Gronk, Pats crying over calls in Denver

[Ex-Rex]

A few bad calls went against the Patriots against Denver and they sure are crying about it. Gronkowski claims he is being "targeted" by refs for offensive pass interference calls. I would love to see how Brady would react if he played for the Jets who are annually screwed by the refs in at least two or three games a year. What a bunch of pu$$ies.

[Jetsfan80]

The Patriots are getting flagged for calls like everybody else, for the first time in 15 years, and aren't used to it.  Gronk has been pushing off on DB's for years.

[Bleedin Green]

The Patriots are getting flagged for calls like everybody else, for the first time in 15 years, and aren't used to it.  Gronk has been pushing off on DB's for years.

That's the thing that is so unbelievably laughable about this.  I don't think anyone would dispute that there were a couple of calls that could have gone either way, which ended up against the Patriots in the game.  However, there is no team in the NFL who has less room to make such complaints, considering that every other team has to deal with that crap on a regular basis, while those calls have endlessly been in the Patriots' favor for far too long.  They don't need to be happy about it, but the crybaby reaction is so absurdly laughable.

The Pats sound like someone throwing a hissy fit about getting slightly overcharged for the gas they put into the car they stole.

[jetscrazey]

meanwhile Tom Brady got away with cheating....

[shuler82]

Gronk may be right - he is being targeted after years of complaints that the Patriots commit more offensive PI than any other team.. pick plays included.  I think the NFL is a bit butthurt over the Brady ruling and have stopped handing out favors to Kraft

[JustInFudge]

The Patriots are getting flagged for calls like everybody else, for the first time in 15 years, and aren't used to it.  Gronk has been pushing off on DB's for years.

This and Gronk is getting targeted because the Pats entire offense revolves around pass interfering to get their guys open.  He's their "pick" guy. 

[afosomf]

Gronks tears form Garbs whine

[JustInFudge]

What a bunch of ******* babies.  They lost 1 game.  Get over it you ******* cheating pieces of sh*t.  Nobody feels sorry for you.  You've ruined the NFL.

 

[Maxman]

Hey Tom Brady - the tuck rule just called. It said, 'sup.

[TJ]

This and Gronk is getting targeted because the Pats entire offense revolves around pass interfering to get their guys open.  He's their "pick" guy. 

Yup!!!

[CrazyCarl40]

They are targeting Gronk - because he's guilty of doing it. The dude doesn't need to do this stuff to get open. His athleticism and size does that just fine.

[Fed Hill Jet]

Then you have the Boston sportswriters with this issue about holding...unbelievable considering what they have gotten away with.  I am firm believer that these things balance out in most cases, but it does seem the Pats get away with some blatant sh*t.  Its about time they get it back on them

I couldn't paste the pic in but here's a link.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/does-sports-illustrated-s-cover-photo-show-another-missed-call-against-patriots-134646470.html

Does Sports Illustrated's cover photo show another missed call in Patriots-Broncos?

This week's Sports Illustrated cover is ... interesting?

Considering the hullabaloo over officiating in the Denver Broncos' 30-24 upset of the New England Patriots — a storyline we've covered to death here on Shutdown Corner — the fine folks at SI picked a picture that could be interpreted as a Broncos player holding Patriots defensive tackle Dominique Easley

You wonder if the magazine's editors selected this photo from a pile of possible pics that could have landed on the front page, simply because it juxtaposed the game's main storyline — that Broncos backup quarterback Brock Osweiler improved to 1-0 against Tom Brady — against the sidebar story of officiating.

Maybe this was just the best photo of Osweiler the photographer had on his memory card, because it's a damn good shot, for sure. Or maybe, as several astute NFL redditors pointed out, Easley was in the midst of a rip move that put Denver's offensive lineman in a compromising position, and it wasn't a penalty.

Personally, it's much more fun to imagine the possibility that the photographer had hundreds of pictures to choose from for a Sports Illustrated cover shot, but couldn't find a single one without an uncalled penalty in the background, so they were forced to go with this one. Because conspiracy theories are fun.

[Spoot-Face]

Something tells me Gronk will get over it just fine.

[Spoot-Face]

Then you have the Boston sportswriters with this issue about holding...unbelievable considering what they have gotten away with.  I am firm believer that these things balance out in most cases, but it does seem the Pats get away with some blatant sh*t.  Its about time they get it back on them

I couldn't paste the pic in but here's a link.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/does-sports-illustrated-s-cover-photo-show-another-missed-call-against-patriots-134646470.html

Does Sports Illustrated's cover photo show another missed call in Patriots-Broncos?

