Maybe pass interference 15 yards for iffy ones that could go either way, and spot of the fowl for blatant PI if the defender tackles the guy.
Like how facemasks used to be, but the fact that they simplified that into one penalty probably means they wouldn’t break up another one into two penalties like that.
Maybe egregious DPI could become PF-UR or something?
Pretty sure that most teams would call taking Gronk out of the game in exchange for 15 yards are pretty big win.
I don’t like the 15-yard limit rule, because it will then benefit defenders to knock down the receiver on anything over 15 yards and spoil the excitement on deep balls. But why not make any penalty over 15 yards reviewable?
There isn’t a 15 yard limit rule. The penalty was a personal foul. Pass interference is at the spot of the foul.
There’s absolutely not doubt in my mind the Eagles will win the Super Bowl:
The Dogs are coming to Minneapolis!!!
The issue there is pretty simple, and happens from time to time in the NCAA. Say a defender knows he’s beat by a step 40 yards downfield with nothing but daylight in front of the receiver, and sees the receiver turn to catch the ball. If the receiver makes the catch, it’s a touchdown. The defender will simply tackle the receiver before he gets out of reach, giving up 15 yards in exchange for saving the touchdown. Given enough time for the NFL to adjust, you’ll end up shrinking the distance throws are made to 15-20 yards past the line of scrimmage - it’s useless to throw it deeper and risk a fluke play unless the receiver is already out of reach.
The Eagles played lights out, from start to finish. They have to play just like that, again, under brighter lights away from home, with a significant portion of the crowd hating them more than any team besides Green Bay.
I’ll be nine blocks away down 5th Street. Should be a hell of a week!
Talk about surreal. EAGLES are going to the supes! In Minneapolis. And we can beat them. Bring it on!
E A G L E S !!!
The Patriots keep winning these dramatic games because of their coaching. New England makes coaching adjustments in the locker room and up in the coaching booth, and they have players who can roll with and execute these changes to perfection. The Patriots start giving teams new looks, they involve different personnel, and they play at different speeds. Atlanta couldn’t handle it. The Jaguars couldn’t handle it.
The Eagles, however, might be able to handle it. Doug Pederson’s staff has already overcome a huge challenge in dealing with the loss of Carson Wentz and figuring out how to make the team function with Nick Foles. Each week, they’ve gotten better and better under Foles. Pederson also has a good feel for the game. He’s not satisfied with running out the clock. Like Belichick’s Patriots, Pederson’s Eagles go for the finishing blow. The Eagles have a lot of talent, but they have a coaching staff that has a great feel for the game and they’re good at making 2nd half adjustments just like the Pats are.
It’s going to be a long two weeks to lead up to the inevitable conclusion.
They don’t even seem like real games. It looks scripted, and very poorly acted.
What does this even mean? Surely your rational mind can’t believe that the Super Bowl is faked, with predetermined outcomes ala WWE. Outside of the hype and crappy half time show which comes with being the Super Bowl, how isn’t it a “real game”?
New England is hoping that the Eagles believe this.
Aside from your wild exaggeration of numbers, I’m not entirely sure what you’re getting at. What I meant was that, to my mind, the few flags that were thrown in this game were obvious and warranted. The Jags committed those penalties and got flagged for them. Should the refs have called more penalties on the Pats just to even it up so it wasn’t lopsided? Let the Jags get away with concussing Gronk because they had already racked up a few flags and the Pats hadn’t?
I know it’s painful to many to admit, but the Patriots won this game fair and square. There is no ref conspiracy. There is no ref favoritism, toward the Patriots or any other team. That’s always just sour grapes, even when I do it 
I’m a store cashier who has gotten a lot of mileage about asking any customer wearing any other team clothing’s item “GIANTS? What were they doing Super Bowl Sunday (ling, dramatic pause) said the lady from Boston.” Now I can change it to “What will they be doing Super Bowl Sunday (long, dramatic pause) said the lady from Boston.”
The Pats are the personification of New England tenacity. If we say we are going to do something, consider it done.
One of those was a 15-yard illegal hit penalty for helmet to helmet hit that concussed Gronkowski and took him out of the game. There’s absolutely no way that penalty can’t be called in any game regardless of who’s playing. I don’t think it was a dirty hit but the call shouldn’t be in question.
The other was a DPI call that could have gone either way; it’s certainly possible the home crowd has an influence on the refs but these two calls are rather weak evidence.
I have to agree - Pats playoff and Super Bowl runs usually *do *seem just like juvenile literature, where the Good Guys get into a pickle but manage to step up and triumph in the face of disaster, led by an Intrepid Hero, his Grizzled Veteran coach, and a dedicated supporting cast. It’s easy to think “Come on, this story line again? The real world is nothing like this. Grow up a little, Mr. Author, like your readers”.
Except it *is *real. And a helluva lotta fun, too. 
Richard Sherman sez Church had to hit Gronk in the head so he’d miss his knee. 
There are stories that the Competition Committee will consider adding the NCAA’s targeting rule for next season. I’m in favor.
The remaining calls don’t much lend themselves to conspiracy theories either:
Two procedure calls (illegal shift & delay of game)
Offensive holding (declined) on a play that resulted in a sack
And a second defensive pass interference where Cooks was utterly mugged two full steps before the ball arrived. As blatant a case of PI as you’ll get short of an outright tackle with the ball in the air.
Maybe there were a bunch of Patriot non-calls that I didn’t see, but the case for biased reffing in this game looks like pretty weak tea to me.
The helmet to helmet was the right call and honestly, I could live with the PI. But I do think it’s interesting that the Pats only had one penalty. The last team to only commit one penalty in a playoff game? The Patriots in the 2011 AFC championship win over the Ravens.