Replacing the Game

One play, two rulings, no pass interference called. The ref who can SEE THE BALL rules no catch by waving his arms over his head (interception/Touchback) and the ref who is further away from the play and can NOT SEE THE BALL walks up and rules TD. Refs make a short trip to the booth (or so we think) and the ruling stands, TD Seattle.

It sounded more like this: The ruling on the court; the player did touch second base, ruling stands 5^th foul for Arizona.

 

Hello 9-1-1 there has been a robbery in Seattle. Russell Wilson just became the first QB in the history of the NFL to throw a game-winning interception. Jennings caught the ball and had possession as he went down to the ground, but the ref ruled it a TD for Tate.

 

Who really reviewed this play? This call will go down as the all time worst NOT top-ten play in the history of sports and COME ON MAN’S!

 

Simultaneous control? Don’t even try to go there replacement ref, you don’t even know what that means yet, clearly.

 

Golden Tate, sorry kid- no one is talking about HOLY HAIL MARY. We are going nuts over your denial and about your pass interference play that somehow wasn’t called.

 

Packers guard, TJ Lang didn’t need all 140 characters to show his emotions on twitter: “Got F-ed by the refs.. Embarassing. Thanks NFL!” followed by “F**k it NFL.. Fine me and use the money to pay the regular refs.”

 

Roger Goodell, you should be so embarrassed that your greed has forced Footlocker employees to regulate the National Football League. Did someone put your balls on the replacement list too, Mr. Goodell?? If you really care about the integrity of this game you will stop this labor strike NOW and make football right again in America.  

 

You the Commish- preach that you will do anything to protect the shield of the NFL and yet, you Mr. Goodell, YOU are letting the debacle of asinine replacements define your league continue. Grow a pair!

 

Every game I’ve watched has been a clear indication that replacement refs have no control and no clue what the F they are doing. Get your ego out of your ass and protect this game that millions of fans live for. Mr. Goodell, are you facebook friends with Sandusky? Its ironic how both of you have a sick way of screwing a lot players and fans.

 

Hell, I’m a Redskins fan and VOLS fan, I know what its like lose, a lot. But watching other teams, good teams, great teams lose because of poor officiating- it really makes me mad.

 

(Sorry mom for my potty mouth- it’s ALL ROGER GOODELL’S FAULT? Yell at him not me.) 

 

And if you needed more proof, here ya go! 

The Third Saturday in September

Special guest Kenny Chesney and Lee Corso picking UT to win

It’s an SEC tradition that on the third Saturday in September that the rivalry between the University of Florida and the University of Tennessee will have a gridiron matchup.

“College Gameday in Knoxville, TN Saturday September 15, 2012”

 

I thought it was a Sports Center text alert joke. College Gameday hasn’t been in Knoxville since 2004 and just about every media source outside of Knoxville hasn’t giving the University of Tennessee any love or respect.

 

The truth is that the University of Tennessee hasn’t been the threat or the powerhouse that it once was. And when it comes to the third Saturday in September, UT hasn’t won since 2004. For the first time since 2007 both Florida (18) and Tennessee (23) have been ranked at kick off.

 

Has UT developed into the program it was once was? Not yet, but we know we are better this year. A fan base that is starving to beat Florida, a week filled with beat Florida festivities and a team preparing for their first and maybe only chance to prove why it’s great to be a Tennessee Vol.

 

I can’t remember the last time UT EVER had this much media attention that didn’t involve Lane Kiffin. ESPN and social media hyped up the game and Vegas gave UT a slight advantage.

 

A packed crowd showed up early for College Gameday and the signs were hilarious. Some of my personal favorites:

“Driskel throws Zima bottles”

“Driskel goes for it on 4^th and jort”

ESPN acronym “Exterminating Swamp People from Neyland”

“Great Jorts said no one ever”

 

 It was a beautiful day for football in Knoxville. Neyland sold out to a sea of orange for more than 102,000 plus the thousands of fans who couldn’t get tickets.

 

It was a great SEC game until the end of third and then it was all Rock Bottom for the VOLS.

 

With 3:27 left in the third, Florida set in wildcat formation ended with 1 play for 80 yards in twelve seconds for a Florida TD by Trey Burton and the game changed. The missed opportunities, turnovers and failure to complete big plays made the VOLS Gator bait.

