[Pats and Sox]

Originally Posted by RAMMAN68

What ever makes you sleep at night. There were ALOT of calls going the Pats way.

Could you kindly demonstrate any variance from the normal number of missed calls?

So the refs made it up on the spot?
That tuck call was a bust and ALL Pat fans know it.

Uh, no they didn't make anything up on the spot. Once again:

Rule 3 (“Definitions”), Section 21 (“Pass and Passer”), Article 2, Note 2 of the NFL Rule Book:

"When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his hand starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if a player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble."

The NFL Digest of Rules:

"When a passer is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional movement forward of his arm starts a forward pass. If a defensive player contacts the passer or the ball after forward movement begins, and the ball leaves the passer’s hand, a forward pass is ruled, regardless of where the ball strikes the ground or a player."

Further, what Raiders fans conveniently ignore (along with the hysterical types desperately seeking to prove they were cheated) is that if there was any missed call in that Pats/Raiders game, it was Charles Woodson's illegal shot to Brady's head in the midst of the tuck play. From RamTime's site, please observe Woodson's arm strike Brady's helmet:



Woodson's head slap should have been a 15-yard penalty, which had the refs made the right call there, would have negated any conversation about the tuck.

What many Pats fans agree on is that the rule offers far too much latitude to the QB to avoid a fumble. What anyone who reads the rules will concede, if they are the slightest bit honest, is that while the rule itself may need revision, it was correctly called in the AFC Divisional Championship.