"Official" NFL Smack Talkin' Thread

[Ratickle]

Jerry Jones paid for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to watch the Lions-Cowboys playoff game in Texas, and that may have violated New Jersey's code of ethics for government officials.

His latest brush with scandal looks worse because Christie has previously cut deals for the NFL. He gave the league tax breaks to secure the Super Bowl there last year. He then cited the state's ethics rules to prevent other New Jersey officials from getting special access to game tickets.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/...ode/ar-BBhyZn2

[Ratickle]

"The Phantom Flag was an abomination, and will live in infamy." Damon Amendolara

“Can Anybody other than a Cowboy fan explain that call?!” actor Samuel L. Jackson barked on Twitter.

“If I was a Detroit Lions fan, I’d be screaming for referee blood about that,” George R.R. Martin, noted author of the Game of Thrones series, wrote on his blog.

“How do u pick up that flag?????” former quarterback Kurt Warner asked via Twitter.

“Home cooking,” Hall of Famer Warren Sapp noted, implying the Cowboys’ home-field advantage had suddenly become particularly advantageous.

Fox Sports analyst Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating, said the referee shouldn’t have picked up the flag and should have penalized the Cowboys for pass interference and holding on the play.

"The league did not offer an official response to Sunday’s action, though Dean Blandino, the NFL’s head of officiating, told the league-owned NFL Network that Hitchens should have been called for defensive holding. He said the pass interference infraction was “a tight judgment call” and Bryant also could have been subjected to a penalty for running onto the field. The night’s embarrassment is only made more perfect by the August video that the league’s head of officiating, Dean Blandino, was caught on camera acting like frat boy Zach Efron in “Neighbors” on the Cowboys party bus. Even though league executives were reportedly upset, Blandino was never forced to respond by the NFL. Bury the important stuff! (A Roger Goodell signature.) And Jerry Jones said he didn’t “have a problem with it at all. I don’t deem in inappropriate. Our officiating is doing a good job.” Well, that’s certainly debatable. Jerry’s son Stephen Jones, who was on the bus with Blandino, had an even better response. When asked about it a few days following the release of the video Stephen said, “You can ask me about football. Are you serious? Serious?” When questioned further, he turned and walked away. Boy, you’d hate for owners to understand the perspective of the fan." Damon Amendolara

"If that happened in Madden you would take it back to the store and demand a new copy." Kevin Clark

"I’ve never seen that in my life where they marked off the penalty yardage, then picked up the flag and remarked it. I had never seen it. Then there was no explanation.” Cowboys safety Barry Church

Tony Dungy, who spoke about the play on The Dan Patrick Show, "I have never seen a situation like that where you have the conference and then the flag gets picked up after they announce the penalty. I just don’t see how that could happen. Then the fact that you look at it on the replay and it clearly is pass interference and there’s no way it’s picked up.”. But according to Dungy, there was a non-call in the moments immediately following the play that was even more troubling than the officials' decision to pick up the pass interference flag. In reaction to the referees' initial intent to penalize the Cowboys for pass interference, wide receiver Dez Bryant ran halfway across the field protest the call ... with his helmet off. "To me, that was worse than the pass interference call," said Dungy when asked about Bryant's illegal actions. "You can debate the pass interference call, but the helmet rule is plain." Bryant, who sprinted helmet-less from the sideline and nearly reached the hash marks before barking at an official, was in clear violation. "For an official not to have the courage to call that - Dez Bryant is out on the field at the time, he's an offensive player, there's no reason he's out there other than to argue the call with no helmet on - every official should have thrown a flag at that point," said Dungy. Had the call been made in conjunction with the defensive pass interference call that was retracted, they would have been at Dallas's 14. Instead the Lions took a delay of game penalty before punting and after a 10-yard shank, the Cowboys marched downfield to score the game-winning touchdown. The pair of botched calls, which made up the turning point of the game, is totally unexplainable according to Dungy. "At the very least it's another 15-yard penalty, and there's no way you can justify not calling that."

"Monday’s forecast: It’s going to be wet and rainy and… wait… wait… Dez Bryant has rushed onto the field and says it will be sunny. And the NFL refs agree and have canceled the winter storm. Huh. That’s odd. But that’s the call. So it’s going to be sunny today, high of 45. Let’s just accept this good fortune and keep moving…” Dallas Morning News

[Wrinkleface]

"The Phantom Flag was an abomination, and will live in infamy." Damon Amendolara

“Can Anybody other than a Cowboy fan explain that call?!” actor Samuel L. Jackson barked on Twitter.

“If I was a Detroit Lions fan, I’d be screaming for referee blood about that,” George R.R. Martin, noted author of the Game of Thrones series, wrote on his blog.

“How do u pick up that flag?????” former quarterback Kurt Warner asked via Twitter.

