This Scoreboard Debacle

[scrock]

The more I think about this the more its getting me upset, its so egregious that i actually had that word pop into my mind. How can the NFL allow the scoreboard to display incorrect information at the possibly the most important time in the game....It shouldnt EVER happen, it shouldnt be on the COACH who is looking to the scoreboard and is being fed the WRONG information. Im not saying the Patriots did it on purpose either

All I'm saying is it is NOT ACCEPTABLE for that to even happen, the NFL needs to address this and place someone in there along with the other guy already doing it, and then someone needs to be behind that guy too...make sure they display the correct downs, yards, time , ETC ETC

I can't believe this isn't more of a story....its offensive man, its just horrible to have human error have that kind of effect on the game in a situation where u can eliminate the chance for human error

In this day and age....the worst

[AsianRice]

1st and 1 kept showing on my screen during 4th quarter....

[jus'_crAzy]

This is a moot point. We can yell and scream all we want, but nothing's gonna change. If we felt rushed we should've called the timeout. The timekeepers didn't know the rules. There were things that both sides could've done to prevent the ultimate outcome. But that's it. There's no debacle.

And I'm really hating how this is being portrayed as a conspiracy by the media. Just shut up! (not you scrock)

[scrock]

[quote name='jus'_crAzy' timestamp='1327507427' post='972500']
This is a moot point. We can yell and scream all we want, but nothing's gonna change. If we felt rushed we should've called the timeout. The timekeepers didn't know the rules. There were things that both sides could've done to prevent the ultimate outcome. But that's it. There's no debacle.

And I'm really hating how this is being portrayed as a conspiracy by the media. Just shut up! (not you scrock)
[/quote]

Thats the point, people think its over...its not over until the NFL changes the rules, they do it every year...how hard is it to display the correct information on a scoreboard? at that high a level of sports and for all that was at stake

[jus'_crAzy]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1327507554' post='972504']
Thats the point, people think its over...its not over until the NFL changes the rules, they do it every year...how hard is it to display the correct information on a scoreboard? at that high a level of sports and for all that was at stake
[/quote]
Yeah, well there's a lot of things the NFL could be doing. Like not making the OT rules become a 3 hour lecture, for instance.

[757RavensFan]

I posted this in another thread,

"I'm not even going to mention the "scoreboard" error. We have players and coaches on the sideline and if they can't differentiate between 3rd and 4th down, they shouldn't be a Raven. Besides...those 2 big yellow sticks (down markers) are kept by the officials."

The officials put their fingers up after every play stating what down it is..the officials maintain the yard/down markers. There's no excuse if any Raven thought it was 3rd down instead of 4th. Every last one of us watching the game knew what down it was, so to think the Ravens players and coaches didn't, just doesn't fly with me.

[scrock]

its still unacceptable, did we lose the game ultimately for other reasons? sure

we had a timeout, sure....and Billy was rushed and so whatever he misses

besides all that....the NFL cant show correct stats on a scoreboard? how many times have u seen guys look at the scoreboard? in sports? they do it all the time

[Purple Nurple]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1327508191' post='972530']
its still unacceptable, did we lose the game ultimately for other reasons? sure

we had a timeout, sure....and Billy was rushed and so whatever he misses

besides all that....the NFL cant show correct stats on a scoreboard? how many times have u seen guys look at the scoreboard? in sports? they do it all the time
[/quote]
And how many times do guys talk into headsets? Your point is ultimately moot. The scoreboard is the last thing they look at unless you're talking about players. There's a bunch of guys out there with ravens shirts with clipboards and pencils and watches, etc. we know what time it is.

[757RavensFan]

[quote name='scrock' timestamp='1327508191' post='972530']
its still unacceptable, did we lose the game ultimately for other reasons? sure

we had a timeout, sure....and Billy was rushed and so whatever he misses

besides all that....the NFL cant show correct stats on a scoreboard? how many times have u seen guys look at the scoreboard? in sports? they do it all the time
[/quote]

The players usually look at the scoreboard for replays.

[Crabcakes&Football]

I wonder why nobody on our sidelines realized this. Billy shouldn't of had to rely on a malfunctioning scoreboard to know what down it was. Someone should have made sure we were prepared.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='AsianRice' timestamp='1327507058' post='972481']
1st and 1 kept showing on my screen during 4th quarter....
[/quote]
It absolutely did. Confused the mess out of me when it happened.

