Comments on: Jim Schwartz: I overreacted by throwing challenge flag

By: mintberrycrunch1

mintberrycrunch1 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:23:42 +0000

This is the worst rule in all of sports.

By: houstontexan713281832

houstontexan713281832 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 20:09:41 +0000

You are assuming that with no TD on that play that the texans still wouldnt have scored. You are also assuming that the Lions hold the texans to no pts rest of game or atleast not enough to win. Texans moved the ball well in 2nd half so you can speculate what may have happened with no TD but nothing is certain. All the lions had to do was stop Texans from going 97 yds in 4th for TD to tie game…which didnt happen. Also convert on 3rd down(which they failed to do twice) in 4th or atleast dont give up the sack to knock you out of FG range.

By: wolfmagic2012

wolfmagic2012 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:44:26 +0000

The point is, it wasn’t a touchdown and the Texans shoudn’t have made it to overtime. It cost the Lions the game. The sloppy refs also missed the call on the challenge by Detroit. I would fire the ref who called that one.

By: ripster65

ripster65 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 19:00:17 +0000

Whether or not he knew THAT rule, he should certainly have known that EVERY scoring play automatically gets reviewed. No need to toss the red flag in the first place.

By: spicymudbugs

spicymudbugs — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:37:23 +0000

The rule is stupid but how about settling for a 47 yd FG on 3rd down at the end of the game. Run a slant to your behemoth WR and he gains at least 6 yds and then have your kicker attempting an easier FG. That’s just playing scared and that proves he has to go

By: legeisyaj

legeisyaj — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:36:08 +0000

Worst coach in the league. Biggest putz in the league. Dirtiest and most devilish team in the league. It’s too bad…toobad for Detroit a great city of fans.

By: pravin68

pravin68 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:30:01 +0000

What I don’t understand is why is it not a deterrant enough for a coach to lose the challenge and timeout if he throws the challenge? I actualy dont think even a 15 yard penalty is appropriate , let alone canceling the review. If a coach is throwing a flag when he doesnt have to, the spirit of the rulin should be “OK dumbass, you just wasted a timeout and challenge you didnt need to use, so we will use it instead of the automatic review.” Why is that not punishment enough? It is like someone paying for two sub sandwiches when you get have a buy one get one free offer. Do you not give him even a single sandwich or would you rather he be taught a lesson by letting him pay for both sandwiches?

By: urcrap

urcrap — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:18:25 +0000

Lions football. Creatively entertainingly always finding a way to lose. “but threw the flag anyway because he was mad about that call and about a first half challenge that he felt the Lions should have won.”

Thank you,
The Rest of the NFC North

By: tecmobowl34

tecmobowl34 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 18:17:10 +0000

I got no sympathy for Schwartz, or the Lions. Suh is an embarrassment. He and Schwartz have no respect for the game. The only guy I feel bad for is Johnson, he deserves better

By: wtfru2

wtfru2 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:54:26 +0000

And the best refs they have are calling these high profile games. Hmmmmmm. I think they should bring back the fill in refs!

By: metrocritical

metrocritical — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:30:58 +0000

The Mayhew/Schwartz era began with guarded optimism and some reason to believe that Schwartz’s tutelage under successful head coaches in New England and Tennessee would lead to an era of respectable if not elite play. For most Lion fans, the 2012 season has erased that hope and brought us back to that weird, conflicted place, visited most recently during the Morningwheg and Marinelli regimes, where we maintain a sliver of hope that the team will succeed while wondering what further evidence is necessary for management to realize that it’s time to start looking for the next guy. Again.

By: toddbronson1

toddbronson1 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:20:33 +0000

@randomguy9999

“the refs got this 100% right…”

Except for the fact that they DIDN’T.

By: flickaboogie

flickaboogie — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:03:23 +0000

After the botched review on the punt that would have put the Lions in position to score, I can see why he threw the challenge flag. The refs would have reviewed the play and called it a TD anyway, they obviously were not going to admit that they were wrong.

By: richwizl

richwizl — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:03:09 +0000

Seems like a stupid rule to me

Seems like a stupid rule to me. Ok, penalize the Lions, but you can’t allow that TD to stand; that’s plain ridiculous.

By: gadgetdawg

gadgetdawg — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:01:23 +0000

It was good of him to man up like that. A lot of folks would just blame the refs and the NFL.

Hopefully the NFL will change the rule. Maybe count it as a challenge with the chance the challenging team looses their timeout or something.

By: tiffpats4eva

tiffpats4eva — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:48:52 +0000

randomguy9999,

Baloney. The purpose of the refs is to get the calls right. Don’t blame this on the fans.

By: eagleswin

eagleswin — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:25:02 +0000

There were to many other blown calls that went the Texans way to just focus on that one but that one was one of the more egregious.

