Pass interference!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Comrade Ram]

The ball was uncatchable, the receiver was running away from the ball, then he turns around and runs into atogwe and boom!!!!!!! Pass interference?????????????????????

[bruce4life]

exactly so stupid... Rams can't catch a break on the Road..

[THoltDaBest81]

I'm actually not mad at that play, i'm mad at when we literally gave them a first down on 4th and 18. No excuses for that one period.

[abram86]

I'm so mad I'm punching holes in my wall lol. I saw the receiver running in opposite direction of the ball and tried to turn around and ran into Atogwe, I mean can we get a Dang break? Why would them idiot refs call passing interference?

[LA Rammer]

get me that ref's address pay him a little visit

[Slopcounts]

I'm actually not mad at that play, i'm mad at when we literally gave them a first down on 4th and 18. No excuses for that one period.

There's a lot about this game that was frustrating, the garbage call at the end. The 3 and forever to score. Then letting gore finally run the ball and take over in overtime. I do still have hope and it's games like these that make me crazy on sunday, but it's been a long time since I can even get so worked up over a game. I'll give credit, the niners are a team on the upswing.

[robot]

I would say 99.9% of who is watching the game agree that it was not a PI. I don't remember who called it but the NFL needs to revamp the part time referees, take away the NFL ref union and bring in some quality ones

[robot]

I'm actually not mad at that play, i'm mad at when we literally gave them a first down on 4th and 18. No excuses for that one period.

That was made because the refs did not see the obvious holding on the right DT.

[JFMose]

As much as I say that we've had so many chances...I can't let this PI call go....it's UN CATCH ABLE.....the league will not notice this either....

[THoltDaBest81]

I would say 99.9% of who is watching the game agree that it was not a PI. I don't remember who called it but the NFL needs to revamp the part time referees, take away the NFL ref union and bring in some quality ones

If i'm not mistaken I believe it was Ed Hochuli... and we all know his background so yea.

[JFMose]

After watching several highlights again (man that hurt)...it was not a pass interference. Unless Walker was doing a post route...then it was...but it clearly wasn't.

[Nick]

Here is what the NFL says from its Rules Digest regarding defensive pass interference...

Actions that constitute defensive pass interference include but are not limited to:

(a) Contact by a defender who is not playing the ball and such contact restricts the receiver’s opportunity to make the catch.

(b) Playing through the back of a receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball.

(c) Grabbing a receiver’s arm(s) in such a manner that restricts his opportunity to catch a pass.

(d) Extending an arm across the body of a receiver thus restricting his ability to catch a pass, regardless of whether the defender is playing the ball.

(e) Cutting off the path of a receiver by making contact with him without playing the ball.

(f) Hooking a receiver in an attempt to get to the ball in such a manner that it causes the receiver’s body to turn prior to the ball arriving.

From the limited angles I've seen when trying to rewatch this video, it appears as if OJ Atogwe is playing the ball. His head is turned to look at the pass, which is one of the reasons he runs into Walker whenever the tight ends tries to reverse field to move towards the errant pass. A or E would apply if Atogwe wasn't looking, but it appears that he is.

Actions that do not constitute pass interference include but are not limited to:

(a) Incidental contact by a defender’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball, or neither player is looking for the ball. If there is any question whether contact is incidental, the ruling shall be no interference.

(b) Inadvertent tangling of feet when both players are playing the ball or neither player is playing the ball.

(c) Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the pass is clearly uncatchable by the involved players.

(d) Laying a hand on a receiver that does not restrict the receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball.

(e) Contact by a defender who has gained position on a receiver in an attempt to catch the ball.

I've emphasized two areas that I think come into play here. It's very questionable whether the ball was even catchable to begin with, so I think (C) becomes a factor.

But I go back to (A) for this - it's pretty clear that Atogwe did not intentionally interfere with the receiver, but rather contact came about because Smith's pass was so off target and Walker reversed direction and was as responsible if not more responsible for the hit than Atogwe was.

To me, this was incidental contact based on the throw being so off target. But Ed Hochuli simply saw Walker go down, and threw the flag without giving it much thought. It'll be interesting to see if and how the NFL addresses this. If you say this is legitimate pass interference, then I wouldn't be shocked to see some teams intentionally try to throw, say, to an in route rather than an out route and have the receiver initiate contact in this manner. But if they say it was a mistake, you're essentially saying you set the ***** up for the win with a 22-yard play on third down to keep their overtime drive alive.

[AvengerRam]

It was a bad call. I've watched it several times, and there's no way to describe it other than a bad call.

What bugs me is the nagging thought that it was called, to some degree, to "make up" for the Niners' TDs that were called back (even though those were all legitimate and correct penalty calls).

[r8rh8rmike]

This call was a no-brainer, it should have been discussed by the officials, with the flag being picked up and no penalty. Instead, the Hochuli group without hesitation, made a knee-jerk call without ever taking the time to make sure they got it right. You'd think he would have learned from the Chargers/Broncos debaucle back in 2008 where he completely blew a fumble call, costing the Chargers the game, then consequently receiving hundreds of angry e-mails.

[laram0]

This call was a no-brainer, it should have been discussed by the officials, with the flag being picked up and no penalty. Instead, the Hochuli group without hesitation, made a knee-jerk call without ever taking the time to make sure they got it right. You'd think he would have learned from the Chargers/Broncos debaucle back in 2008 where he completely blew a fumble call, costing the Chargers the game, then consequently receiving hundreds of angry e-mails.

Which official threw the flag?

It all happened so fast I couldn't tell who threw it.

They blew this call for sure......Does anyone know the e-mail I can send my angry complaint to?