[757RavensFan]

[quote name='Crabcakes&Football' timestamp='1327509477' post='972573']
I wonder why nobody on our sidelines realized this. Billy shouldn't of had to rely on a malfunctioning scoreboard to know what down it was. Someone should have made sure we were prepared.
[/quote]

Everyone knew what down it was. Why do you think the offense came off the field after the failed 3rd down pass?
There's no excuse for anyone on that sideline to not know what down it is, when you have down markers and
coaches. I'm trying to find the article, but I read that they called Billy 6 different times to get on the field.

[757RavensFan]

It's from TMZ so take it w/ a grain of salt. However, it doesn't sound far fetched.

http://www.tmz.com/2012/01/23/billy-cundiff-baltimore-ravens-kicker-distracted-field-goal/

[JO_75]

I'm not going to scream conspiracy but there is the big orange markers with a number on the sidelines that tell you what down it is, so I'm trying to figure out why you look up at the scoreboard when you can just walk down to the sideline judge and see what down it is yourself.

[Gordo52]

It is nerve racking. but Its all over, nothing we can do now though. The last minute of our game was complete chaos. Its like our whole season. 19 weeks just went down the drain in the most dramatic fashion. I know the pats arent much better but atleast we werent against the steelers this time.

[JohnJohnson]

This is not a conspiracy and not why we lost. But it is embarrassing for the NFL to be consistently messing up. I'm pretty sure that Boldin got the first down before he fumbled forward. And the home field advantage with controlling the scoreboard and replay just seems to be a completely unnecessary factor. NFL = Not Fair League, and I'm not saying that because of last game or anything to do with the Ravens. The refs get stuff wrong so often, all the time. Why can't they just focus on getting calls right instead of maintaining their stupid system? God forbid a football game takes 10 more minutes, it's the highest rated TV in the country. If they stopped wasting time with calls that are blatantly obvious and used some common sense, the process usually wouldn't have to take much time.

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Y'all need to read this...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/25/scoreboard-is-operated-by-home-team-but-ravens-still-shouldnt-complain/

[bpytnjr58]

If there was tampering with the scoreboard and it would not surprise me with Bill B...i just hope that it will come back on them at a very critical time of a game and they suffer such a heartbreaking loss as the Ravens did on Sunday...it is over and done but..just sayin it!

[JO_75]

Harbaugh on Scoreboard Gate:

[quote][color=#000000][font=Georgia,]“Any suggestion the wrong down info was a deliberate effort to affect the outcome of the game [/font][/color][url="https://twitter.com/#!/jeffzrebiecsun/status/162290895117488128"]is nonsense[/url][color=#000000][font=Georgia,],” Harbaugh said Wednesday, per Jeff Zrebiec of the [/font][/color][i]Baltimore Sun[/i][color=#000000][font=Georgia,].[/font][/color]


[color=#000000][font=Georgia,] “We [/font][/color][url="https://twitter.com/#!/jeffzrebiecsun/status/162290693618925568"]knew what the down and distance were[/url][color=#000000][font=Georgia,] on our last series,” Harbaugh said. “The scoreboard was not a factor for us.”[/font][/color][/quote]

[url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/25/john-harbaugh-addresses-scoreboardgate/"]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/25/john-harbaugh-addresses-scoreboardgate/[/url]

Good Job John, I'm glad Harbs didn't take the bait by the media to try to create a story about this when it really isn't.

[strngplyr]

The official downs are signaled by the refs and marked on the down markers. The scoreboard is there for the fans, it is not operated by the league and not official.

[Dnyce215]

[quote name='strngplyr' timestamp='1327537712' post='973784']
The official downs are signaled by the refs and marked on the down markers. The scoreboard is there for the fans, it is not operated by the league and not official.
[/quote]
It is for the fans that can't see the markers on the field. And who is to say that the teams dont use the scoreboard? If people on this site crying bout human error who am supposed to trust if I can't trust the ref to get the down right?

[BMOREHAWAII]

Blaming a scoreboard as a possibility that we lost? Come on. There's no conspiracy against us. The players knew what down and where we were, no excuses.

