Getty ImagesIf 49ers return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. had managed to break through the Baltimore coverage on the free kick that ended Super Bowl XLVII, Ginn may have needed an escort from his entire family to get to the end zone.
Via Deadspin, NFL Films audio from the game shows quarterback Joe Flacco urging teammates to take matters into their own hands if Ginn has a clear path to the end zone.
“If he starts to break it, go tackle him,” Flacco told tight end Dennis Pitta.
“Really?” Pitta said.
“I don’t know,” Flacco added. “I mean what else — what could they — I don’t know. I mean, they might be able to give him a touchdown on that, but I don’t know.”
Proving it was hardly a joke, Flacco then rallied other teammates. “Hey, if he breaks it, if he busts this for some reason, tackle him. Go tackle him. I don’t know what the rule is on that, but . . . .”
Though the response isn’t audible, a teammate apparently said something along the lines of, “Lead the way, Bert.” (That’s my half-joking guess at what was said, not a quote.)
“I will,” Flacco then said. “I’m going to.”
As the folks at Deadspin point out, the rule book gives the officials the ability to award a touchdown under those circumstances. And that would have been the proper outcome.
Still, it would have been anything but dull to see Flacco attempt sans helmet to save the Super Bowl by chasing down Ted Ginn and ultimately joining a unique pigskin pantheon that currently includes guys like Sal Alosi, Woody Hayes, and Tommy Lewis.
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Mmmmmmmmm, classy.
Adrenaline makes people do/say crazy things
Or realize Ted Ginn didn’t break anything & this is a non story, waste of time for anyone looking for real news on Flacco, Ravens, Ginn or anything that really happened in the SuperBowl XLVII!
LOL.
I think I just started liking this guy…
Given the way the rest of the game was called I’d say a flag against the Ravens would have been a 50-50 proposition.
I really wish Ted Ginn had broken through… that would have been funny to see Flacco try to catch him, dive and fall on his face.
Him and joe linta both are a laughing stock.
Well he didnt have to so why is this news? RAVENS Superbowl Champs!
Good way to explain it Flacco, good use of vocabulary. Sounds like a really bright guy!
Well Flacco needed to encourage teammates because he couldn’t catch him!
It was NFL Networks Sound FX show last nite.
Didn’t this ACTUALLY happen in a college game once? I recall reading how an Alabama coach tackled a player on the other team, but he was rewarded a TD anyways like the NFL rule says
If I were Flacco, I think I’d just stop talking until I got my new deal.
“Lead the way, Bert.” Hilarious!
I think Alabama’s Tommy Lewis would be the analogy as he tackled Rice’s Dicky Maegle in the 54 Cotton Bowl.
Openly encouraging teammates to cheat just might take him out of the “elite quarterback” status that he is so desperate for. And not only was it cheating but it may also have given the 49ers the victory if the officials awarded a touchdown. That lapse of judgment will probably get reflected in his salary negotiations.
He clearly just wanted to win so badly that he would do anything, and it doesn’t matter because he didn’t have to. Why is this on the front page again?
I mean, I heard that audio. He was clearly saying it a joking way.
Aside from the interesting fact that the refs could’ve awarded a touchdown, non-story.
Sal Alosi was suspended a year for that and fired…..
This is not news. It was on NFL Network last night on SoundFX and the video with the audio clearly shows he was joking. Isn’t there something truly newsworthy in the NFL or do you have a quota of an update per hour from NBC?
Would they have ejected Flacco if he had tried to tackle Ginn?
and what is the rule?
Though the response isn’t audible, I’ll just make something up that shows my real hatred towards the Ravens and pretend he said, “Lead the way, Bert.”
He didn’t say lead the way bert, he said why don’t you go tackle him… followed by the I will, or I’m going to.
Ted Ginn is dangerous… just ask the Jets.
Brilliant idea if the rule, which I’m sure no one but the officials knew, didn’t award touchdown.
If I were in that situation, I think I’d probably say the same thing. The Ravens were underdogs, go out and manage to keep the game until the final free kick? Yeah, that’s a lot of work to lose the game on one play. I can see why he would mutter those words.
That would have been HILLARIOUS
Flacco has a dry sense of humor. Anyone who believes he really wanted to tackle Ginn from the sidelines is crazy. During the free kick, where was he? Sitting, far away from the sidelines with his hands in his pockets.
Actually, it should be a compliment to Ginn that his opponent feels he is a threat. If Flacco were serious though, he would have no place on any NFL team.
Only thing worth noting is his nickname is “Bert”
IT WAS A JOKE.. he was easing the tension with his teammates. They obviously weren’t really going to do that.
