It was a wild finish to the Packers – Saints game last Thursday night. In a matter of two consecutive plays, the dubious A.J. Hawk interference call and the mass stopping of the Saints on the goal line, fans felt the Agony and the Ecstasy of following their team.
For their part, the Packers continued some themes from last season;
- Keeping opposing teams in games with poor special teams play .
- Inability to secure the win with a time-wasting drive late in games.
- Depending on the defense to come up with a big play at the end to win the game.
As they also did late last season, the Green Bay Packers toyed with the emotions of their fans. Fans went from feeling devastated, as the Saints were handed an opportunity to score and eventually tie the game with zero seconds on the clock, to euphoric, as the Packers stopped the Saints on the goal line. All in a matter of 2 plays.
Here is that amazing two-play sequence. Remember what it felt like at the time and enjoy.
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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I have watched that replay two dozen times!
IF, that is IF A.J. Hawk committed pass interference, I don’t see it, but so be it. It was still one hell of a play!
And yes, good old McCarthy conservatism at the end of the game, cut it out Mike, stick a dagger in their hearts! Bury them!
The only POSSIBLE explanation, and I can’t really tell from any of the replays, is that Hawk nudged him with his leg/knee/thigh/hip as he was jumping over Sproles. Certainly, he cleared Sproles without any contact there. The ref thre the flag immediately – only thing i can think of, but I just don’t see it.
That’s what I think it is. Start at :46. Sproles’ body it completely upright, perpendicular to the endzone line. By :48, it seems like Sproles’ body is bending bc Hawks’ knee is at his shoulder blade. That’s certainly how it would look from the ref who called it. I think there’s enough contact there to warrant a penalty flag unless we can get another angle that would show space between Hawk’s knee and Sproles’ back and that Sproles is actually bending to adjust to the ball.
If you watched the games over the weekend, you would have noted that the officials must have been locked out too. If this keeps up it will be a year of frustration. Time for Goodell to set up remedial Zebra School.
I note this in my upcoming article, but I don’t think it’s quite a fair statement to say the team had to “depend on the defense” again at the end of the game.
If the offense putting together 5 TD’s plus a kick return TD isn’t enough, then I don’t know what else the defense needs. Quite frankly, they made their own bed in that game, not the offense.
(Though yes, the offense certainly could have taken some more time off the clock at the end. No argument there.)
Inability to get a first down late to prevent giving the ball back is what I was mostly referring to.
Don’t you just love refs? the league seriously ought to do a better job of holding them accountable. A small fine comes to mind…
Make that a large fine and I’m with you.
That was an extremely athletic play by Hawk, but I can’t tell if Sproles was hunched over to make a safer target or if it was due to contact. The ref was right behind Hawk, which doesn’t seem to be the best angle to really see it.
The back judge must have played the points in Vegas.
Ref must’ve thought Hawks knocked Sproles down when he lunged-disagree with anybody who says a flag was deserved, Hawks made a great play. If they could “see” an interference flag here, why couldn’t they see Crabtree clearly being held in middle of field, no one else around him except the offending opponent, when Sproles made the punt return TD. With Crabtree being held, it left only punter Masthay as the last defender. Refs can’t catch all the infractions but when in doubt don’t throw the flag as in Hawks’ case.
100% with you on that!