Week 13: Bears @ Vikings

[ImTellinTim]

Quote: Originally Posted by skywalkah

Fair enough. I said they should have ran it, but I guess I don't feel as strongly about the call as some. Not at all surprised they end up losing this one, though, so maybe that's part of it. Stats aside, I trust Gould more than not in that situation

I'm sure they would have just run into a brick wall on 2nd down because that's what always happens. NFL coaches are dinosaurs. But ****. At least there is a chance to gain yards.

Even kicking on 3rd down is a bit silly because I don't even remember the last time Patrick Mannelly made such a bad snap that the entire FG broke down.

I just get so annoyed when coaches willingly give up possession when it doesn't make sense before they are forced to when the game is on the line. Like Atlanta last week.

[skywalkah]

I definitely don't disagree that they should have ran it, and I asked if they have zero confidence in that situation already. No penalty, bobbled hand-off, fumble etc etc

Robbie Gould was perfect going into today on field goals from 40-49 (5-5) for the season and 85% over the last two years if my stats are correct so I do like his chances but, again, I don't disagree that it was a bad call in hindsight

[ImTellinTim]

Now, getting past the missed FG, there is no reason this team should have lost this game. When you can't manage to put together a full game against a bad team, this is what happens. The rush defense is pathetic. I get that there are a lot of injuries, but the injury excuse is for other teams to whine about. When you can't even coach your players to properly stay in their gaps, there is something wrong.

And when your offense includes Marshall, Jeffery, Forte, Bennett, and a good O-line, you better find a way to score more than 20 against a bad defense. They can put up all the stats they want comparing McCown to Cutler, but Cutler makes the few plays in this game that lead to more points. No question about that.

And to make it clear, I'm not whining about Cutler being injured with that last statement. I'm just saying that there isn't a quarterback controversy in Chicago once Cutler is healthy. As much as the media wants to try and drum one up.

[mKoz26]

There was a common sentiment earlier this season that Trestman was a "moneyball", advanced-metric kind of a guy. He made a call a few weeks ago and then defended it in his press conference by saying the percentages lined up or whatever. I think it was against Baltimore.

Don't be fooled by that. His decision making is piss-poor. Kicking a field goal on 2nd or 3rd down is the most ridiculous shared strategy in the NFL. The odds of a fumbled snap are astronomically low . The potential yards make a significant difference on medium to long range field goals.

So Trestman (and of course Mel Tucker) clearly lost us the game. However...

The referees in this game were absolutely, inexcusably terrible and should face league discipline. Egos everywhere. First of all, high-fiving a referee should be avoided. Players shouldn't be interacting with referees. Nor should coaches outside of game situations. The referees absolutely must be impartial when calling a game.

So that's inexcusable. But the two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were entirely inconceivable. It's very clear that Chris Cook accidentally contacted the ref while signaling that the pass was incomplete. It's also clear that, if anything, the Bostic flag should have been thrown on Carlson for pushing Bostic off of him by the facemask. That taunting call was as questionable as they come. These are grown men. I don't even think Carlson should have been called, but he physically contacted Bostic while Bostic simply looked (and presumably spoke) at him. That call decides the game if the fullback doesn't drop the pass on the following play! Decides the game!

Inexcusable. Then, as if that weren't bad enough, the flag that was picked up on the Jared Allen hit? That hit was after the whistle. If we're actually trying to protect players, late hits should have much less leeway than ****ING TAUNTING.

Terrible. I hate watching these Bears, and they didn't deserve to win, but the referees were the stars of this one and for all the wrong reasons.

Suspensions are justifiable for whichever referees were involved in the Cook and Bostic calls. These guys must have the strongest union in the country (and we saw that last year).

[Steven78]

The refereeing in this league us absolutely ruining games every single week.

[gopher_guy]

Alshon Jeffery was fantastic today. I'm sure he was licking his chops all week knowing that he would be going up against Chris Cook. His 2nd TD was a crazy good catch, he made it look a lot easier than it was.

[gopher_guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Steven78

The refereeing in this league us absolutely ruining games every single week.

What specifically are you referring to?

[Aggies7]

Quote: Originally Posted by ImTellinTim

72.7% 40-49 in his career. 90.5% 30-39 in his career. 100% 20-29 in his career. I'd try to pick up the extra 10 yards in 2 plays myself (and hell, who knows, maybe even 20!). But what do I know? I'm just some dude on a message board.

You beat me to those stats. Went looking but wife needed help with laundry first.

I agree get the extra yards. As I said before I am fine with kicking on 3rd but 2nd is too early for my liking.