The real story here is the “Lead the way Bert”
Sounds about right. Considering the Ravens were already openly cheating to take advantage of refs that were flat out SCARED to throw a flag that might be perceived as deciding the game, Flacco’s idea is merely a logical continuation of that strategy.
dennisatunity says:
Feb 7, 2013 2:01 PM
Openly encouraging teammates to cheat just might take him out of the “elite quarterback” status that he is so desperate for. And not only was it cheating but it may also have given the 49ers the victory if the officials awarded a touchdown. That lapse of judgment will probably get reflected in his salary negotiations.
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Lighten up Francis.
I wish this would’ve happened. It would’ve been the coolest thing ever in a Super Bowl.
Listen to the audio. Obviously he was joking.
that would have been the best superbowl moment ever.
No need to tackle him, the refs already gift wrapped the game on the 3 plays before that.
and we think he was very serious????, good grief this is dumb as is anyone on this board who took it that way
And this guy considers himself an elite QB on the level of E. Manning, P.Manning, and Brady? I would be very surprised to find this these guys making that comment…
Stay Classy
It could just be me and I’m not a ravens or 49ers fan. But, I don’t have a problem with what he said. It was the superbowl. And, at worse what would have happened was the niners would have gotten one more play from 15 yards closer. I don’t think that it would have been a automatic touchdown. And, as for the way he was expressing himself he was moment away from winning the Superbowl. I’m not sure how well I could express myself either.
I doubt the refs would’ve thrown a flag anyway, it was pretty apparent they were letting the ravens do whatever they wanted
I was actually hoping that Koch shanked the free punt and Ginn fair caught it somewhere on the 50 giving Akers the ultimate fair catch / free kick play. Talk about a pressure kick. That would have been awesome.
Man you haters are still bitter? Get over it. Rings don’t lie, and the Baltimore Ravens are world champions. Cheers!
With his super bowl mvp performance he probably would have caught him too
I like how people are actually taking this seriously.
It’s funny. As a Niners fan, I had a lot of respect for the Ravens going into this game.
Between Cary Williams comments and now this, that’s gone out the window.
I found that kinda funny myself.
“Proving it was hardly a joke, Flacco then rallied other teammates”
You report on this as if he was serious. Just how stupid do you think us readers are to believe for one second he was serious? Your bias against the 2013 NFL world champions shows through. Who is your team anyway?
And there you have it, the 2013-’14 Baltimore Ravens emotional leader! Bert, lmao. Good luck losing Ray Ray and that leadership. Obviously it will go as far as it’ll take you!
Just one more reason I’m glad this guy is my QB!
The Ravens knew the refs had their back and this proves it. No flag would have been thrown. It was the Super Bowl :”let them play” would have been taken to a whole new level.
“Lead the way, Bert.”
Okay, I must admit, that’s actually pretty damned funny.
Almost as funny as the average Ravenator posting.
Dry humor. Good lord media, get over yourselves.
If you devoted even a SECOND of time or attention to Joe Flacco before this post season, you would know he has a real dry sense of humor.
Ain’t nobody tackling Ginn if he broke it.
Final hateration from the media, I guess.
if this had have happened I know a certain coach that a certain trophy is named after that would have loved that action. “you show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”
…and then John Harbaugh could have thrown an early challenge flag to make the play automatically non-reviewable. This actually might have worked!
I love it. I am officially a Joe Flacco fan.
ravenator says:
Feb 7, 2013 2:42 PM
Man you haters are still bitter? Get over it. Rings don’t lie, and the Baltimore Ravens are world champions. Cheers!
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That was so 3 days ago. It’s 2013 now. It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately league. Quit livin’ in the past. Glory days.
You’re complaining about bitter bettys but at least you don’t share a division with the Eagles. This is the nonsense we had to listen to from their bitter fans before the ticker tape was swept off our street. Congrats on the win. You get 5 years to gloat.
The lack of even a flag on Cary Williams contact with the ref, the blatant hold on Bruce Miller as Jones ran past him on the 2nd half TD return, the Crabtree fade, the comical lack of any flags whatsoever on the last punt (whether it mattered to the outcome or not) will leave many 49er fans casting a wary eye at the final result forever. It is what it is. The NFL had no intention of allowing the 49ers to complete the come back which would have made the post game narrative all about the black-out and it’s impact on poor old Ray Ray . . . oh and the rest of the Ravens.
