NFL 2012

[Ingmar]

On the return, there's a really clear view of it at ~1:00 in this YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoz66JyYu4Y Bruce Miller is just getting manhandled by 2 dudes.

[Abagadro]

Being manhandled doesn't make it holding. That block is all inside. No way that is holding.

[Ingmar]

There's a guy standing behind him with his arms wrapped around him, I would have to disagree.

I don't think it changed the outcome in particular, in any case. Our defense has been shit since the 2nd half of the New England game and they've been getting away with a lot of mistakes - until tonight. Difference in the game.

[JWIV]

 Completely bizarre game with what was looking to be a blowout and massive hug fest turning into such a complete clusterfuck of a game that my heart was about to explode from my chest in the 4th.

Still, I'm going to enjoy this offseason. 

[Jeff Kelly]

The holding call doesn't matter since it wouldn't have stopped the clock. The clock only stops when the play is over.

The holding call would have resulted in a safety anyway and the call wouldn't have put any time back on the clock. So it helped run down the clock and also gave them a free kick. It was quite a brilliant last minute play actually.

Even if holding was called it would have been resolved after the play ended basically resulting in pretty much the same outcome.

The 49ers didn't lose because of a missed call, they lost because they let the Ravens get away with three TD passes that a defense that wasn't asleep should have prevented. They lost because they let a 109 kick off return happen in which Jones outmaneuvered the whole defensive line. They lost because of a preventable fumble and an interception.

All three TD in the first half were preventable if Culliver hadn't checked out during the first half and the ridiculous 56 yard pass wouldn't have led to a TD if one of the safeties had simply touched Jones. Then there was Moss who pretty much didn't catch any pass by the QB in the first half.

The only real WTF moment for me was the brawl after the interception in which the Ravens player who repeatedly punched one of the 49ers and shoved one of the officials should have been ejected but somehow wasn't. (Can't remember which Ravens player it was.

[Malakili]

Overlooked with the complaining about the hand jousting on the 4th down play was the fact that the ball was uncatchable in bounds.

No way that ball was uncatchable.  He got within a foot or two of it even WITH the holding.  Uncatchable is to be called if the QB throws it well out of bounds in a "throwing it away" type of pass, not when the ball lands out of bounds.  MANY passes which are caught would land out of bounds if no one touched the ball.

[Paelos]

Falcons fans are laughing hard at SF fans complaining about the lack of late holding calls.

Sucks doesn't it? 

[HaemishM]

Bullshit ball was uncatchable, they haven't called it that way at all this season especially when the WR can't make any progress because he's being held completely up. That was holding on the defender and it got worse and worse looking every time they showed it.

I have to believe the refs were told specifically to just not call shit on passing plays because all game they were basically hands off. Calls that would have been flagged REPEATEDLY all regular season were just fucking ignored. Hell, there was one play where Torrey Smith just fucking MUGGED a defender who clearly had position on him that didn't even get a second look. I truly believe the league office told the refs to "let them play" which is all well and good except that it's ABSOLUTELY not the way the game has been played up all season long. That infuriates the shit out of me, because it's a lack of consistency.

But really, I should have been entertained by the game but wasn't. Hell, I started fast-forwarding when Baltimore went up 28-6 and San Fran's offense was doing NOTHING in the 3rd quarter. I didn't start really watching again until San Fran got to 20 points. I just couldn't muster up one ounce of give a fuck about the game at all. I'm REALLY glad I didn't watch it live because I'd have just turned it off after 10 minutes of the stadium going dark.

And can everyone in the news media eat a dick and die for talking so much about the fucking Destiny's Child reunion? I didn't give two fucks about them when they were together, and I REALLY don't give two fucks now. Not even one fuck.

[Merusk]

I might give them a fuck. Or two.

Oh, and I made it all of 20 mins in to "lights out." Then Downton Abbey started and I said fuck this and let mom have the TV.

[Paelos]

Without the lights going bye-bye, SF was getting buried. Zero momentum, zero time to think, and on an emotional letdown from a 3 and out right off a kickoff TD.

[01101010]

This is what happens when you bench Alex Smith. 

[Sky]

I have to believe the refs were told specifically to just not call shit on passing plays because all game they were basically hands off.

I had a feeling something was up when it was almost halftime and the announcer said "That's the first penalty of the game for the Ravens."

Both teams are better than they played last night.

[Ingmar]

My offseason wish list:

- Get Culliver the fuck out of town
- Speed up the play calling at the line
- Draft: defense, defense, defense, defense, and more defense

[DevilsAdvocate25]

I have to believe the refs were told specifically to just not call shit on passing plays because all game they were basically hands off.

I had a feeling something was up when it was almost halftime and the announcer said "That's the first penalty of the game for the Ravens."

