I wonder what the playcall is from the 1 had they called DPI...

Except the Pats defense, especially the secondary, is completely banged up. This game might not be as hard for the Broncos as we expect...

10,000K in Casino Cash. I'll take Denver -4.5.

Yeah, not true, for the record. Believe the tuck rule had been called earlier that same year.

But you have a story to spin and hate the Patriots, so don't let facts get in your way.

Odd that Jon Gruden is over the tuck rule, but you're not...

I don't think I even have any Casino Cash.

You see several of those a games, on both sides. I specifically saw Denver do it to the Chiefs on Sunday night, in fact.

For good or for bad, what most would think is holding is pretty rampant. It's more about how long you hold for, rather than IF you hold, that results in it getting called.

Of course, the Chargers have been the NFL's butt-monkeys for years, so I'm not surprised at your bitterness.

Dunno if we'll have either Talib, Dennard or Gregory back. Doubt Gregory (broken thumb). Dunno at all about the other two, but yeah, without them, and without Wilfork, Kelly and Mayo, we're basically down SIX starters on defense.

Yeah...that's not likely to work out too well against Manning & Co.

Yea, that might make your defense equal to the level of shittiness of the Bronco defense. But I heard that the Bronco's are supposed to get Von Miller back from suspension at some point...

I'll take your 2,000 if I win, and you'll get 8,000 from me if you win.

Having watched the footage of Gronk being bearhugged in the endzone today, gotta say... they got robbed, that was some pure BS.

Threw the flag then picked it up? BS... normally i wouldn't care a bit, but those mfing refs cost me a 14-2 week on my picks.

I still don't think it's a PI. There's simply no way that ball was being caught. Perhaps Gronk could've kept it from being picked, but with zeros on the clock, an incompletion is the same as a pick there.

That throw was as uncatchable as they got. Had Kuechly died on the field halfway through that play, Gronk still wasn't going to catch that ball because he was being undercut by the DB who was tracking it the whole way (Lester). Brady was facing severe pressure up the middle and he badly underthrew it. None of the contact between Kuechly and Gronk changed the fact that Gronk wasn't going to turn that into a completed pass - Lester would've knocked it away at worst.

I went and looked up both holding and illegal contact - both of those are null once the ball is in the air. As such, neither one of those could've been called there (and I'm stunned by how many talking heads didn't bother to do this research; it's right there in the rulebook and yet idiots like Chris Carter were saying it should've been an illegal contact penalty).

I guess the ultimate issue is what constitutes uncatchable - more critically, is it only the throw that matters or is it also how the defenders react to it? Unfortunately, the rule is mostly silent. However, it does note that the ball has to be uncatchable by the 'involved players'.

Well Lester, who wasn't an 'involved player' snagging that thing well before Gronk would've been able to get to it would seem to make it uncatchable as to the involved players to me.

Honestly, while I think this is a pretty uncommon interpretation of the rule, it does appear to me to be the correct way to interpret it. I think the no-call here is correct.

I would be flipping out if that is how the Bronco's game ended.

Uncatchable has nothing to do with this he was mugged 5 yards past the line you cant do that. Illegal contact Pats should of got 1 more play from the 13 yard line.

Yep.

That's not true.

Read the rule - once the ball is out of the QBs hand, the illegal contact rule does not apply. It's either a PI or nothing.

Kuechly didn't hit him until after Brady released the ball, as such, contact downfield was fair game provided that it wasn't also PI. It's why you're allowed to friggen blast somebody once a ball is tipped at the line. The 'pass interference light' turns off at that point and even if they're 15 yards downfield, you can knock them into oblivion without worrying about an illegal contact penalty.

Of course we would.

But that's what makes this interesting - we don't really have a dog in the fight.

You can just step back, take a look at the rulebook and actually try to make a rational decision here.

Based on the rules and nothing more, the officials decision to pick up the flag was wholly defensible.

Andrew Brandt ‏@adbrandt 4m
NFL VP Dean Blandino on Panthers-Pats no-call: "I wouldn't say that they were wrong." Translation "I wouldn't say they were right."

Oh for ****'s sake. We're really stooping to that kind of 'journalism' now?

Read the goddamn rules you mouth-breathing lemmings. C'mon, Brandt - tell me how the hell that was a penalty based on the friggen letter of the rulebook.

Explain to me how it could've possibly been illegal contact or holding when the ball had clearly left Brady's hand prior to Kuechly getting into Gronk. Moreover, give the rulebook definition of what constitutes a 'catchable' ball here. Because the only thing that would make a pass that was clearly going to be picked off by Lester 'catchable' if there was some rule in there that makes the exception specific to the quality of the throw itself.