Listen to the whole audio all the way back at NFl.com. Flacco’s comment is actually funny in context. You can see him trying not to smile when he’s talking to Pitta. Rather than reporting on this, which is just reposting deadspin, you should report on Jim Harbaugh’s outbursts in the same clip. That dude is going to have to learn how to restrain himself.
I just love the people who think the NFL orchestrated this outcome. You’re the same people who think we never really went to the moon and 9/11 was an elaborate scheme by the government
I totally agree with sonoco that the NFL was very concerned with the outcome of this game as soon as the lights went out. Can you imagine the crying by Ravens fans if the 49ers would have pulled off the comeback after the black out ? The Ravens were in melt down mode and were crying as soon as the lights went out. Some how the Ravens couldn’t handle it and they panicked. The NFL made sure there was not going to be a “Black Out Bowl ” that saw the largest come back in S.B. history. The only way to salvage this was a Ravens win.
Stay Classy Falco
His nickname is Bert because of the monobrow and he’s roommates with Ernie.
“Lead the way, Bert.” LOL.
wasn’t there like 12-15 secs on the play clock on either 2nd or 3rd down when they ran it? This would have been a non-issue if they let it run down to a couple secs.
The jets pulled that nonsense on the Dolphins. Does anyone remember if the Fins were awarded a TD?
Curious minds need to know.
It would’ve been a flag on Culliver most likely
The 49ers would have been awarded the score and won the game.
See “Dickie Moegle Rule”
Very funny. It would’ve been funny seeing Flacco run onto the field, outrunning Ginn whose one of the fastest players in the league and seeing a qb in Flacco tackle him.
calicokiller49 says:
Feb 7, 2013 2:26 PM
“I doubt the refs would’ve thrown a flag anyway, it was pretty apparent they were letting the ravens do whatever they wanted”
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It was also pretty apparent that your big fancy defense was also letting the ravens do whatever they wanted.
Don Merideth did this back in the 60s. Left the bench to go out and tackle some dude that was returning a kick return for a score.
This is a crazy article, I’m no fan of Baltimore, but Joe had to be going out if his skull. If that was me, and i saw ginn break one, I might try to trip the guy. Heck I might bite the guy if I thought it would help….
ravenator | Feb 7, 2013, 2:42 PM EST
Man you haters are still bitter? Get over it. Rings don’t lie, and the Baltimore Ravens are world champions. Cheers!
Yup you finally caught on to the ring thing fanboy. We got a couple more than you once every twelve year dudes….cheers and yikes
sonoco says:
Feb 7, 2013 3:28 PM
The lack of even a flag on Cary Williams contact with the ref, the blatant hold on Bruce Miller as Jones ran past him on the 2nd half TD return, the Crabtree fade, the comical lack of any flags whatsoever on the last punt (whether it mattered to the outcome or not) will leave many 49er fans casting a wary eye at the final result forever. It is what it is. The NFL had no intention of allowing the 49ers to complete the come back which would have made the post game narrative all about the black-out and it’s impact on poor old Ray Ray . . . oh and the rest of the Ravens
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Yes, that’s what it was. A conspiracy. Just like BountyGate, right? All games are rigged too…
Or MAYBE, just maybe, you could stop looking at the game from a biased view and realize that on the other side of things, Torrey Smith was being held all game long, there were several calls for holding that could’ve been made on Gore’s big breaks, and Flacco getting blown up 2 yards out of bounds empty handed. IF the NFL really wanted to ensure a Ravens win, why were none of these blatant penalties called?? That’s what I thought.
Next up, Joe Flacco tells Torrey Smith to run 15 rows up the stands for a TD Pass.
bartlettruss says:Feb 7, 2013 1:55 PM
I think I just started liking this guy…
Until he does something to push you off the bandwagon.
Doesn’t Florio remind you of that whiny little biatch tattle-tale in grade school who couldn’t wait to run up to the teacher and rat out his classmates?
Or MAYBE, just maybe, you could stop looking at the game from a biased view and realize that on the other side of things, Torrey Smith was being held all game long, there were several calls for holding that could’ve been made on Gore’s big breaks, and Flacco getting blown up 2 yards out of bounds empty handed. IF the NFL really wanted to ensure a Ravens win, why were none of these blatant penalties called?? That’s what I thought.
I can’t believe this poster is telling someone to be unbiased that’s rich from the most delusional and biased poster on this and many threads…made my day
Yup you finally caught on to the ring thing fanboy. We got a couple more than you once every twelve year dudes….cheers and yikes
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And ravens average one every 8 years. Get on our level. Cheers!
Steeler fan boy cant do math apparently. Ravens average a ring every 8 years, steelers every 13 years. You forget about the 30 years of mediocrity in Pittsburgh? I can assure you that would never happen in Baltimore.