Both teams are better than they played last night.

I knew something was up when the first play of the game was a 20 yarder that was called back on a penalty. 5 penalties for the Niners, 2 for the Ravens. I really got the feeling the refs were there to stop the momentum and that during the lights out, they were told to just stop calling anything unless it was egregious, like the roughing the kicker on Akers field goal.

I'm a niners fan and thought we got robbed throughout the game. I will admit that in many cases throughout the game the niners defense just looked lost and the offense seemed lazy sometimes. Like the niners fumble, where two other niners are standing there and just look at the ball on the ground while the Ravens guy swoops in and grabs it.

The missed tackles in the game by the niners were pretty bad too. Diving and grabbing instead of securing the tackle.

[Nevermore]

My offseason wish list:

- Get Culliver the fuck out of town
- Speed up the play calling at the line
- Draft: defense, defense, defense, defense, and more defense

You could use a good second WR opposite Crabtree.  Relying on just Crabtree and Davis really limits the passing game.

[JWIV]

I have to believe the refs were told specifically to just not call shit on passing plays because all game they were basically hands off.

I had a feeling something was up when it was almost halftime and the announcer said "That's the first penalty of the game for the Ravens."

Both teams are better than they played last night.

I knew something was up when the first play of the game was a 20 yarder that was called back on a penalty. 5 penalties for the Niners, 2 for the Ravens. I really got the feeling the refs were there to stop the momentum and that during the lights out, they were told to just stop calling anything unless it was egregious, like the roughing the kicker on Akers field goal.

I'm a niners fan and thought we got robbed throughout the game. I will admit that in many cases throughout the game the niners defense just looked lost and the offense seemed lazy sometimes. Like the niners fumble, where two other niners are standing there and just look at the ball on the ground while the Ravens guy swoops in and grabs it.

The missed tackles in the game by the niners were pretty bad too. Diving and grabbing instead of securing the tackle.

   You don't want a 20 yrder returned on a penalty, then fucking line up at the line of scrimmage correctly. That has fuckall to do with the refs and everything to do with not making stupid mistakes.  The 49'ers were not prepared mentally for the game in the first half and a lot of those penalties came from that.  They made the most of having damn near an hour to regroup and adjust, and you saw that in the second half.

[Ingmar]

My offseason wish list:

- Get Culliver the fuck out of town
- Speed up the play calling at the line
- Draft: defense, defense, defense, defense, and more defense

You could use a good second WR opposite Crabtree.  Relying on just Crabtree and Davis really limits the passing game.

Well, I'm not completely ready to write off AJ Jenkins, another offseason of work and he may be ready next year. We also have Manningham signed for another year, he just needs to stay healthy.

[HaemishM]

Manningham has consistently proven unable to stay healthy.

I think the Niners just believed their own hype, or at least the hype that came off that Green Bay win. They started slow in the Atlanta game and then the same way in this one.

And Goddamnit, now I have to say SUPER BOWL MVP JOE FLACCO every time I talk about what an arrogant, inconsistent douche Flacco is. You Ravens' fans are lucky. You got the good Flacco during the playoffs. I'm still not convinced he's as good of a QB as he thinks he is, but now he's got the ring to prove it.

[ghost]

Hell, you can have two rings and still be considered a marginal quarterback.  Just ask Eli Manning.

[JWIV]

Manningham has consistently proven unable to stay healthy.

I think the Niners just believed their own hype, or at least the hype that came off that Green Bay win. They started slow in the Atlanta game and then the same way in this one.

And Goddamnit, now I have to say SUPER BOWL MVP JOE FLACCO every time I talk about what an arrogant, inconsistent douche Flacco is. You Ravens' fans are lucky. You got the good Flacco during the playoffs. I'm still not convinced he's as good of a QB as he thinks he is, but now he's got the ring to prove it.

We'll see. I can't imagine he's going to play this well in the regular season, but he's coming off basically a historic level postseason with his stats, so he's obviously better than he was at times this season. Changed O-Line obviously was a help, as was Cam Cameron being fired which moved the Ravens to a more balanced game plan and doing things like throwing into the middle of the field. There's also a the factor that Boldin basically is the unsung hero of the postseason and damn near caught any and everything thrown his way, which ends up making Flacco look better than he might be.

[Nevermore]

Well, I'm not completely ready to write off AJ Jenkins, another offseason of work and he may be ready next year. We also have Manningham signed for another year, he just needs to stay healthy.

There's speculation the 49ers might cut Manningham for cap space anyway, given his injury problems.

I hadn't realized Jenkins was a first round pick, so maybe he'll work out.  Depending on cap space and price it might not be a bad idea to go after one of the free agent WRs, though.  If nothing else you'll need a slot WR.  If they have the money and cap space, imagine what another field stretcher like Mike Wallace or a safety blanket like Wes Welker could do for Kaepernick.