[ravensdfan]

I don't think it's a "debacle" exactly. I think the field markers had the right down and such. It just caused a litle confusion. Hey, Harbs could have taken a time out. Cundiff could have called it himself if he felt rushed. Not like we could have taken the time out into OT anyway. It is what it is and it's easy to say after the fact that he should've/they should've etc.

It just strikes me funny that there is always something fishy going on in Foxboro when the Pats are in danger of losing. Just sayin'.

[Johnfan]

One of my eight year old sons told me last week that he didn't finish an easy Quiz in school because his pencil broke and he couldn't get a sharpened one from one of the two teachers in the room. I didn't buy it. Just sayin'.

[callahan09]

Here's my final assessment of the game and the excuses:

1. I firmly believe that the scoreboard mistake was accidental, not intentional, and that this shouldn't have actually had an effect on the kick if our team was on the ball.

2. I firmly believe it was Cundiff's responsibility to call the timeout if he didn't feel like he had ample time to prepare for the kick, not Harbaugh's responsibility.

3. Cundiff should have made the kick, no matter what, and it's inexcusable that he didn't. There was no issue with a wet ball or ground, no issue with wind, no issue with distance, no issue with the ball being snapped on the right hash mark where Cundiff has had trouble in 2011, no issue with the snap, no issue with the hold... this was a kick where everything should have been routine and simple and Cundiff messed up big time.

4. Joe Flacco's TD pass to Evans was insanely accurate and perfectly timed. It was an elite caliber play, and his receiver failed to secure it. Evans SHOULD HAVE secured the ball, but didn't. Even still, Moore made a fantastic play, he somehow got himself turned around and swatted at that ball at just the last millisecond to prevent the TD. It was not a TD. The foot was not down before the ball was coming loose. The officials got the call right, regardless of whether they should have reviewed it, they would not have overturned it, so the failure to review it was not the reason we lost the game.

5. The only dubious things I can think of are the non-calls on some penalties I saw occur towards Dennis Pitta. The helmet-to-helmet should have been called, and the 3rd down play at the end of the game should have been an illegal contact penalty. The helmet-to-helmet is no big deal for me. The non-call on Moore for illegally contacting Pitta on that final 3rd down play, however... that's inexcusable. That's the one thing from this game that concerns me most. I don't understand how the flag didn't come out on that one.

[strngplyr]

[quote name='Dnyce215' timestamp='1327610324' post='974919']
It is for the fans that can't see the markers on the field. And who is to say that the teams dont use the scoreboard? If people on this site crying bout human error who am supposed to trust if I can't trust the ref to get the down right?
[/quote]

The Refs had the down right, the individual controlling the score board was slow to update all night long, for both teams.

The Refs had the correct down marker on the field and signaled the correct down by hand. Players should be aware of what is happening at all times regardless of what the scoreboard says, if Cundiff was confused, that is his own fault. The entire FG unit was well aware of what down it was because they were all on the field waiting for him.

[strngplyr]

[quote name='callahan09' timestamp='1327681494' post='975720']
5. The only dubious things I can think of are the non-calls on some penalties I saw occur towards Dennis Pitta. The helmet-to-helmet should have been called, and the 3rd down play at the end of the game should have been an illegal contact penalty. The helmet-to-helmet is no big deal for me. The non-call on Moore for illegally contacting Pitta on that final 3rd down play, however... that's inexcusable. That's the one thing from this game that concerns me most. I don't understand how the flag didn't come out on that one.
[/quote]

I'm a Patriot's fan, and I absolutely agree that Moore mauled Pitta on the 3rd down play, 5 years ago that would have been legal, but you're correct, it should have been flagged. That said, plays like that went uncalled for most of the post season, the Refs really let teams play, but if you are going to have the rules in the book, you DO need to enforce them, as nice as it was seeing a relatively "clean" post season. The only truly atrocious game was NYG vs GB where the Refs did everything within their power to ensure GB won that game, and they STILL lost by double digits.

[T3hRaven]

Blaming the score board in hostile territory is the dumbest excuse for not having the right personnel in I've ever seen. If Harbaugh is two stupid to watch the refs, who I'm pretty sure have to signal the down, and is incapable of counting to four he should be fired tonight.

[HarleypsychRN]

[quote name='strngplyr' timestamp='1327537712' post='973784']
The official downs are signaled by the refs and marked on the down markers. The scoreboard is there for the fans, it is not operated by the league and not official.
[/quote]

So it can be wrong? Doesn't make sense.