This might seem like the most obvious headline in the history of the world, but it gets more interesting. Mike Carey, the referee in charge of the Super Bowl this year, had some things to say about the game. For the record, Mike Carey is probably my favorite ref in the NFL. He explains his rulings better than anyone else. If you are a Giants fan today, he is probably your favorite NFL ref too.
Carey had this to say regarding the biggest play of the Super Bowl where Eli Manning was nearly sacked on the play that he ended up completing an impossible pass to David Tyree for a first down.
(From the NY Post)
“I anticipated a sack,” said Carey, a veteran of 18 NFL seasons who became the first black Super Bowl referee. “I didn’t assume that was going to happen, but rarely do you see a quarterback escape when he’s got that much weight on his back and being dragged by two or three guys who had a hold of him. I could see his head was just straight ahead. He was trying to break free with desperation. Then all of a sudden he spun out and then he started to come right back at me.”
Granted, even with a sack on that play it would have been fourth down and the Giants surely would have gone for it, but still. With all the other close plays like the one where Asante Samuel almost had the interception, this is just another example of how fine the line can be between winning and losing in the NFL. It was THAT close.
I am sure some New England fans aren’t happy that the play wasn’t blown dead, but I think Carey made the right (non) call there. It is nice to know that the guy who was working the Super Bowl wasn’t too whistle-happy. There is nothing worse than when a ref blows a play dead that should have resulted in either a change of possession like the dreaded “down by contact” before a fumble. I would hate to have had the league’s biggest game decided by a referee’s whistle rather than the play on the field.
I always thought that when an interior lineman (Pats #71) tackles a defensive player, it is a penalty call of holding. Did someone tell him that he would never be called for it — except on a kick-off — since he was taking someone down to the ground on many plays. Doug Dieken was probably very proud of him.
I agree. I am a fan of referees who allow the game to be played without blowing the whistle on every snap. There are always penalties, but this example goes to show us what kind of plays can be made if players are allowed to compete without quick whistles and flags.
Yeah, I hated the outcome but thought that play was fine. Carey’s excellent and for the most part called a great game. Football is so much better when they let the teams play.