By: randomguy9999

randomguy9999 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:16:30 +0000

I saw it live and I can tell you for sure that when watching full speed:
1- it wasn’t at all clear that he was down
2- all the Lions gave up early on the play without a whistle

the refs used to blow it dead way to quick and us fans moaned about exciting plays getting blown dead…

so now the NFL told them to wait for the play to be clearly over before blowing the whistle…. which is a much better game to watch….

we fans can’t have it both ways….

and the coach is responsible to know the rules…

the refs got this 100% right… and Schwartz cost his team 7 points and the game……

By: dmojrblog

dmojrblog — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Stupid rule, but even stupider on the coach’s part to know the rule and still throw the flag! Not sure it mattered the way Houston was moving the ball it would have just been a couple more plays, they were getting 7 there.

By: doughboy73

doughboy73 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:03:45 +0000

Finfan you are misinterpreting the rule you quoted. That rule prevents a replay from occurring if per say a defensive lineman were to jump offside before the challenge was thrown. You can’t delay the next snap for your booth coaches to get a better look at the previous play. The rule that applied in this game is new this year (but still assanine). When Scwarttz threw the challenge flag on a play that is automatically reviewed he committed an unsportsmanlike act. Once that foul is called his team can not benefit from a review of the previous play thus it cancelled the automatic review. I think the 15 yard unsportsmanlike penalty is enough, doubling it by taking away the review seems a little harsh to me. In the end you should still strive to get the call correct!

By: thetokyosandblaster

thetokyosandblaster — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 16:03:14 +0000

Der.

By: anarchopurplism

anarchopurplism — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:59:39 +0000

Horrible rule. Change it to 15yd unsportsmanlike + $50K fine. That’ll get the coaches attention. Remember when they used to throw the red flag to yell at officials? Can’t go back to that

Horrible coach. Team has your identity….no discipline and no killer instinct. His smugness & hyper sensitivity (chasing Harbaugh) makes him even less likable.

Why doesn’t Gruden want this team?

By: houstontexan713281832

houstontexan713281832 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:56:58 +0000

Bad calls happen every game. Lions had plenty of chances to put the texans away after a bad call, but their D didnt do its job. Neither did the offense that allowed some costly sacks and fumble in OT.

By: vontazemebro

vontazemebro — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:47:53 +0000

Now you know why BB keeps it in his sock

By: filthymcnasty1

filthymcnasty1 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:46:20 +0000

How the game would have played out if that call is ruled correctly is pure speculation. Nobody knows.

By: blutbaddenbill

blutbaddenbill — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:43:01 +0000

what the league needs to do is tweek the rule to where if the replay shows a runner is down or he steps out of bounds on a play like that,an unsportsman like conduct penalty should be marked from where the guy was down at! no way can that awful call by the refs be allowed to stand in all fairness! and i saw that same play happen in other games when the coaches threw a flag during a scoring play and the refs did’nt call a penalty!

By: pftcensorssuck

pftcensorssuck — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:42:36 +0000

The longer Schwartz is in Detroit, the bigger a moron he proves himself to be.

By: santolonius

santolonius — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:41:29 +0000

this rule has to change. you can give a 15 yard unsportsmanlike to the coach who throws the red flag, but don’t award 7 points to the other team in the name of officiating petulance.

By: FinFan68

FinFan68 — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:38:30 +0000

Schwartz shouldn’t have thrown the flag but the rule is stupid and may actually not have been applied correctly in this case.

The rulebook (p89) states: “He [replay official] must initiate a review before the next legal snap or kick and cannot initiate a review of any ruling against a team that commits a foul that delays the next snap.”

What foul delayed the next snap? The next snap can’t happen until the review (of the scoring play) is complete and the referee is informed that the play is confirmed or needs further review. The game clock is stopped and the play clock is stopped so there really is no delay at all. The next play can only start after the referee places the ball and declares the next play (untimed down in this case) ready to proceed.

Rulings are NEVER for or “against” a team. They are made based upon what the officials believe happened on a given play. The review process is supposed to ensure the correct call is made by comparing how the play was officiated real-time vs. what actually happened as seen during the review.

Based on the wording of the rule and how the league/analysts etc. have interpreted it, no scoring play or turnover play can ever be reviewed if a penalty occurred (including post possession change penalties) That is absurd and cannot possibly be the intent of the rule.

By: jimnaizeeum

jimnaizeeum — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 15:38:08 +0000

Bad officiating…maybe the lions still lose with the right calls on the TD & the punt…maybe not.
The main difference I see in these refs opposed to the replacements is that the game flows smoother.
But these guys are making the same bad calls that they were crying about the replacements making.

No accountability.