How funny. Tomlin challenges a play to try and turn a catch into a TD, and loses the catch. Bizarre. Sure Harbaugh would have challenged it anyway, but it is funny.
If, if, if. While I know what you’re saying, the Cards were the best team on the field. Period.
I wish they’d do something about this ambiguous rule. I know in real time he had the ball for an eyeblink, but distance-wise he had control for about 2 yards-worth of dive, and only lost control when his arm and the ball hit the ground. Is a dive worse in determining control than remaining upright for 2 strides, then falling and hitting the ground and losing control? it should depend strictly on the time the ball is under continuous control.
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Bad decision by Rothlisberger to throw in the middle of the field without a timeout. It’s a good game so far, but a bit too much ticky tack referee-ing going on. The roughing the punter was baloney. I don’t want a game like this decided by the zebras.
Does pittsburg have some agreement with the nfl whereby they’re never called for offensive holding?
Same as Texas Tech has with the NCAA.
Poor Joe Flacco.
Even worse, poor Willis McGahee.
Announcers said Harbaugh DID challenge it.
Since your body is two yards long, your observation means nothing more than that he fell forward with the ball in his hands, and as he was hitting the ground, it came out.
The rule is not ambigous. Indeed, it is crystal clear. If the receiver, during the catch, is in contact with the defensive player, he must maintain control of the ball all the way to and through contact with the ground. Nothing ambigous about it at all.
I checked the NFL.com site and they said the same thing. I’m pretty sure they showed Tomlin throwing the red flag too though. My mistake.
You were right – I saw Tomlin throw his flag, but I think Harbaugh threw his first or Harbaugh’s was spotted first. The having-theikicker-fall-on-you penalty was nonsense, but have we ever had a play off game without at least one bad call according to the fans?
They showed Tomlin throwing the flag first, then there was a brief shot of Harbaugh throwing HIS flag.
I agree the roughing the kicker call was BS. I’m a Steeler fan, and I’m glad nothing came of the resulting drive, because if Pittsburgh scored, you’d be wondering if they still would have won otherwise. Plus you’d have to listen to the Ravens and their fans whine for 3 years about how the game was decided by the refs. This way, the Steelers got an undeserved second shot, but it didn’t matter.
And we got a feeeeeeeelin’
We got a feeeeelin’
Pittsburgh’s goin to the Super Bowl!
<does a complicated victory dance, trips and falls through the coffee table>
I’m still reeling at the idea of the Cardinals in the Super Bowl. It’s like the Cubs being in the World Series.
Well that was a dismal little affair in Pittsburgh, no? Hard to imagine how a conference championship game that was close almost the whole way could be boring, but there it is.
I don’t know. I think they probably played better than Philly did today, but I don’t think that opinion is totally beyond dispute, nor does outplaying them on this Sunday make them the better team. It was a *very *close game.
Ta Da! How sweeet it is!
Early Super Bowl prediction. Steelers 30 - Cards 21
Well, it’s pretty close, isn’t it! A mere three years difference. :eek:
I’m hoping they WIN the thing. Not just because I don’t want another Steelers Super Bowl victory, but also because the thought of another 9 - 7 NFL Champion is enjoyable. 
I just wanted to chime in and after sleeping on it, I decided I still hate and loathe the goddamn Shittsburgh Squeelers with every fibre of my being.
That’s the “color me jealous” kind of hate from a Bengals fan. Goddammit. I hope the Cardinals can pull off the upset. They better start sending the SB refs money now and hope they can outbid the Steelers for officiating favors…
Well, I can’t locate a copy of the NFL rulebook online (which I attempted to do last night after the game)-I am talking strictly about time of control and at what point is control firmly established. If you are running when you make the catch I believe you need two strides to establish control, but if you are diving (hence the feet are not in contact with the turf), when is control established? If football were played on the moon, and a player dove, caught the ball (in contact with an opposing player, as you say), sailed forward through the air for 5 seconds, for a total distance of 10 yards, hits the ground and the ball pops out upon contact with the ground, that still isn’t a catch? But if he runs that distance (identical time) for say 6 strides, it is. That is my point of contention, even if the rule you are alluding to (which I can’t find) is “crystal clear”-it would seem that diving for a ball is disadvantagous in this particular instance.