This week's Sports Illustrated cover is ... interesting?

Considering the hullabaloo over officiating in the Denver Broncos' 30-24 upset of the New England Patriots — a storyline we've covered to death here on Shutdown Corner — the fine folks at SI picked a picture that could be interpreted as a Broncos player holding Patriots defensive tackle Dominique Easley

You wonder if the magazine's editors selected this photo from a pile of possible pics that could have landed on the front page, simply because it juxtaposed the game's main storyline — that Broncos backup quarterback Brock Osweiler improved to 1-0 against Tom Brady — against the sidebar story of officiating.

Maybe this was just the best photo of Osweiler the photographer had on his memory card, because it's a damn good shot, for sure. Or maybe, as several astute NFL redditors pointed out, Easley was in the midst of a rip move that put Denver's offensive lineman in a compromising position, and it wasn't a penalty.

Personally, it's much more fun to imagine the possibility that the photographer had hundreds of pictures to choose from for a Sports Illustrated cover shot, but couldn't find a single one without an uncalled penalty in the background, so they were forced to go with this one. Because conspiracy theories are fun.

lol

Grade A trolling of the Pats by Sports Illustrated.

[Integrity28]

They've been bitching up here all week. It's great... and I don't care how much this team wins, NO other fanbase bites on trolling as bad as Pats fans do. Insecure twats.

[BroadwayJets]

Imagine they were penalized for all that holding their OL commits? 

[prime21]

BOOOOOOOOO Hoo

[JETSxWRATH™]

That OPI against Gronk on Sunday was bullsh*t though. The defender tried to jam him so they were battling he was just stronger than him and won. I didn't think it was deserving of a penalty. Was he supposed to just let the defender just push him around? There was also a similar play against the Giants where pretty much the same thing happened and he got called for it. I can see why he feels he is being targeted

[section314]

Stop acting like a douchebag and act like a real professional and maybe things will change. 

 

[Xtina]

That's the thing that is so unbelievably laughable about this.  I don't think anyone would dispute that there were a couple of calls that could have gone either way, which ended up against the Patriots in the game.  However, there is no team in the NFL who has less room to make such complaints, considering that every other team has to deal with that crap on a regular basis, while those calls have endlessly been in the Patriots' favor for far too long.  They don't need to be happy about it, but the crybaby reaction is so absurdly laughable.

The Pats sound like someone throwing a hissy fit about getting slightly overcharged for the gas they put into the car they stole.

I didn't see any bad calls 

[House Jet]

http://www.milehighreport.com/2015/12/2/9833638/nfl-referees-patriots-broncos-2015

Patriots have said they are frustrated with the officiating in recent games, especially Sunday night against the Broncos. Was it really an unfair game, and are they targeted?

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We’ve established that officiating has been particularly awful this season. But are there certain teams benefiting or suffering from it? I’m sure you’ve heard the Patriots dialogue, from both the fans and players (and even some analysts), after Sunday’s game. We’ve already established that injuries are not an excuse for the Patriots, but what about the officiating? The officials are targeting Tom Brady and the Patriots. Even Tom Brady told the refs so.

The Patriots aren’t the only team who think the officials aren’t helping them. But what do the stats say? Are there teams the refs are penalizing more, or benefiting less? Here are the season totals according the NFL Penalty Tracker:

