Originally posted by bpg4980:
No. It's just bad luck. There are bad calls, bad rules, and bad enforcement of those rules all the time. We got screwed much worse on the biggest stage in the SB - with blatant double hold in the middle of the field on the 108 yard kick return, the Crabtree non-call, and Ed Reed being clearly offsides on the 2 pt conversion that would have allowed us to tie the game with a FG instead of going for it on 4th and goal with the Crabtree non-call. Still, I don't believe for a second the NFL or officials have any bias. They just screw up too much, and teams need to be able to challenge game changing calls like PI and personal fouls where possession is changed. Maybe just one a game so it's not excessive. But if you want to challenge that instead of a guy's feet being in bounds or whatever, that should be your call. The reason there needs to be a way to get a ball call correct is there are only 16 games in football. You could argue that one regular season basketball/baseball/hockey game doesn't mean that much. But in football one game is OFTEN the difference in home field, making the playoffs etc. We got screwed and we have been getting screwed too much recently, but I haven't ever felt like there is a bias. If the NFL or even one officials ever got caught rigging games or showing bias there would be too big of a price to pay to risk all the fans that felt like they couldn't believe what they saw was legit. Although the rules are getting so soft they are surely losing some fans already.
I am mad about the Brooks call/rule and totally disagree with it. Still, we have to find a way to win that game even with the bad call. Because in any game where you are the beneficiary of the worst rule in the history of sports, you have to be able to find a way to win. The fumble out of the end zone rule where the team that fumbles automatically loses possession and nearly 20 yards of field position without the opponent even recovering the ball is so beyond stupid and unfair. It is completely laughable that rule hasn't been changed. If you wanted to make the fumbling team pay, make the ball go back to the 20 and include a loss of the down. Even that would be totally ridiculous. But why do we get the ball and 20 yards when when NO fumbles and we don't recover? Because they didn't recover either? A fumble out of bounds carries no penalty anywhere else on the field. As bad of enforcement of the rule as the Brooks call was, at least there is some kind of reason for that call as it helps protect QB's, the NFL's biggest draws. The touchback rule makes no sense whatsoever.
If this was the way it was, Jerry Rice's fumble on the 49ers opening possession of the '86 divisional playoff game versus the Giants would have retained the ball to the offense instead of a touchback for the Giants (who drove down the field for a TD with lots of momentum compared to their first drive).
As it was, we lose 49-3 but I tend to feel that momentum shifts in huge games can be pretty crazy.
Had Kaepernick not been picked off on the goal line against the Hawks on the 2nd drive, I'd imagine the game would have went a lot differently.
So while I tend to agree with what you're saying about punishing the defense in such a scenario, you'd have to do the same for an offensive player doing the same thing.