JackAcid says:
Feb 7, 2013 2:50 PM
It’s funny. As a Niners fan, I had a lot of respect for the Ravens going into this game.
Between Cary Williams comments and now this, that’s gone out the window.
NO ONE CARES!!! haha.
You know when the Saints made the Superbowl I tried to convince myself that I didn’t care rather they won or lost, at least they got there. But, once the game started all of that went out the damn window. So, I can feel for the niner’s fans and how they fell that they got a raw deal. But, what I would tell niner’s fans is that if the niners would have played the whole game the way the played in the 2nd half then it wouldn’t have come down to a call. And, let’s not forget the play calling prior to the fourth down. You didn’t run Frank Gore once
Steelers fans are blind. One team just won the superbowl and the QB who is apparently a joke just won the superbowl MVP. Has Ben won superbowl MVP? Has Ben even won a playoff game last two years? I guess that .500 record was just a fluke right? Hah, it’s not my dim witted friend, it’s reality and right now, reality sucks for steeler fans everywhere.
I love me some Flacco! MVP…..MVP……MVP….
Steelers fans are blind. One team just won the superbowl and the QB who is apparently a joke just won the superbowl MVP. Has Ben won superbowl MVP? Has Ben even won a playoff game last two years? I guess that .500 record was just a fluke right? Hah, it’s not my dim witted friend, it’s reality and right now, reality sucks for steeler fans everywhere.
Whoa…a little thinned skinned fan boy? Lighten up…you can push it but can’t take it which is a high school trait..dim witted? …I know I have forgotten more than you’ll ever know…. Glad you responded to having you chain pulled…lmao
Steeler fan boy cant do math apparently. Ravens average a ring every 8 years, steelers every 13 years. You forget about the 30 years of mediocrity in Pittsburgh? I can assure you that would never happen in Baltimore.
Pretty heady comments someone not yet thirty …enjoy your brief time in the sun….it gets dark real quick in the NFL for SB winners…you will see…you are still new at this…sigh
Matt Birk asks Flacco “Why can’t you?”
That’s when Flacco replies “I will, I’m going to.”
And ravens average one every 8 years. Get on our level. Cheers!
Getting on your level would require steelers to support a plea seeking felon and a wife abusing car dragging moron….can’t see us going that low.
I’ll never forget the Steelers game against the Jags when we were kicking what would have been the winning FG but they blocked it and ran it back for a TD as time expired. As Jags DB Chris Hudson sprinted down the field, former linebacker Bill Cowher stepped out onto the field and made like he was gonna deck him. Anyone on the sideline who says they wouldn’t at least think for a split second about making the tackle in that situation is lying.
Flacco probably should stick to playing instead of coaching.
That’s an A-Rod kind of move and I’m sure it would have led to Baltimore losing the Super Bowl. Good for them it didn’t happen.
That would’ve been AWESOME.
He’d be my new favorite player for doing something that crazy/stupid.
deadspin has proven they will sacrifice facts just to put out an article that makes a name for them…so i question the validity of this until absolute fact is provided.
So does Flacco get fined or suspended like Roger did the Saints?
Here’s the real news: Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl Champs!!!!!!
Fact!
Flack must have wanted that 2014 Corvette pretty badly. I guess he already has his next $20M already spoken for.
Obvious to anyone w a brain, it was a joke. Complete hack
This is clearly just another part in the vast conspiracy to make the Ravens look bad. See it! It’s Right there! It’s Obvious!
Flacco!!!!!
Or, it’s posted because it’s hilarious and so clearly what anyone one of would have thought at the time.
If the sidelines ran on the field and tackled Ginn, a flag is unlikely.
In a close game like that, its only fair to let them play it out…
However, the rulebook says nothing about time. That is why upon Ginn catching it, all of the Ravens should have emptied the sideline and tackled him. I think it would have been very difficult for the referees to award a TD if Ginn had not gotten to a point of “breaking away”.
@hehateme2
A jets coach tripped a dolphins gunner who was running up field to make a tackle not a dolphins player with the ball.
For all the 49ers fans out there, I’m neither a niners or ravens fan at all and the refs weren’t that bad, the last play was touchy by both the offensive and defensive players and they missed calls against the niners too including a roughing the passer against flacco that should have been Called on a 3rd down. Stop whining your team played good but fell short. Try being a dolphins fan like me now that’s a rough life! Go dolphins!!!
Flacco was joking. Pitta is his best friend on the team, that’s why he approached Pitta in the clip.
Florio needs to grow a sense of humor.