There isn't one. Anywhere.

There is no way by God and sonny Jesus that Gronk was going to catch that ball. Lester had it lined up all the way because Brady was getting pressure in his face as he delivered.

Late to the party here.

This is good. Let Brady get mad- take it out on Donk Defense.

If that ball leaves Cam Newton's hand and he upbraids the refs aftewards, the only controversy is over how much of an asshole Cam is.

Gronk didn't even fight for positioning or the ball. It was a good no call.

Patsies will take out their frustrations next week at home.

Exactly.

Brady's a petulant prick and has been for years. I've made several comparisons between his antics and Cutler's over the last couple of seasons and nobody ever seems to find a real distinction between the two apart from "well Brady's a leader!!"

Brady shows up his teammates, disrespects opponents, mouths off to coaches and referees and gets a pass for it every single time. He's no better than Cutler and frankly he's worse than a guy like Rivers in terms of his attitude and how he carries himself on the field.

I still hope he carves up some donkey ass next week, though.

The 3 Super Bowl Rings changes things.

Should it?

Because he wasn't a preening jackass when he won those things.

But because he has them he now gets to act like all Cutlerish and I'm supposed to say "well he's just a warrior and a competitor that leaves it all on the field and demands the respect of his teammates!"?

Give me break. Brady's an incredible quarterback. He's smart and he's talented. He's also developed into a massive douchebag.

Tom Brady owes Adam Vinatieri multiple reach arounds for his rings.

"Entertainment Industry" no doubt....

That is the single-most annoying cliche I can think of...

As if being competitive gives you the right to be a ****ing douchebag.

That's really no excuse. Tim Duncan has won 4 championships and is still the same humble, down-to-Earth guy he entered the NBA as.

Brady is an entitled crybaby bitch. But really, it should be no surprise - just look at his coach and his team's fanbase. They all act the same way. Nobody's telling him to shut up and stop embarrassing himself with his outbursts, and the media makes excuses for him, so he has no incentive to change his behavior.

And before anyone brings up Rivers, I completely agree he acts like a colossal douchebag, even to the point where it costs his team wins because he takes stupid penalties and can't calm himself down. That's one of the many reasons I'm sick of him and want him out of San Diego.

The fact that they picked up the flag makes it look a ton worse. If they never threw there would be bitching still but not this bad

I'll bet Brady is still pissed! Ha, sucks to be human!

I will trade you Alex Smith for Rivers. Deal?

The reason Brady gets away with being a douche bag is because he is a "Top 5" quarterback. The 3 rings are just icing on the cake. Comparing Cutler/Rivers with Brady in 2013 is just stupid.

Believe this, the minute Brady starts laying turds on the field, he will get tore down just like Cutler and Rivers.

Really don't understand the Brady hate, other than disliking his success/popularity.

Like Manning, he gets calls that he shouldn't. JMO and my reason.

I agree with that. Doesn't mean I think he's a crybaby bitch, preening jackass, or a massive douchebag.

Super Bowl wins are team accomplishments and shouldn't be used to determine the worth of a QB.

Brady has way to much other greatness to go base his worth off of.

I think the whole "well, he won a SB, he needs a contract, must be elite, etc" is bullshit.

I, on the other hand, think he's all of those things.

Mostly because I've watching him yell at WRs, coaches, referees and pretty much anyone else that doesn't bow down to him whenever he demands it.

Again - compare his bullshit to Cutler's and tell me how they differ in their behavior. They don't - at all. Brady gets a pass because he was a fresh-faced kid with a cool story when he came into the league so he earned a shitload of rope. Cutler was a first round pick with a mouthy reputation who never captured the public's imagination so he gets excoriated for the same stuff.

If we'd just get on the same page, I'll be fine with either conclusion. Either everyone that behaves like Cutler/Brady is a 'fiery competitor' or they're all 'huge douchebags'. I favor the latter, but I'll live with the former if we just hold everyone to the same standard, including guys like Rivers and Cutler.

Plus, the guys has banged atleast 2 Supermodels that we know of, is a "no homo" great looking millionare QB athlete.

Perfect american hero kinda thing.

Seriously, **** that guy.

I think Cutler is unfairly judged as well.

Right, because it was all Vinatieri.

His kick to beat the Raiders was an all-time one, and I take nothing away from him, but that's a team sport, and no kicker ever won a game by himself.

Frankly, the defense deserves as much credit as either Brady or Vinatieri for the first couple SBs.

You're an idiot. A bitter one too. Sorry the Chargers couldn't get past the Patriots a couple of times, but they weren't good enough.

Should I paint everyone in SD as a crybaby bitch too because LT was clearly one?

Yeah, I'd drop preening, that's over the top.