Officiating?!!!

The officials allowed this game to get out of control. They had early opportunities to establish a level playing field. On the Steelers first drive, I noticed at least five penalties that should have been called against the Bengals. The officials would intervene at the end of a scuffle. They probably said something to the effect of 'let's play nice boys'. Then they threw some flags against the Steelers for 15 yards for far less egregious penalties. As the game wore on, there became a serious schism between what got flagged against each team. The Steelers were kept in check by both Tomlin and the officials. The Bengals increasingly escalated their viciousness. Burfict and Pacman both seemed to feel 'victimized' by the calls against them at the end of the game, when in fact their behavior was so egregious that they should have both been ejected from the game. This is the manner in which those enforcing the rules either contribute to a balanced game or they ESCALATE the violence. Last night's crew escalated the violence by increasing the schism between the two teams with regards to rule enforcement.

Kudos to Ben and Tomlin for their leadership with regards to keeping emotion in check and not playing out of control. The deciding factor in this game ultimately came down to that.

 

I like old school football, so I had no problem with how it was officiated, especially when it allowed the Bengals to screw it up.

 

I like old school football too. My issue is not with hard hits. Two issues I do have are: 1. vicious hits meant to injure another player and 2. officiating which is lopsided and thus tends to escalate the violence as opposed to maintaining a level playing field. Both issues were on FULL display during this game.

 

Penalties:

Steelers were 10 /142

Bengirls 8/79

So, no way should they be complaining about officiating!

 

It's mind blowing to me that they stuck the same crew on that game as the last meeting! Doing the same thing twice and expecting different results is asinine. It seriously comes across as though the NFL wanted the game to get out of hand and/or wanted lopsided officials.

 

And during the first 59 minutes and 42 seconds, the Bengals only had 6 penalties for 49 yards. Go figure. Certainly biased officiating against the Bengals (sarcasm).

 

2/30 of that was their bs shenanigans at the very end. I think that puts an even better perspective on it. The teams were playing with different sets of rules last night.

 

What got me still steamed is when Foster got the 15 yard penalty for pushing Burfict, after Burfict was grinding on Fosters toes with his cleats.

 

Case in point. Lopsided officiating which escalates violence in the game. Burfict kept getting away with that crap and that's WHY he continued to escalate. Why not, no consequences.

 

There was a consequence, it cost them the game.

 

It was one of those games where both sides are going to complain the officials are calling for the other team.

Even Marvin Lewis was doing it post-game, claiming the Burfict hit wasn't a penalty if the Bernard/Shazier tackle wasn't (ignoring the basic principle of tackling a runner versus decimating a defenceless receiver. Good one, coach).

What that tells me is the officials weren't being consistent, and weren't getting a hand on things. The big hits are good in general; the extra stuff, guys running on to the field, off-field stuff happening - that all made the officials look bad.

 

With regards to officiating. Why was a flag thrown on a play that didn't happen? I'm talking about Gay's fumble return for a score. The touchdown didn't stand but the penalty did.

 

For ****s and giggles I've been looking at some Bengals forums. They are DETERMINED that the NFL rigged the game, that the Steelers were "headhunting" all day and that numerous calls were missed against us.

Oh, and Burfict was getting picked on all night and hit after each play, so was entirely justified in his actions.

 

The officials blew he whistle before he scored the TD (because ey had ruled no fumble on the field)...... all they can do was give us the ball, which they did. I don't recall having issue with any football calls, and no calls.

 

Now the missed call on burflict trying to punch chick.... He should have been ejected early in the 4th.

 

That's why I find it so ridiculous and pathetic when people on here complain about that very thing. Every single game, both sets of fans are complaining that the refs screwed them and the NFL rigged the game. It's so stupid to even suggest such a thing. I honestly think such people should punch themselves in the face for being so god damn stupid. The refs are not out to get us and neither is the NFL. Conspiracy theories are almost always stupid and this one is no exception.

The refs are human, so you can forget about consistency, it's not going to happen. Never has, never will. Just look at the strike zone in baseball for proof of that. The human element is part of reffing

 

I thought that the pass interference call on the 2 yard line was total BS, let them in the game and the ref's didn't use the same standards on Brown a few times.

 

How was it BS?

 

In the heat of the moment, I can be as conspiratorial as the rest of them. It's the adrenaline of the game, and why crowds at football games aren't like ones at tennis games.

But in the cold light of day, I agree with you completely - once the game is over, talk of ref bias is pure bull****, and looks pathetic. Seeing Lewis do it makes him look weak.

 

Question, why wasn't there a delay of game penalty when Burfict and a couple of other Bengals run into the tunnel after his interception of Jones pass?

 

I thought it should be an unsportmanlike conduct penalty.

 

You are bang on..... I felt the same way when told it would be the same officials ! How the f_ck does Burrrrrrrfict not get a delay of game penalty on his " classic " run for the locker room after his interception ?? In hindsight, he should have kept going and not come back !! When Shazier made the big hit earlier in the game, although it was a " legal " hit, I still did not like it and never will. I would still like to see players on the field than not by hits like that. That said, no...it did not warrant a penalty cause it was a football play, the catch was made and he turned around after 2 or 3 steps and headed up-field for more yards only to be met by Shaziers nasty helmet to helmet hit..( legal or not, who the heck knows anymore )

...and this BS of turning things around as an excuse as to why Jones was also called for unsportsmanlike, he " pushed " an official.... you cannot do that, you get tossed for that
"usually" ..... but the excuse that Porter was on the field, albeit tending to Brown to check on his status.... we all know Porter was going to say something, what member of the team or coaching staff wouldn't say something to an opposing player... I'm sure it's happened a few time and still does.... BUT nothing said about their coaching/training staff running on the field and confronting Shazier and the Steeler's players after Shaziers hit....??

They did the same thing......

but we all know that the BUNGLES are above the law ...right??

We get conflicting reports on hits like Shaziers on the broadcast, they had mentioned it was a legal play and a fumble....

On the NFL network, they're saying that Shazier could have been called for hitting with the crown of his helmet....

 

No, the officials did not blow the whistle before he scored the touchdown, the play was still alive. The official in the end zone signaled touchdown. There was no question on when the play was dead or when the whistle was blown. The question was, why was a penalty called for celebration, when in reality there was no touchdown. If there is no touchdown, there is no celebration.

 

Did it end up being the exact same crew? The NFL made a big deal about changes for the playoffs the last few weeks, and I think it was mentioned multiple times yesterday that it wasn't the traditional crews, but rather the rockstars. Maybe that was for the early game though?

 

When they did not eject burfict for running on the field to shove one of the steelers, then run back to the bench, I was kind of figuring it was going to get out of control soon.