SOUR GRAPES

While I would agree that Moreno’s fumble should have been overturned. I do see how the call on the feild was a fumble – that was my first thought as well. The replay did give evidence that the ball was hit after it broke the plane – but even as a hard core fan I cannot say that the evidence was difinative. The replay ref could see enough to reverse the call, but the standard is clear and convincing – it was his determination that some doubt remained which means the call of the feild should control.

NFL refs have taken something from the college system and say that the replay “confirmed” the call on the field. Obviously, it does at times, but that’s bogus, particularly in the case of the Moreno fumble. The replay didn’t confirm anything.

Something about saying that just bothers me. It’s like they’re admitting that they needed assurance. I’d rather have them say that the call on the field stands and know that there just wasn’t sufficient evidence to overturn it than to hear that it is “confirmed” when it clearly wasn’t. It just really bothers me.

The officiating has been one sided against Denver the last few weeks.

That said, I’d be a hell of a lot more angry if I felt officiating cost us any of those games. It didn’t. We ultimately lost because we were smoked by a better team or allowed a 4th and 20 fake FG for TD.

Denver lost all four games more so than the refs.

the refs are pretty far down that list. None of those calls would have made up 29 points (or more, SD took it easy the second half, they could have been MUCH more aggressive). Maybe Mcdaniels should keep his mouth shut and act like he’s coached a game before. For a self-professed Belichick disciple, it was pretty dumb to engage the enemy right before battle. I doubt you would ever see Bill do that.

Our sloppy play has lost the games, not the refs.

Somehow the “bad calls” seem to be happening at a point as Denver is ready to make a strong momentum shift, IE the fumble (only 2 camera views in a game hyped as a “division playoff”???) and the OBVIOUS low hit on the QB.
That said we better get back to bringing some creative heat from the front 7 both run and pass blitzing Thursday and do whatever it takes to hold off the NYG defensive line penetrating our backfield. The guys up front should be p’d off for being beaten and humiliated much more so than Marshall, Moreno, McD, or even Mike Nolan.

You just can’t blame the referees. Each game is like a binomial tree, with each outcome altering the course of events irrevocably. You can’t argue that a bad call resulted in a loss when that call was a product of the plays before it. I.E. if the team sets up a third and short, they can run the ball, rather than being forced on third and long to throw the ball thereby exposing their quarterback to “possible” roughing the passer calls. Execution will always mitigate refereeing.

Same concept would support a few critical actions, IE taking a TD or 2 away early on, would suggest that bad calls will normally mitigate a teams ability to win. Neither execution nor bad calls could EVER not impact the outcome of a game. :)

Most notably Merriman going low on Orton well after the ball was gone. Someone should have taken out that mf’ers knees after that play. But the Broncos got their arses handed to them. Badly. 20 more blown calls in their favor wouldn’t have made a difference.