into the knees of the quarterback. If you review the picture you posted, and the replay, while Favre is hit, the defensive player wraps him up with both arms, and doesn't drive into him. You can hardly classify the hit as the player "forcibly" hitting his knees or lower legs, particularly when it is clear that he is wrapping up the quarterback with both arms. The real damage came because he was hit from the other direction from the top at the same time, which did not allow his body to "give" with the hit. You may disagree with whether the his should have been considered "forcible," but given the way the rule is worded, and considering just that hit itself, and not the damage that was casued as a result of Favre being hit simultaneously from the other direction, it certainly wasn't blatant.

I agree...


Low moment: Missed call on Favre hit inexcusable

Jan. 25, 2010
By Clark Judge
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Clark your opinion!














The Minnesota Vikings have no one to blame but themselves for missing the Super Bowl. If you commit five turnovers and can't count to 12 you don't deserve the Lombardi Trophy. But the Vikings aren't the only ones who screwed the pooch in the NFC Championship Game.
Pete Morelli screwed it with them.
Remi Ayodele hit Brett Favre high while Bobby McCray hit the QB below the knees from behind. (AP) Morelli was the referee in charge of the game, and normally I try to steer clear of officials because of the complexity of their jobs. But not this time, because Morelli missed a call that could've changed a game ... and a career at the same time.
I'm talking, of course, about Bobby McCray's blindside hit on Brett Favre -- a blatant violation of the "Tom Brady rule" that was adopted at last year's NFL owners' meetings.
Essentially, the rule says that defenders can't hit quarterbacks below the knees, as Kansas City's Bernard Pollard hit Brady in the 2008 season opener -- and it's easy to see why: The blows are dangerous and can be season-ending and/or career-threatening.
When Brady's season ended with torn knee ligaments, the NFL decided to intervene to prevent others from suffering similar injuries. So it clarified a rule prohibiting defenders on the ground from lunging or diving at the quarterback's legs, as Pollard had done to Brady.
The rule was simple and easy to understand. You hit a quarterback below the knees –-- provided you're not blocked into him -- you get flagged. I get it. You get it. So how come Pete Morelli missed it?
I mean, if you watch a replay of the hit, McCray flashes from Favre's right side and lunges at him from behind, hitting him below the knees and toppling the quarterback to the ground. Granted, Brady was hit from the front and Favre from behind, but that's the only difference.
Not only was the hit illegal, it could have ended Favre's career -- and watching Favre helped off the field and his wife's reaction in the stands I thought it had.
The blow was bad. What was worse was that nothing happened. There was no flag. There was no foul. Nothing. So Favre limps off the field, the New Orleans Saints run on and the game proceeds as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
But something had.
Favre had thrown a pass that was intercepted and was hammered to the ground in a textbook violation of league rules. As one friend of mine said, "Favre's decision was bad, but Morelli's decision was worse."
Amen.
I ran the play past several persons I trust with NFL clubs, and all agreed that it fit the definition of the Brady rule. Yeah, they said, it was a judgment call, but it might have been ... OK, probably should have been ... called, and they explained it as I explained it to you: You hit a defenseless quarterback below the knees, you violate the Brady rule.
.embedVideo { width:354; float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0; } .adContainer { width:100%; margin:0 auto; padding:0; background:#000; text-align:center; } .adContainer a img { border:0; }
Simple as that.
McCray wasn't flagged, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gets fined by the NFL because I believe it will see what Morelli should have -- namely, that McCray committed an egregious personal foul. All I know is that the intent of the Brady rule was to prohibit hits like the one we witnessed Sunday, and I'm not waving the flag because it's Brett Favre; I just don't like seeing defenseless quarterbacks struck at or below the knees.
Neither does the NFL, which is why it adopted the rule in the first place. Like it or not, the NFL has made it a point to protect quarterbacks, and it didn't protect Favre on Sunday.
To be clear, when the league clarified the "Brady rule" it said, "it is not a foul if the defender is blocked [or fouled] into the passer and has no opportunity to avoid him." But McCray had every opportunity to avoid Favre, and he was not blocked into him. He was going for the sack and, if that wasn't going to happen, he was going for the pressure.
That's fine. What isn't is hitting below the knees.
"We're trying to make the game safer for the guy getting hit and the guy doing the hitting," Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said last March.
Well, tell me how they made it safer for Brett Favre.
Saints fans can tell you that, yeah, well, so what? The game wouldn't have changed. I wouldn't be so sure there, people. First of all, Favre's pass was intercepted. Second, it was intercepted at the New Orleans 28. Third, a penalty not only would have overruled the interception; it would have put the Vikings in business at the New Orleans 19. Last, of course, it would have kept a drive alive and, in all likelihood, led to a score the Vikings never had.
Look, I don't blame Morelli for costing the Vikings the game. Minnesota lost this one fair and square all by itself. But I do blame him for not doing his job. It's one thing if McCray was blocked into Favre, but he wasn't. He lunged into the quarterback, hammered him below the knees and hurt him.
Fortunately, Favre was not seriously injured, but Morelli's reputation was -- at least, it was for me. I understand missing a call. It happens. But I don't understand missing a call that you witness. Pete Morelli blew this one, and he blew it bad.