:chuckle:
Nick, I'm a Pats fan. I saw this live and have seen it plenty of times over the years...and I doubt I'll ever forget it.
After the replay the referee said his arm is coming forward, and that makes it an incomplete pass.
Coleman clarified what he said later: the call was correct, but his wording on-field wasn't. The
ball wasn't moving forward at the time Brady was smashed, but his
arm already had. What wasn't disputed was that Brady had moved his throwing hand (and ball) forward. As written (and, frankly, I think the rule's fairly absurd), what he did was attempt a pass: "
Any intentional forward movement" is the language of the rule, and that's what technically constitutes a pass.
Nobody heard of it before, yet that play has happened many times before.
It'd been on the books for two years. I figure it must've been called in college games, but I don't know if it had ever been enforced in the NFL prior to this game. I do know it's been called subsequently.
But because Al Davis was a jerk, they had it out for him.
I see, so all the sudden this a league or officials (or both) conspiracy? Remember, this call didn't lose the game for Oakland. Vinatieri's kick tied it, but that's all. The Raiders still had their chances to win the game.