In the risk of sounding negative again, i'll reluctantly ask an officials related question... now i know im supposed to just be happy we won and not question anything... but im going to ask anyways...
On the Wilbur punt that landed on the goal line, why did they call it a single point? This isnt the NFL and the ball can go in to, then come out of the endzone on a punt, it isnt dead.... as far as i see on the replay, the ball hits the goalline and bounces back into play and out of bounds... I believe the officials messed this one up... anyone thinking the same thing?
I thought so too. It definitely hit the goal line, but it sure looked like it bounced back out. And if it did bounce back out, it would not have met either condition specified in the rules:
(1) when the ball becomes dead in possession of a team in its own Goal Area or,
(2) when the ball touches or crosses the Dead Line or a Sideline in Goal, and
touches the ground, a player or some object beyond these lines.
Maybe they felt that it hadn't bounced back far enough to leave the endzone. Time to watch the replay again.
This topic on Rules Question should be a good disscusion thread. The only thing I can think of on why the punt was awarded the single point is; The ball broke the plane in the first place, bounced back, and then went out of bounds. Thus the receiving team having no chance of a return. Otherwise I’m miffed and in limbo also. :?
Just watching the play in slow motion, the ball ended up hitting someone in the first row of the stands who was either on the goal line or just outside it, maybe the 1 or 2 yard line. For it to end up there after hitting the goal line it would have had to bounce out directly parallel to the goal line, or angled just slightly back. In either case, it would have likely bounced directly over the pylon, which would mean it crossed the sideline in goal.
That must be what they ruled to have happened in their judgment, although neither of the two officials was in a position to determine that with 100% certainty. And TSN only showed 1 replay that wasn’t at an angle where you could determine anything.
I just watched it again… theres no way that ball went over the pylon. I would love to hear the officials explanation.The guy that ends up with the ball is exactly at the 5 yard line. If you watch the yellow line that extends out of bounds (and is infront of the goal line) the ball isnt even infront of that.
I would bet the officials interpreted this as an NFL touchback when the ball hit the line. They do look lost. They never once look at where the ball ends up.
I thought that too when I first watched it, but watching it again I noticed that someone seated closer to the goal line wearing one of those foam hands tried to grab it, and it bounced off the foam hand and back upfield to the guy who ultimately ended up with it at the 5. So where it ends up is a bit misleading.
Maybe since the refs just made the wrong call. It seemed like they were talking with each other about the call for a while. Maybe they thought it went out in the endzone since they don't have access to replays.