“Home cooking,” Hall of Famer Warren Sapp noted, implying the Cowboys’ home-field advantage had suddenly become particularly advantageous.

Fox Sports analyst Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former vice president of officiating, said the referee shouldn’t have picked up the flag and should have penalized the Cowboys for pass interference and holding on the play.

"The league did not offer an official response to Sunday’s action, though Dean Blandino, the NFL’s head of officiating, told the league-owned NFL Network that Hitchens should have been called for defensive holding. He said the pass interference infraction was “a tight judgment call” and Bryant also could have been subjected to a penalty for running onto the field. The night’s embarrassment is only made more perfect by the August video that the league’s head of officiating, Dean Blandino, was caught on camera acting like frat boy Zach Efron in “Neighbors” on the Cowboys party bus. Even though league executives were reportedly upset, Blandino was never forced to respond by the NFL. Bury the important stuff! (A Roger Goodell signature.) And Jerry Jones said he didn’t “have a problem with it at all. I don’t deem in inappropriate. Our officiating is doing a good job.” Well, that’s certainly debatable. Jerry’s son Stephen Jones, who was on the bus with Blandino, had an even better response. When asked about it a few days following the release of the video Stephen said, “You can ask me about football. Are you serious? Serious?” When questioned further, he turned and walked away. Boy, you’d hate for owners to understand the perspective of the fan." Damon Amendolara

"If that happened in Madden you would take it back to the store and demand a new copy." Kevin Clark

"I’ve never seen that in my life where they marked off the penalty yardage, then picked up the flag and remarked it. I had never seen it. Then there was no explanation.” Cowboys safety Barry Church

Tony Dungy, who spoke about the play on The Dan Patrick Show, "I have never seen a situation like that where you have the conference and then the flag gets picked up after they announce the penalty. I just don’t see how that could happen. Then the fact that you look at it on the replay and it clearly is pass interference and there’s no way it’s picked up.”. But according to Dungy, there was a non-call in the moments immediately following the play that was even more troubling than the officials' decision to pick up the pass interference flag. In reaction to the referees' initial intent to penalize the Cowboys for pass interference, wide receiver Dez Bryant ran halfway across the field protest the call ... with his helmet off. "To me, that was worse than the pass interference call," said Dungy when asked about Bryant's illegal actions. "You can debate the pass interference call, but the helmet rule is plain." Bryant, who sprinted helmet-less from the sideline and nearly reached the hash marks before barking at an official, was in clear violation. "For an official not to have the courage to call that - Dez Bryant is out on the field at the time, he's an offensive player, there's no reason he's out there other than to argue the call with no helmet on - every official should have thrown a flag at that point," said Dungy. Had the call been made in conjunction with the defensive pass interference call that was retracted, they would have been at Dallas's 14. Instead the Lions took a delay of game penalty before punting and after a 10-yard shank, the Cowboys marched downfield to score the game-winning touchdown. The pair of botched calls, which made up the turning point of the game, is totally unexplainable according to Dungy. "At the very least it's another 15-yard penalty, and there's no way you can justify not calling that."

"Monday’s forecast: It’s going to be wet and rainy and… wait… wait… Dez Bryant has rushed onto the field and says it will be sunny. And the NFL refs agree and have canceled the winter storm. Huh. That’s odd. But that’s the call. So it’s going to be sunny today, high of 45. Let’s just accept this good fortune and keep moving…” Dallas Morning News

BSBSBSBSBSBS

[Bobcat]

[Ratickle]

Plus......

NFL Admits To Lions That Refs Missed Cowboys’ Hold On Ndamukong Suh

A controversial no-call has garnered all the headlines from Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Game. But it wasn’t the only error the referees made.

The NFL issued an apology to the Detroit Lions on Tuesday, admitting that the referees missed an obvious holding call on the Dallas Cowboys during a crucial fourth-down conversion in the fourth quarter, ESPN reported. The league noted that Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh was blatantly held on the play, a 21-yard pass from Tony Romo to Jason Witten on fourth-and-6.

The Cowboys went on to score later in the drive to take a 24-20 lead and win by that margin. Had the holding on Suh been called, it would have resulted in fourth-and-16 for Dallas and likely would have forced the team to punt while trailing 20-17.

The league’s apology likely won’t do much to console the Lions, who already were incensed over a bizarre no-call earlier in the game. Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens was called for pass interference on Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew on third down, but the referees mysteriously picked up the flag. Detroit punted on the next play, and Dallas scored the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing drive.

The Cowboys will face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC divisional round, while the Lions ended their season on a controversial sour note.

http://nesn.com/2015/01/nfl-admits-t...ndamukong-suh/

[Ratickle]

“Everybody in Detroit, I’m baffled for you,” said FOX personality Michael Strahan.

