Looking at the first OPI

[Laloosh]

As I watch the game again, I'm a little pissed off that this one went against us.

Looks like the DB initiated contact to me. What say you?

 

[Rob12]

Garbage call.

 

[Laloosh]

The second (we had three):

 

[Northwest Seahawk]

We had some bad calls we always do on the road so who's fault is that . It's just something they have to deal with. The year we won the Super Bowl we had one of the best teams ever assembled it's time to realize we don'rt have that kind of talent anymore. Wilson needs help .We need another big time player on Offense we had Lynch we need to find another player that can consistently make big plays .

 

[West TX Hawk]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

 

[chris98251]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

That one looked like the DB had Locketts arm pinned into him, notice how Lockett one hands the catch almost. He was extracting his arm not pushing off.

 

[Crizilla]

both the calls on Lockett and Kearse were pathetic.

 

[Spin Doctor]

We had some bad calls we always do on the road so who's fault is that . It's just something they have to deal with. The year we won the Super Bowl we had one of the best teams ever assembled it's time to realize we don'rt have that kind of talent anymore. Wilson needs help .We need another big time player on Offense we had Lynch we need to find another player that can consistently make big plays .

We have that player, he was a premier pass catcher for the New Orleans Saints, and we gave up a first round for him. Our coaching staff just hasn't gotten the memo that he exists yet.

 

[skater18000]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

That one looked like the DB had Locketts arm pinned into him, notice how Lockett one hands the catch almost. He was extracting his arm not pushing off.

Exactly! They suck & there DB fell down, therefore drawing an automatic flag, where we end up with the short end on the benefit of the doubt, negating a huge completion...

 

[Krieg's list]

As I watch the game again, I'm a little pissed off that this one went against us.

Looks like the DB initiated contact to me. What say you?

Laloosh, thank you for posting these gifs as well as the all 22's. It's much appreciated since I no longer have Gamepass myself, and these have been great threads to share analyses.

I don't remember if the replay during the broadcast picked up the action too late or I was just confused, but I thought Kearse had smashed into the trailing corner and so accepted the OPI call. But you're right-- the safety moves up to shove Kearse, who then barely brushes into the corner.

Another point about this first OPI clip-- oftentimes Russell simply refuses to allow a pocket to form around him. He seems more comfortable staying on top of the deepest DE on most plays, thereby making life more challenging for himself and especially his O-line. If he stays in the pocket and Rawls takes the spy, he can probably scamper into the endzone, gimpy ankle and all. That was really the only way this crappy play was going to work. But his deep drop allowed the Rams to get quick pressure rushing 5 against 7 blockers, leaving 5 DBs to cover 3 receivers in 13 yards of vertical space.

That the Rams were in nickel AND blitzed on 1st and Goal from the 3 suggests we tipped "pass" somehow, doesn't it?

 

[McGruff]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

That was my original thought, but when they showed the angle from behind the play, it is obvious Lockett pulls on the defenders arm causing him the fall. It wasn't a push off, it was a pull down.

 

[Krieg's list]

First pass almost looks like they are setting up a screen to the RB but it gets muddled up, which is why he chooses his second read. That is the reason why RW didn't allow "the pocket to form around him".

Hmm... are you sure they weren't running a flea-flicker and just muffed the handoff and then improvised? :lol:

Look buddy, you don't usually call screen passes from the 3 yard line. The fact that none of the linemen released their blocks is proof that this was not a screen. They all eventually got beat to the outside because Russell retreated so far back.

Even if the play was to slip Rawls out into the flat (hint: it wasn't, Rawls tried to block Donald and wiffed badly), the MLB was spying Rawls and the left side DB was also free to make a play.

In all seriousness though, I just now re-watched the endzone angle from the in-game replay of the "penalty" and it seems like Russell forgot the play, which would explain everything.

 

[Seahawks Guy]

What's irritating is that the refs threw their flags because they saw that there may have been a push off. Refs aren't supposed to throw a flag unless they're certain. Pretty pathetic. But, we did get away with a few blatant false starts, so...

 

[TransGenderHawkFan]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

That was my original thought, but when they showed the angle from behind the play, it is obvious Lockett pulls on the defenders arm causing him the fall. It wasn't a push off, it was a pull down.

Was it as obvious as the defender running with his arm to his chest with Lockett's arm pinned there?