Rank	Team	Plays	Rank Against	Accepted Count	Accepted Yards	Rank For	Beneficiary Count	Beneficiary Yards	Yard Differential
1	Denver	1566	9	85	816	31	64	478	-338
2	Atlanta	1567	17	75	762	27	68	468	-294
3	Buffalo	1552	2	104	943	13	79	650	-293
4	Baltimore	1594	8	85	801	22	72	523	-278
5	Tampa Bay	1548	1	109	894	25	70	616	-278
6	New Orleans	1592	4	92	800	19	76	541	-259
7	Seattle	1531	10	81	717	32	61	468	-249
8	Cleveland	1563	7	85	758	14	79	630	-128
9	Oakland	1597	3	92	736	26	69	623	-113
10	Carolina	1618	25	71	579	29	67	532	-47
11	Detroit	1568	28	69	593	30	66	574	-19
12	Chicago	1530	21	74	679	23	72	669	-10
13	Dallas	1472	11	80	619	15	78	615	-4
14	N.Y. Jets	1618	30	65	565	28	68	581	16
15	New England	1615	19	74	701	10	81	719	18
16	St. Louis	1512	5	89	705	21	75	723	18
17	San Diego	1539	13	79	654	16	78	677	23
18	San Francisco	1519	23	73	510	24	72	556	46
19	Cincinnati	1550	12	79	673	8	84	721	48
20	Minnesota	1525	31	65	585	20	76	639	54
21	Houston	1649	18	74	654	7	86	713	59
22	Washington	1525	24	72	596	17	77	661	65
23	Kansas City	1557	29	69	594	18	77	667	73
24	Miami	1589	6	89	721	4	93	795	74
25	Jacksonville	1620	20	74	649	9	83	728	79
26	Green Bay	1570	26	70	594	11	80	718	124
27	N.Y. Giants	1624	16	75	587	5	88	784	197
28	Tennessee	1481	22	73	589	6	88	807	218
29	Pittsburgh	1537	32	64	605	12	80	847	242
30	Philadelphia	1676	14	75	573	3	94	828	255
31	Indianapolis	1647	15	75	591	1	103	922	331
32	Arizona	1538	27	70	536	2	102	906	370
	Totals	50189		2506	21379		2506	21379

According to these stats, the Broncoshave had the most one-sided officiating of any team in the NFL, being penalized for 338 more yards than they have benefited from. That is 44 yards more than any other team in the NFL. In fact, the Broncos entered the game on Sunday, going 239 plays without their opponents being assessed for a penalty. The Cardinals have benefited the most of any team in the NFL, being awarded 370 more yards in penalties than they have given. The Patriots rank dead in the middle, at 15, only benefiting 18 yards more than they have been penalized.

I’m fine with the Broncos being aggressive and getting penalties, but these numbers don’t even show that’s happening. The Broncos rank 9th for penalties against, and 31st for penalty beneficiaries.

THE BRONCOS HAVE ONLY BENEFITED FROM FIVE HOLDING CALLS THIS SEASON. THE LEAGUE AVERAGE IS OVER 15.

Offensive holding is one of the most lopsided penalties in the Broncos’ case. The Broncos have only benefited from five holding calls all season, the least in the league, with an average of 15.59 called per team. This is highly suspect considering the Broncos also have the best defensive line in the league. So, narrative that Von Miller and the front seven are being illegally held isn’t unwarranted. On the other hand, the Patriots have benefited from 16 holding calls and been called for 16, right at the league average.

These numbers suggest the Broncos have been the victims of no-calls more than any other team in the NFL. But Patriots fans, players, and analysts are claiming officiating was particularly bad in the Broncos game, so let’s break down each penalty. In this game, the Broncos were penalized 6 times for a total of 46 yards. The breakdown of Broncos penalties are:

 

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1. Unnecessary roughness on Talib in the 2nd quarter (13:33) for 10 yards. Talib grabbed the jersey and drove a player out of bounds. Not sure this should be considered a personal foul, but it was definitely illegal.
2. Neutral zone infraction on Miller in the 2nd quarter (12:12) for 5 yards. No argument.
3. Roughing the passer on Miller in the 3rd quarter (14:17) for 15 yards. This was a stupid penalty. However, the Bears committed almost the identical infraction, and were not called for it last week.
4. Offensive holding by Mathis in the 3rd quarter (8:11) for 10 yards. No argument.
5. False start on Osweiler in the 3rdquarter (5:10) for 1 yard. I might add that this is a rarely called penalty on the quarterback that people joke ONLY Tom Brady and Manning can get away with.
6. Defensive holding on Harris in the 4th quarter (0:15) for 5 yards. This was never reviewed in the broadcast because Belichik was complaining about the excess timeout he didn't understand; for all we know, that could have been an even tackier holding call than what was called on Chung, giving the Patriots an automatic first down with 10 seconds left to put them in field goal range.

The Patriots were penalized 5 times for a total of 47 yards. The breakdown is as follows:

1. Facemask on Wilson in the 3rdquarter (10:28), undisputed for 15 yards. Wilson tackled CJ Anderson by the facemask on this play, no question.
2. Illegal use of hands on Vollmer in the 4th quarter (12:34) for 10 yards.
3. Offensive holding on Jackson in the 4th quarter (11:40) for 9 yards.
   