[Paelos]

I'm seriously loving the tears over 49er fans about calls. It's absolutely delicious.

The 49ers were a good team who couldn't do what got them to the playoffs when they arrived. Their pass rush was not there. Flacco was picking them apart. No amount of defense can save that.

By the way, Colin is a smart QB with a good arm. He's young and got rattled. He'll get better, and will be dangerous in that division for a while. The NFC West with Colin and Russell could be one of the better divisions to watch in the next 3 years. Nobody was going to be better than Flacco this post-season with the kind of protection he got. He proved against the best of the best, and came out on top. Hard to hate on the kid.

[Hoax]

I'm seriously loving the tears over 49er fans about calls. It's absolutely delicious.

Not as delicious as Falcons fans thinking that they got robbed by calls at all in that game or that anyone in the world would have been happy to see their shit team get demolished by the Ravens. Flacco would have looked better than Tom Brady against the Falcons "defense".

The Niners haven't been the same since Justin Smith got injured and Aldon Smith being nicked up in the playoffs didn't help either. Which is why in the playoffs they haven't won the way they won all season.

All in all it was a strange but entertaining game with such a huge swing, I don't mind the refs swallowing the whistles as it reminds me of playoff hockey where the league basically admits that the way they call the game in the regular season makes for a less enjoyable game so they break out real hockey for the playoffs. I can live with all the ticky tacky shit (including when Torey Smith mugged the db who was in position to drop an interception) not being called but the hold on 4th down was blatant as hell. The real story of that play though is that like what happened on the 2 point attempt and on at least one other play Kaepernick was out of time on the play clock and the Ravens just jumped the ever loving fuck out of the snap and blew the play to shit.

[ghost]

I thought the game was boring as fuck for 85% of it.  It got a little tight at the end, but I don't think the game was ever really in doubt after the Ravens blew it up in the first half.

[Rasix]

It got a little tight at the end, but I don't think the game was ever really in doubt after the Ravens blew it up in the first half.

[Sky]

Oh, forgot to ask: Why is Randy Moss still in a uniform? Talk about phoning it in.

[Nevermore]

I only had two reasons for rooting for Baltimore over San Fransisco in this game: Jim "The Berserker" Harbaugh is annoying and the desire for Randy Moss to never get a ring.

That outweighed my dislike of Ray Lewis.

[Paelos]

Not as delicious as Falcons fans thinking that they got robbed by calls at all in that game or that anyone in the world would have been happy to see their shit team get demolished by the Ravens. Flacco would have looked better than Tom Brady against the Falcons "defense".

Nobody wanted the Falcons there, and unless you lived in SF not many really wanted them there either. The fans overwhelming wanted the Packers and Denver, but didn't get it. They recovered nicely by making it the MOST WATCHED SUPER BOWL EVAAAAAH

And next year will be even more people. It doesn't even matter anymore who's in it.

[Sjofn]

Hell, you can have two rings and still be considered a marginal quarterback.  Just ask Eli Manning.

Eli Manning is also not exactly Mr. Consistency, so ... Plus he has that face. Plus he is seriously just a dude. Just a regular ol' dude. He has anti-mystique, and people hate that in a quarterback. :P

[Segoris]

Weird day.
-Greg Williams is reinstated and working for Tenn.
-Apparently Flacco wanted others (or was going to himself) to tackle Ginn Jr if he broke free down the Ravens sidelines in the Super Bowl. It's not like they could award the touchdown on a penalty, but how fucked up would this have been to see?
-And as if AP's return from a torn ACL was not awesome enough, he apparently had a sports hernia since week 10. Meaning that the year he miraculously returned from a knee injury which should have slowed him down at least a little, he also had what kept Greg Jennings out most of the year while AP had what would have statistically been two good seasons. One of those two good seasons alone was during the 5 games he played with the sports hernia while he ran for over 1k yards in weeks 11-16. 

[Hoax]

I like purple jesus but let's be real he's on something that if it isn't called a PED today will be called a PED in the future.

[Segoris]

Most likely, but PEDs or not - recoving from an ACL and having a sports hernia while coming less than 10 yards of a decades old record is pretty nuts.

[HaemishM]

Most likely, but PEDs or not - recoving from an ACL and having a sports hernia while coming less than 10 yards of a decades old record is pretty nuts.

PED ain't going to stop the pain of a sports hernia. Maybe it made him a little stronger and faster, but it sure as fuck didn't make him not feel the fucking pain before, during and after the game. Motherfucker is a beast.

[Ingmar]

Painkillers are PEDs by any sane definition for exactly that reason. 

[HaemishM]

Only not banned as such.