 

Bray collapsed and Tennessee had no legs. With only 87 rushing yards UT had meek success in the running game while the Gators ran for 336 yards and ran away with their 8^th consecutive win 37-20 on the third Saturday in September.

 

Tennessee fans were pissed, heartbroken and shocked. This was Dooley’s chance to beat a ranked team and he came out with swamp ass.

 

Simply put, we couldn’t finish. We choked in the spotlight on the national stage in what could be the most important game of Dooley’s career at UT. Tennessee got chomped in Knoxville and it hurts.

 

Sometimes I hate that I love UT football so much, it just hurts. It really hurts. But at the end of day, the week, and season UT fans will still be cheering for the team with the belief that one day, the team will love us back. VFL.

Changing History

 

Five starting QB’s were NFL rookies in week one. Indianapolis' Andrew Luck, Miami's Ryan Tannehill, Cleveland's Brandon Weeden and Seattle's Russell Wilson, all four lost their debut game and Washington’s Robert Griffin III won. 

 Here's the Summary:

2012 Rookie	Pass	Total	Rushing				QB
QB Debut	Complete	Yards	Yards	TD	INT	FUM	Rating
RG3	19 of 26	320	42	2	0	0	139.9
Russell Wilson	18 of 34	153	0	1	1	1	62.5
Andrew Luck	23 of 45	309	0	1	3	1	52.9
Ryan Tannenhill	20 of36	219	0	0	3	0	39
Brandon Weeden	12 of 35	118	0	0	4	0	5.1

Tebow who? Jesus was wearing an RG3 jersey on Sunday!

Going into this game the Redskins had a 15-8 all time record against the Saints and winning three of the last five matchups. Shanahan is 3-1 against the Saints and he has a 14-4 record in week one games; the winningest of active head coaches.

We all have heard about bounty-gate in New Orleans, where head Coach Sean Payton has been banned from team activity for one year. Payton’s presence is still visible with the huge banner of his face giving off that scary eyed look that has the caption “Do Your Job”. On Friday the appeals panel reinstated defensive end Will Smith and linebacker Jon Vilma who were suspended for their roles in the bounty scandal. Smith started on Sunday. Vilma was on the sidelines due to off season knee surgery. But that wasn’t enough for the Who Dat nation and I’m sure they will all have nightmares of the Sean Payton stare.

Even with the Redskins history against the Saints and the Saints in franchise mayhem, Vegas still had RG3 and the Skins as the underdog. But in typical Dan Snyder fashion, he managed to give Vegas another reason to hate the Redskins and left most football fans shocked as the Redskins beat the Saints 40-32 in the Superdome. Since Shanahan took over as the Redskins head coach in 2010, this is the first time the team scored 40 points.

RG3 found WR Pierre Garcon in the middle for an 88-yard TD, tying the second-longest scoring pass by a quarterback making his NFL debut and the longest offensive TD for the Skins since 1987. RG3 finished the first half with a perfect 158.3 passer rating; the first time a rookie has done that with 10 or more attempts.

I just hope RG3 isn’t so good that Shanahan decides he needs to shut him down. No pun intended Davey Johnson, no pun intended…

History continued when my neighbor only knocked on my wall twice (their way of telling me to stop hooting and hollering) and the concierge didn’t call me to ask me to tone it down. Clearly, they must not have been home the entire game- I was going nuts! What a turn around for Washington.

Peter King gave the Redskins a 6-10 prediction and most of the “experts” had even less faith. It’s still early, but just knowing that this team can throw, catch AND score is a fundamental breath of fresh air in the Nations Capital. Now, that’s the real change we’ve been waiting for. 

And how about those Foot Locker employees, I mean the replacement refs. I like these guys! For once the Redskins are getting the calls and getting them on the road too!

More history was made on Sunday as Shannon Eastin became the first women to be a line judge in an official regular-season game for the St. Louis-Detroit matchup. This is the first time in eleven years that replacement officials have been called up while the regular officials are locked out. I just wish she wouldn’t have tucked her ponytail under her cap after the national anthem. Girl, you earned your spot, don’t be scared to show off your ponytail! Wear it with pride and know you’re the best looking official in the game.

Yes, week one made the history books, but it’s only one chapter for the 2012 season. The key for Shanahan’s Redskins will be to finish each game. Seeing is believing, and we saw on Sunday that the talent is there- we just have to finish writing the history book one chapter at a time.