From: hammond@grizzly.scd.ucar.edu (Steve Hammond)
Subject: Re: Bills/Oilers: Home field edge?
Organization: NCAR/UCAR
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 23:54:09 GMT

In article <sterbenc-040193103116@150.130.23.185>, sterbenc@ivhs.mot.com (Joe Sterbenc) writes:
> To write off the 18-on-11 advantage Buffalo enjoyed during the second half
> yesterday as home field advantage is an insult to home fields everywhere.
> 
> The referees gave Buffalo a BIG headstart on their historic comeback,
> helped
> it along with less consequential but still questionable calls, and
> then handed them the game in overtime.
> 
> To wit:
> 
> 1) Beebe holds up the ball on an out to show he successfully skimmed it off
> the turf. Jerry Grey cannily pokes it out of his hands and falls on it. I
> still don't know if the ref incorrectly called Beebe down by contact, or if
> this was one of the infamous "the whistle blew" cases. 
> 

He was down, made no attempt to get up, and the ref blew the whistle to
stop the play before Grey knocks it loose.  The whistle blew, play done.

> 2) Same series, Beebe makes the out-then-in TD catch. Therefore the Bills
> were given the undeserved TD twice.

The refs blew it.  Is this a reviewable play under instant (hah) replay
of old?

> 3) I know that the Oilers are generally populated by attitude cases. But,
> on
> more than one occasion, Buffalo players walked up to jawing sessions after
> plays and started throwing punches - deserving ejection - and not a single
> flag was thrown. One was the reserve LB on kickoff coverage who followed up
> an uncalled late hit by taking a swing at the returner. The other, to my
> surprise, was my Illini Henry Jones, who appeared to have a Vietnam
> flashback in the early 4th quarter. No flag there either.
> 
> 4) Mid 4th quarter - Oilers' missed FG drive. Bomb to Jeffires is broken up
> by groundhogging him without ever looking for the ball. No flag.

It was good coverage.  It seems more like sour grapes.

> 5) Talley's adorable hug in OT. To overlook that is awarding the game to 
> Buffalo. Nobody deserves that kind of homefield advantage.

The receiver was within five yards of the line of scrimmage and there was
legal contact, the two did get tangled up but I wouldn't jump and say
it was an "adorable hug".  A questionable call but something that I
can understand.

> 6) This one may be my misperception, but I thought the tackle on the Bills
> DB was maybe a 5-yard facemask penalty, maybe not. Nobody actually even
> touched his mask, but the tackler had two or three fingers inside his
> helmet from the bottom. To call the 15 and start the Bills in FG range
> added insult
> to insult to insult to insult to mortal injury.

His head was pretty well twisted around and no attempt was made to
let go.  It's a judgement call.

> The only call I saw that went the Oiler's way all half was the roughing
> call
> on Bruce Smith. I didn't think this was a blatant bad call, but I wouldn't
> have made it - it neatly evened up the Jeffires non-PI in my opinion.

I honestly think that Bruce did not see the ball released.  I looked at
the play and the replays again and I think his vision was restricted
by the offensive blocker.  

> By the way, this game confimed my sneaking suspicion that Christensen (sp?)
> is the best announcer NBC has. He was terrific all day long, with one slip
> when he and Charlie got a bit schmaltzy before the OT started.

Christensen is good but I think he gets a little full of himself and smug
at times.  But hey, who doesn't???

    Steve H.

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