FanPost

Dolphins hang on to beat the Rams (and Gene Steratore)

Does anyone here remember the last time Miami played Pittsburgh... the infamous goal line fumble involving Roethlisberger and Chris Clemons? The play was blown dead and couldn't be reviewed etc...

Well, you might not be surprised to find out that Gene Steratore , the head official for that game against Pittsburgh, was also officiating the Dolphins-Rams game on Sunday. After the jump I continue to complain about the re-replacement officials.

1. The Overturned Fumble-Reception: Chris Givens caught the ball, planted both feet and turned upfield. This is the definition of a fumble. It would have been ruled a TD had he caught it in the end zone. This was clearly a catch and fumble that was overturned upon further review. The result was an incomplete pass. Remember, the ruling on the field was a fumble so there had to be "indisputable visual evidence" to overturn it. If anyone can find this visual evidence, please post it for me.

2. The Tannehill Backward Pass: Please watch this highlight reel starting at 1:05. Pay special attention to the movement of Tannehill's arm when he is hit. NFL Rules state, "If the passer is attempting to throw a forward pass, but contact by an opponent materially affects him, CAUSING THE BALL TO GO BACKWARD, it is a forward pass, regardless of where the ball strikes the ground, a player, an official or anything else." Maybe I'm wrong, but after watching the replay I don't see how anyone could possibly believe that Tannehill wasn't attempting a forward pass. I guess the question comes down to whether his arm was moving forward before the ball came out.

In my opinion, it's hard to believe that the ball traveled so far just from the momentum of the hit from the defender. I believe it was aided by Tannehill's arm motion.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter if these calls were right or wrong because we won.

Let me know what you think about these calls, or Gene Steratore, or how the officiating is sooooo much better now that the replacement refs are gone... And especially let me know if I am acting like a homer-crybaby.

I'm always open to improving my understanding of the NFL rules.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of The Phinsider's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of The Phinsider writers or editors.