Pete Morelli and crew will be moving on to play the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay this coming Saturday. Morelli and crew led a spectacular late game comeback against Detroit after falling behind 20-7 midway through the third quarter. The highlight of the ref’s comeback came on a defensive pass interference penalty that was called, announced, and then picked up without explanation. Since Morelli and his crew will be unable to participate in next week’s game, the Dallas Cowboys will be playing in their spot.

Mike Foss, usatoday.com: "The Detroit Lions were hosed. Take nothing away from the Dallas Cowboys, Tony Romo, and lifelong fan Chris Christie's wild card victory, but Detroit has every reason to feel cheated this morning. ... No, the officials Sunday night weren't corrupt. They weren't plotting against Detroit. They were incompetent, and that's far worse."

Jason Whitlock, espn.com: "I had no idea until right now that the pass interference was ANNOUNCED and then picked up. Holy cow. What a crime. The credibility of the league has been hurt. Someone should be fired. '1/4 was an inside job.'"

[Ratickle]

I'm concerned that I may have missed something on the call. Obama is never right!!


The president told the Detroit News that if he were a Lions fan, he would be "pretty aggravated" over the reversal.

"(I can't) remember a circumstance in which a good call by one of the refs is argued about by an opposing player of the other team with his helmet off on the field, which in and of itself is supposed to be a penalty. The call is announced and then reversed without explanation," Obama said.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/othe...fan/ar-AA7Rpej

[Serious News]

Green Bay, be on guard. Jerry has more money than you.

[Ratickle]

Well, after today I can quit bitchin about the refs bribed call (maybe). At least the Seahawks took care of business. Now the Packers need to take care of those cheatin refs. Is it the same, paid for, crew?

[Wrinkleface]

I would say payback is a bitch but most officials & even commentary people R say'n the overturn on dizzy was CORRECT!!!

[BBB725]

Dallas who?????

[Ratickle]

Nice!!!!!!!


I guess you guys did have more money than Jerry......

[phragle]

And dallas is still rushing the field sans helmet to challange calls.....

[Ratickle]

And still no flag!!

[Ratickle]

Dallas who?????

Time to start some Seattle gonna stomp Green Bay smack talk cheesehead!! Cause they are!!!!!!

[Ratickle]

I guess no cheeseheads with any smack abilities?

[Serious News]

RENTON, Wash. — Richard Sherman should have brought a book.

The All-Pro Seattle cornerback was thoroughly avoided when his Seahawks beat the visiting Green Bay Packers, 36-16, in this season's Kickoff Opener. Sherman was the dreadlocked elephant in the room — the he-who-must-not-be-named, lurking on the left side of the defense — and he never saw a pass thrown in his direction.

The only time Aaron Rodgers looked as if he might throw Sherman's way came on a corner route in the third quarter, when Seattle's Michael Bennett interrupted the play with a strip sack.

Although his team was winning, and avoiding him was a sign of respect, Sherman felt irritation bubble up inside of him.

"On a scale of 1 to 10? 12," Sherman said Wednesday of his frustration level, giving new meaning to 12th man.

Seattle Coach Pete Carroll, whose team will host the Packers on Sunday in the NFC championship game, said it's "pretty rare" for a quarterback to go an entire game without throwing in the direction of a certain defensive back.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/...ing/ar-AA8dz2p

[Serious News]

Washington town bans cheese ahead of NFC Championship

Ahead of Sunday's NFC Championship game, anyone entering the Bainbridge Island City Hall on Friday, January 16 is not allowed to be in possession of cheese, or cheese flavored products.

That's right, no cheese. No cheese crackers. No Cheetos. Nothing. Nada.

Section 3. Due to the relationship between the Green Bay Packers, their fans, and cheese, the possession of and/or consumption of cheese or cheese flavored products shall be banned in Bainbridge Island City Hall on Friday, January 16, 2015.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/...hip/ar-AA8cYco

[Serious News]

Seattle — When Jerry Garner tells you his home is a shrine to the Green Bay Packers, he is not exaggerating.

Your eyes pan around the living room of his South Everett condo and you take in dozens, if not hundreds, of items: Packers jerseys, banners, bobbleheads, hats, shot glasses, visors, beads, cow bells, cheese wedges, commemorative footballs, a clock, a cookie jar and a sign reading "Reserved parking: Packers fans only."

"And I have a lot more things stuffed into boxes. Probably thousands," he said.

Garner, 44, is the head cheesehead, at least in this part of the country.

He is president of Northwest Packer Backers, one of the largest Green Bay Packers fan clubs in the country, with nearly 1,000 members on its Facebook page.

He's a Green Bay, Wis., native who came here in the Navy and met and married his wife of 24 years, Traci, who, despite her Seattle past, joins her husband in rooting for the Packers.

While many of their neighbors, friends and co-workers are hoping for a Seahawks win in Sunday's NFC Championship Game — sending the team to Super Bowl XLIX — Packers faithful will be rooting for the opposite outcome.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packe...288785771.html

[Bobcat]