   Despite Chris Collinsworth's narrative, this is a good flag. Jackson is tugging on Miller's shoulder pads when he was within arm’s reach of Brady, and then shoves him to the ground. This is blatantly in violation of NFL rule 12, article 4c: "use his hands or arms to materially restrict an opponent or alter the defender’s path or angle of pursuit." I might add that Jackson is the same lineman who injured TJ Ward andSylvester Williams on a single play. Side note, you can see Derek Wolfe’s facemask being held in this shot, haha.
4. Offensive pass interference on Gronkowski in the 4th quarter (5:22) for 10 yards.
   
   Gronk pushed off of Bolden by extending his arm. This is textbook offensive pass interference. Despite what Chris Collinsworth has to say, I don’t know how else to explain it to you other than "this is exactly what offensive pass interference looks like."
5. Defensive holding on Chung in the 4th quarter (1:25) for 3 yards. This seems to be the call that most Patriots fans are upset about. The rulebook states that the defensive player can use his hands to brace for contact by the offensive player, but Chung used his hands to grab DT’s shoulder pads, which is illegal. It might be considered tacky by some, but it’s still illegal. There is also a screenshot going around of DT grabbing Chung’s facemask during this play, which he did after the holding was made, to brace himself.

In the second quarter Talib and Gronkowski had offsetting penalties, where Talib held the receiver’s back arm, which could also be considered tacky. Again, evidence this was an evenly called game.

The ONLY call that maybe should have gone against the Broncos was a "running into the kicker" call at the end of the 3rd quarter, but in all likelihood that 5 yard penalty wouldn’t have changed anything in the game, it may have even been declined by Belichik because that was an average punt, and would not have given them enough yardage for the 1st down.

Even though this has been resolved, I will explain the clock debacle with 20 seconds left. In order to protect offenses, the NFL has implemented a rule to deal with a defensive injury when the defensive team has no timeouts remaining. If a defensive player is injured, an "excess timeout" is taken until the player can get off the field. This is to prevent teams from faking injuries to stop the clock. The play clock is reset to 40 seconds, but the game clock starts as soon as the ball is set. Tom Brady and Bill Belichik didn’t know this rule, and let over 5 seconds run off the clock at the end of the game. This is exactly the call that the officials should have made, and I applaud them for knowing the rule (really it’s sad that we have to applaud refs for correctly doing their jobs).

Yes, several calls were missed, including an Evan Mathis facemask. So was a facemask against Von Miller, and a holding call on the Brandon Boldentouchdown, where Shane Ray is being held by the shoulder giving Brady just enough time to get off a pass.

I’m sure there were many others that weren’t captured on film, just like every game.

So it doesn't appear the Patriots have been unfairly targeted, but what about single players? Over the whole season, has Gronk been targeted for offensive pass interference more than other receivers and tight ends as he seems to think? He has the most offensive pass interference calls in the league, with 5. Gronkowski also sees one of the highest snap counts in the league, with 734 so far, 4thamong tight ends.

Gronkowski is easily the most targeted (by the QB, not the official) tight end in the league, and ranks 19th overall behind 18 wide receivers. Statistically, this means he is likely to get more penalties called against him than other tight ends in the NFL. Because of his size and strength, pushing off is going to draw more flags than smaller wide receivers.

My point is, the Patriots have no room to complain that they are unfairly targeted. If anything, they benefit from having Tom Brady on their team, who evades unsportsmanlike conduct calls like this one (gif credit from Brandon Perna's hilarious week 13 recap):

Just like injuries is not an excuse for a loss, neither is poor officiating. Even if this had been an unevenly called game, the reaction from Brady, Belichik, and NFL analysts is poor. If the Patriots deserved to win the game, the officiating wouldn't have changed the outcome, especially not one holding call in the endzone. This game is in the past, and we should stop having to defend a well-deserved win. On to the Chargers!

[House Jet]

Were right around the middle of the pack in terms of treatment from the referees.

[Xtina]

This is so obnoxious. Thousands of words breaking down "every penalty" in a Pats game. Who else would get this treatment? Where are the pages long articles for all the other teams examining each and every penalty and deciding if it was fair or not? The Pats have lived on unfair officiating for a long time now. They cry and make a stink, and get attention. What about all the teams that have suffered with terrible officiating and no calls up until this historical moment when suddenly officials are calling penalties on the Pats TOO? Nobody else ever got this much attention for perceived unfair officiating. Suddenly, it's a THING because it's happening to the Pats. 

