ATL: Week 11

[LikeABosh]

Bad call or not, the Panthers are no joke. Their defense is top three and Cam is capable of carrying their offense when he is on. If Cam gets hot come playoff time, they could easily win it all.

I'm picking them as my dark horse.

[El Duderino]

Gronk had no chance at all to come back and even just get a finger on that ball unless he magically grew 10 foot long arms. I wanted to see NE win for the Packers sake, but that would have been a gift to the Patriots had that call stood and then they scored a play later.

Looking at the play again I think you're right. The main reason Gronk can't get back to the ball, or doesn't even make an effort, is that he loses his footing. At first I thought that was because of the contact Kuechly made, which imo would have constituted PI.

However, the gif definitely shows that Addison is the one who makes contact with Gronks leg, causing him to lose his balance and not be able to get back to the ball. And that contact is definitely incidental. If that incidental trip hadn't occurred, Gronk likely pushes back towards the ball and there's a real case for PI.

To me, the biggest reason Gronk had zero shot of coming back on that ball is simple momentum and time. He was running past the point of where the ball ended up landing by the time the linebacker grabbed him. So he just wouldn't have had the time to stop his momentum going forward and then change direction to go back to the ball by the time it hit where the cornerback intercepted the ball, regardless if Kuechly hadn't grabbed him.

Now if the ball had been thrown deeper, then maybe the Patriots would have a more valid argument, but given how far in front of Gronkowski the ball landed and him running towards the back of the endzone, simple physics wouldn't have allowed him to stop going forward instantly and then move back 3-4 yards to where the ball landed in the split second he'd have needed to make a realistic play on the ball. This wasn't some hail mary situation where Gronkowski was basically stationary as the ball was coming in and Kuechly grabbed Gronk so as to prevent him from coming in to make a play on the ball. Instead, he was moving in the opposite direction of where the ball was landing and doing so only about a second before it did land in the corner's hands.

[trwi7]

You guys are all over thinking this.

There's no way Gronk gets to that ball even without the faceguarding and even if he could the Panthers defender read where the ball was and would get there first. So unless he does have 10 foot arms he's going to have to go through the Panthers defender to even have a chance to catch the ball.

I liked the no call even though it hurt the Packers.

[humanrefutation]

No way Gronk gets back to that ball. Zero chance. Even if there was no one in between him and #38, he still doesn't have a play on it.

The real issue there is Brady threw a terrible pass there. If he skies it more, Gronk might have had a chance at the ball.

[chuckleslove]

No way Gronk gets back to that ball. Zero chance. Even if there was no one in between him and #38, he still doesn't have a play on it.

The real issue there is Brady threw a terrible pass there. If he skies it more, Gronk might have had a chance at the ball.

Not only that but if he skies it more they HAVE to call DPI. That ball was badly underthrown and I think it is the right decision to make a no call as much as it hurts the Packers in the wild card race.

[humanrefutation]

No way Gronk gets back to that ball. Zero chance. Even if there was no one in between him and #38, he still doesn't have a play on it.

The real issue there is Brady threw a terrible pass there. If he skies it more, Gronk might have had a chance at the ball.

Not only that but if he skies it more they HAVE to call DPI. That ball was badly underthrown and I think it is the right decision to make a no call as much as it hurts the Packers in the wild card race.

Yeah, that's why I think the pass was so terrible. If he gives Gronk a chance to make a play, the uncatchable aspect goes out the window and they have, at worst, first and goal at the 1.

I do think the Pats have a legitimate beef that the refs could've called holding there, though. That would've given them another shot, five yards closer.

[El Duderino]

No way Gronk gets back to that ball. Zero chance. Even if there was no one in between him and #38, he still doesn't have a play on it.

The real issue there is Brady threw a terrible pass there. If he skies it more, Gronk might have had a chance at the ball.

Not only that but if he skies it more they HAVE to call DPI. That ball was badly underthrown and I think it is the right decision to make a no call as much as it hurts the Packers in the wild card race.

Yeah, that's why I think the pass was so terrible. If he gives Gronk a chance to make a play, the uncatchable aspect goes out the window and they have, at worst, first and goal at the 1.

I do think the Pats have a legitimate beef that the refs could've called holding there, though. That would've given them another shot, five yards closer.

Holding is only called when it happens before the ball is thrown. In this case, the ball was already in the air before Gronk was grabbed so it can only be called pass interference.

[humanrefutation]

Not only that but if he skies it more they HAVE to call DPI. That ball was badly underthrown and I think it is the right decision to make a no call as much as it hurts the Packers in the wild card race.

Yeah, that's why I think the pass was so terrible. If he gives Gronk a chance to make a play, the uncatchable aspect goes out the window and they have, at worst, first and goal at the 1.

I do think the Pats have a legitimate beef that the refs could've called holding there, though. That would've given them another shot, five yards closer.

Holding is only called when it happens before the ball is thrown. In this case, the ball was already in the air before Gronk was grabbed so it can only be called pass interference.

According to Barnwell, there isn't any rule about the ball being in the QB's hands. Look here:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-trian ... ew-england

The defensive player cannot use his hands or arms to push from behind, hang onto, or encircle an eligible receiver in a manner that restricts movement as the play develops. Beyond this five-yard limitation, a defender may use his hands or arms ONLY to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver. In such reaction, the defender may not contact a receiver who attempts to take a path to evade him.