Archives for November 2016

'“They made sure they made it unappealable because they said they can’t hear the whistle on the film,” Sherman said. “And they said I hit him after the whistle, which was not true. But you can’t really appeal something that is ‘he said, she said.”’'

'"My son is too young to understand it, but I don't shield myself from it," Sherman said when asked if he shielded his family from things like Kaela Carpenter's tweet. "I'm sure if she came up and tried to execute the actions that she said she would, my family would have something to say about that."'

'Sherman was flagged for offsides but not for unnecessary roughness on the play, though the NFL’s head of officiating, Dean Blandino, said after the game that he should have been. Referee Walt Anderson’s explanation for why Sherman wasn’t penalized for unnecessary roughness was that he may not have been aware that officials were trying to blow the play dead, which would be entirely possible in the absence of a whistle before the collision.'

'Sherman did exactly one thing wrong on the play: He jumped offsides. He jumped egregiously offsides (and yes, that word is ONLY to be used in cases of officiating malpractice), but that in and of itself doesn’t signal a stop to the play. In fact, officials are instructed to let the play continue unless a defender gains such an advantage by jumping offsides that he’s going to get a free shot at an opponent. Usually that’s the quarterback. In this case it was a kicker. There’s even a term for that: unabated. And like egregious, unabated is one of those words that’s almost never used except with regard to football officiating.'

'"People don't understand free play rules. The only reason people understand them to any degree because there are so many of them nowadays with (Aaron Rodgers) and guys like that and they don't realize the plays aren't called dead until the refs call it dead," Sherman said. "And usually when the quarterback sees the rusher coming they spike the ball, the play is over. That's usually how it goes. If nobody is coming, they get a free play, they take a shot at the end zone. We've won games like that, we've thrown touchdown passes. But when the other team keeps playing, you keep playing."'

'"I tried to block the kick," Sherman said following the game. "I went for the ball, the holder still had it. I didn't hear a whistle. They say play until the blow of the whistle. So I went and tried to block the kick and I got it. I think I got a piece of it and somehow the kicker kept going. I assumed he was going to stop when he saw me going for the ball but he didn't."'

'Sherman said he was trying to block the kick. He got his hand on the football but also took Carpenter out on the play. NFL senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino said Sherman should have been penalized for unnecessary roughness, but the officials did not flag him during the game.'

'This year, more passes of half the football field have already gone against the Bills in just over half their games played. You can bet their future opponents have taken notice and will continue to attack them with big passes until their defense proves it can stop it.'

'Meanwhile, according to Pro Football Talk and other media outlets, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has reportedly been fined just over $9,000 for hitting Carpenter join the play in which roughing was not called on the field.'

'Sherman has maintained that he did nothing wrong on the play, and said that he never heard the whistle. When he went offsides before the field goal attempt, Sherman ran in, touched the ball with his hand, and couldn't avoid Carpenter as he went through the motion.'

'If Woods was dealing with a foot injury, he certainly didn’t show the effects of it on Monday night. Against New England, he was a bit slower in and out of his breaks, which made him essentially a non-factor. In Seattle, Woods kept defenders guessing with his route running, which is the most underrated part of his game. It helped him keep defenders way off and he gained separation, which gave Tyrod Taylor a big enough window to get him the ball.'

'Looking forward: It’ll be a long flight home for Rex and Co. and an even longer bye week. These are the kind of losses that sink a season.'

'I think the schedule — with three winnable home games in December — gives them the ability to avoid 7-9, assuming they can steal a game or two they aren't expected to win. However, I do think that on the way to 4-5, they've probably gotten themselves into too much tie-breaker trouble to get a wild-card playoff spot.'

'After receiving considerable backlash that her tweet carried heavy racist overtones, this was what she tweeted Wednesday morning…'.

'Here is what Bills players had to say about the election on social media. Tweets are in chronological order.'