Should have been a no call or offsetting.

 

[nash72]

The year we won the Super Bowl we had one of the best teams ever assembled it's time to realize we don'rt have that kind of talent anymore. .

Wish the coaching staff realized that.

 

[Krieg's list]

First pass almost looks like they are setting up a screen to the RB but it gets muddled up, which is why he chooses his second read. That is the reason why RW didn't allow "the pocket to form around him".

Hmm... are you sure they weren't running a flea-flicker and just muffed the handoff and then improvised? :lol:

Look buddy, you don't usually call screen passes from the 3 yard line. The fact that none of the linemen released their blocks is proof that this was not a screen. They all eventually got beat to the outside because Russell retreated so far back.

Even if the play was to slip Rawls out into the flat (hint: it wasn't, Rawls tried to block Donald and wiffed badly), the MLB was spying Rawls and the left side DB was also free to make a play.

In all seriousness though, I just now re-watched the endzone angle from the in-game replay of the "penalty" and it seems like Russell forgot the play, which would explain everything.

Inside screens are run in that situation all the time. They look like they DO try release their blocks, that's why all of them turn to look for the release of the ball. You can also Rawls trying to find the hole behind the blockers, and turning to look back at Russ before Russ has to get rid of it. It just looks really poorly executed. The fact that Russ doesn't take his eyes off of Rawls until the last second either, leads me to believe that was his first target there.

How do you even argue with somebody who has no clue what they are talking about and denies clear video evidence?

No they don't release blocks. Glowinski gets away with a prolonged hold, for heaven's sake. They only turn to look at Russ after their man has beaten them. At no point does anyone bother to block Ogletree, who is spying Rawls. Rawls wiffs on Donald and then briefly chases him while pointing for Webb to pick him back up. Not sure how you can even dispute any of this... go watch the HD video.

 

[Seahwkgal]

I watched a lot of games yesterday. There were a ton of OPIs being called(many questionable and bogus). It must be the new thing with officials this season.

 

[Hawks46]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

That one looked like the DB had Locketts arm pinned into him, notice how Lockett one hands the catch almost. He was extracting his arm not pushing off.

They were hand fighting, which is legal. Lockett's hand is on top of the guy's arm. There's no way a guy Lockett's size can pull a larger DB to the ground with one hand on top of the guy's forearm.

What makes this a horse shit of a call is the rest of what's going on. When the DB sees the ball release, he TURNS HIS HEAD and then dives at Lockett because he knows he's beat. He's trying to save a TD, not defend the pass. I can see this called if the DB is still looking back at the ball and trying to make a play and gets pulled down, but that's not what happened and it's terrible as the ref is right there and a helmet is a lot easier to see than two guy's hands running at full speed.

The first OPI is a good call. Watch Kearse; he literally blocks down on the DB and lowers a shoulder. This will net a flag against anyone not in a Patriots jersey (sarcasm aside, they're really well coached at this).

That flag should've been thrown, but then picked up. It it no way affected the play. This is what drives me crazy about the NFL, useless flags. This not only didn't affect the play at all, but Wilson through the ball away. So, fans are right in calling it garbage, as there was no need to back the team up for OPI. It's like "that's OPI". Did it affect the play in any way? "not in any way, shape or form, but we're gonna keep that penalty".

The only thing I can think is, if that isn't the guy covering the WR, or covering kearse, is it really OPI ? I'd love to know the rule book on that one.

 

[Laloosh]

The first OPI is a good call. Watch Kearse; he literally blocks down on the DB and lowers a shoulder. This will net a flag against anyone not in a Patriots jersey (sarcasm aside, they're really well coached at this).

I disagree on the basis that the defender initiates contact with Kearse before Kearse is pushed into the other defender who's following Lockett. Looks like he's trying to redirect him or time a hit if the ball is thrown over the middle.

 

[OkieHawk]

The second (we had three):

This one was really a donkey manure of a call. Lockett was in no way pushing off the DB. When the DB is covering that closely there's almost always incidental contact.

That was my original thought, but when they showed the angle from behind the play, it is obvious Lockett pulls on the defenders arm causing him the fall. It wasn't a push off, it was a pull down.

This .gif doesn't show it well, but Lockett clamped on the DB's arm and pulled, legit call on that one.