[Xtina]

Oh and that last GIF - Brady should be ejected for such behavior. The entitled gall 

[House Jet]

This is so obnoxious. Thousands of words breaking down "every penalty" in a Pats game. Who else would get this treatment? Where are the pages long articles for all the other teams examining each and every penalty and deciding if it was fair or not? The Pats have lived on unfair officiating for a long time now. They cry and make a stink, and get attention. What about all the teams that have suffered with terrible officiating and no calls up until this historical moment when suddenly officials are calling penalties on the Pats TOO? Nobody else ever got this much attention for perceived unfair officiating. Suddenly, it's a THING because it's happening to the Pats.

I think thats a Broncos fan defending his team and showing that while the Pats complain and lost, his or her team aka the Broncos, are treated most unfairly. Its from SB nation so it was probably on the broncos forum. I don't mean to take away from your rant though. You hit on a few points and your hatred for the pats is quite evident. Thus, I will leave you with a classy F*CK THE PATS! That is all.

[Xtina]

I think thats a Broncos fan defending his team and showing that while the Pats complain and lost, his or her team aka the Broncos, are treated most unfairly. Its from SB nation so it was probably on the broncos forum. I don't mean to take away from your rant though. You hit on a few points and your hatred for the pats is quite evident. Thus, I will leave you with a classy F*CK THE PATS! That is all.

that is the point! No one else has ever had to defend themselves this way, the way a Broncos fan does, to "prove" the calls were fair and appropriate 

[Jetster]

It makes my stomach turn that because Brady, BB & Gronk think they were wronged by the officials there's a F*cking summit on officiating, are you F*cking kidding me?

Go back to our game in Gillette earlier this year where the Pats got away with absolutely BLATANT holding on 2 plays in the endzone that MOST CERTAINLY would have changed the outcome of the game.

The 1st was on Chung pulling Cumberlands right arm down clearly before the ball arrived. The announcers inexplicably exclaim it's a great play by Chung, lol. I happened to have a friend (Pats fan) who was sitting in that endzone. He told me that the hold was so obvious that fans in his section were talking about "getting away with one there".

The 2nd was the hold on Marshall before he dropped the TD pass that would have put the Jets up 8 points, forcing the Pats to go probably 80 yards for a TD & a successful 2 point conversion JUST TO TIE the game. Marshall is clearly held on the goal line & pulls away to try to make the catch he dropped. 

F*cking CRY BABIES. It's a joke this team is complaining about calls going against them, they've been the NFLs golden child for YEARS! 

[rillo]

It's ridiculous how much they whine over one loss. Gronk is crying about OPI and Brady wants a rule change for WR.

[Bruce Harper]

Also, illegal picks have been the cornerstone of their passing game for years.

[PFSIKH]

It's ridiculous how much they whine over one loss. Gronk is crying about OPI and Brady wants a rule change for WR.

Equally ridiculous fans of a team not even involved in the game whining over the Patriots alleged benefit of officiating.

[rillo]

Equally ridiculous fans of a team not even involved in the game whining over the Patriots alleged benefit of officiating.

says the guy who isn't a jets fan, but constantly post on a jets board. Whining about the one time it didn't go their way and feels like the officiating is "against them". Way more ridiculous.

[JustInFudge]

Hey Tom Brady - the tuck rule just called. It said, 'sup.

Rep'd because its true but do you think the tuck rule would say "sup?" or something like, "hello Tom, how are you doing today?".  I just dont see the tuck rule using slang like that.

[Xtina]

Equally ridiculous fans of a team not even involved in the game whining over the Patriots alleged benefit of officiating.

It's not about one game. And since when does the outcome of every game not affect the standings and final outcome?

[PFSIKH]

says the guy who isn't a jets fan, but constantly post on a jets board. Whining about the one time it didn't go their way and feels like the officiating is "against them". Way more ridiculous.

First, I was invited here. 

Second, as I said on the board (probably Monday), while the Patriots were screwed by the refs, the ultimate cause was Harper's fumble.  No fumble, they are likely 11-0.

 

[JetPotato]

First, I was invited here. 

Second, as I said on the board (probably Monday), while the Patriots were screwed by the refs, the ultimate cause was Harper's fumble.  No fumble, they are likely 11-0.

 

You've overstayed your welcome. Like the guest that pees all over the toilet seat, then stays way too long.