If the rules were enforced evenly to all players and teams, there would be no confusion and debate, as well as wrong or misguided analysis or perspective on these calls.

Not long after that Jon Gruden continued to spout off like the jackass that he is and I changed the channel. I love football, and the NFL, but my time is too valuable to watch incompetent morons get to spout of their moronic opinions on national TV. I would rather watch a rerun of Law & Order for the 47th time than listen to Jon Gruden announce a football game. He is an embarrassment to the profession of broadcasting, and coaching for that matter. He makes me wish to hear Joe Thiesmann’s analysis again, which is probably the worst analysis in the history of football.

Today’s NFL fans are too smart and too informed to be continually subjected to this horrible commentary by incompetent morons. 9 year old children would be more insightful than Gruden.

Thank you Mike Pereria for bringing this to the national spotlight.

Take the 49ers v. Seahawks game where the Seahawks hit a player that had slipped, gotten back up to his knees, and was pounding the ball in frustration. Periara blabbed off about how it’s been a rule since 1976 that you can’t hit a runner who has given himself up.

The rulebook just says it is a foul for “running or diving into, or throwing the body against or on a ball carrier who falls or slips to the ground untouched and makes no attempt to advance, before or after the ball is dead”

Problem #1 – The rule reads like a situation where a player goes to the ground and stays there on the ground. It doesn’t really cover a player getting to his knees or trying to get up while there is still a live ball.

Problem #2 – If the player had given himself up, the refs should have been all over it blowing it dead. It seemed like they were letting play continue to see what happened since he wasn’t down and the guy got creamed because of it.

If Mike would actually say something like “the rule is a bit vague in regard this particular situation, but I believe the officials made the right call in the spirit of rule” I would probably pay him some mind.

Really you had a situation with 3 boneheads: Williams for not knowing that the play was still live, the ref for not blowing the whistle right away, and Robinson for creaming the guy instead of touching him down. Yet, ole black and white Mikey P. doesn’t cover any of that.

even the classy Charles Woodson wasn’t so classy in his response, he was right

to pull an OBSCURE rule outta the book that has NEVER been called before in an NFL game, and call it for the first time on the NFL’s biggest stage is a tragedy,

league against Al Davis & the Raiders or not,

that is a clear fumble, the announcer Phil Simms thought it was a fumble, Brady was re-loading his arm after not liking what he saw down field, in the process of him re-loading he was hit and fumbled the ball,

his eyes are looking down at the ground, not up at the field, he was not trying to throw it, he was re-loading it, it was a fumble, not an incomplete pass,

for Pereira to ever speak after allowing a robbery to take place on his watch is ridiculous.

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The tuck rule happened. Get over it. The Raiders still should have won that game but they blew it. A game isn’t won or lost on one play. Since the tuck rule is in the rule book this should be basically a non-issue. I’ve watched at least 4 games this year where it was called the same way. It’s just part of the game.

Tirico: “That’s the tee retriever Jon.”

Except for the RULES, which state that as soon as the ball is “illegally touched” by the punting team,
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It’s actually the spot of “first touching” unless the guy that touched it was the first to touch it after going out of bounds….didn’t see the play.

Any time the ball is beyond the line of scrimmage on a scrimmage kick (punt/field goal still in field of play), either team can make contact with the ball. The receiving team just has the option of taking the ball at first spot of “first touching” (or any other spot, if more than one).

The only place illegal touching occurs on the field is a forward pass caught or touched by an ineligible receiver, when a player goes out of bounds and comes back in and is the first to touch the ball, or when a team is kicking the ball on a free kick (tee, punt after safety, or dropkick…which is still legal) and kicking team touches it before it has traveled the required 10 yards.

I agree that broadcasters need to learn rules.

Great example: Darryl Johnston, former player and Super Bowl champion, this past Saturday in the Giants/Jets game. Jets punt, Jets stop the ball at the 1 yard line, as the ball is still rolling around and is surrounded by Jets, Giants LB Chase Blackburn comes crashing in to try to get the ball. He doesn’t, the Jets get the ball, 80,000 misinformed fans go wild, and Johnston spouts off on why there’s “absolutely no reason for [Blackburn] to be anywhere near the ball!!”

Except for the RULES, which state that as soon as the ball is “illegally touched” by the punting team, the receiving team has the option of the result of the play or taking possession at the spot of the illegal touching. Which means you can pick it up and hand it to the kicking team if you want, you’ll still have the ball.

It’s not the fans fault for not knowing all of the rules and Jets fans getting temporarily excited. They don’t have (easy) access to the rule book. But the former players-turned-commentators do. And they often fail the fans miserably.
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Great post.

I would add that EVERY single network’s coverage of a game this year has had at least one crew (Phil Simms/Al Michaels/Brian Billick/Ron Jaworski, that I’ve witnessed) who have all gone bonkers on a QB getting hit with the ball going backwards…and they push the arm going forward issue to death…until someone in the studio or trailer radios up and tells them that with the ball goes BACKWARDS, it is ALWAYS a fumble whether there was arm movement or not. And 3 of the 4 are former player or coaches.

Most of these commentators look for more controversy and self-promotion than anything.

Regarding the tuck rule – it was BS as everyone knows and I piss on your ‘the Raiders had a chance to win after the Tuck Rule call and blew it’ logic. THE GAME WAS OVER if the call is made correctly.

No matter what your interpretation of the rule, you cannot with a straight face say that there was ‘sufficient visual evidence’ to overturn the call on the field.

I thought I would get over it by now but it still pisses me off like it did the night it happened.

Mike P coming out and defending that overturn was gutless and I do not respect him to this day because of it. Worst call ever.

I agree with Gruden’s sentiment that the game is being wussified but he also should have recognized the difference in the two hits. He still could have lamented the pansy nature of recent rules changes even while allowing the two were different.

Jaworski overplays his knowledge of the game, and sounds so desparate for someone to believe him. You never won anything, Ron.

Tirico is just a fraud, from phony broadcasting voice to his self- important attitude. Howard Cosell admitted that he “never played the game,” but he was vastly more interesting and well- spoken than the fraud bald.

And Gruden. Probably the most qualified of the bunch to be there, but you can’t believe a word he says. Pure over-hype and over-statement, virtually everytime he speaks.

IOW, MNF is broken, ESPN. Fix it.

I’d also like to point out, you aint won SQUAT since SpyGate, either – the Ravens and Jets both showed you the door.

The Pats were a freakin joke during the Victor Kiam years and the Raiders were involved in the greatest games in NFL History – Heidi, the Immaculate Reception, Ghost to the Post – We forgot greater games than your franchise had ever known. You’re the 21st century Miami Hurricanes, and you just lucked into the greatest 6th round draft pick in NFL history.

That being, said, Tom Brady is a first ballot Hall of Famer, and Tuck Rule not withstanding, he won a couple of other rings and could win another one. But don’t get it twisted – your johnny come lately’s to this whole thing. Every ERA eventually ends, and the clock is ticking on Tom.

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Wow…….. live in the past much, dude?

Johnny come lately’s??

The Patriots had many great years before Tom Brady, and have had many epic battles with your Raiders long before the Belichick years.

Were there crappy years in between the great Pat’s teams of the 60s, mid to late 70s, mid 80s to mid 90s Super Bowl teams …… ? Of course. But a Raiders fan should be the LAST person to point that out.

Not many crappy Raider seasons over the last 40 years, right????