So Did Roddy Push Off?

[harveybirdman]

watch the video on NFL.com it shows the backside angle and if there is ANY contact it is inconsequential

WHA WHA call the Whambulence!!!

[aPureTerror]

No flag=no push off. End of story.

Basically.

[the_sheff]

Roddy has admitted he pushed him down in the ESPN recap.

"Yeah, you've got to do whatever you've got to do to win," he said. "It was one-on-one coverage with one guy. But he was kind of flat-footed, and he tried to grab me, so I just pushed him down."

[slamee101]

Roddy has admitted he pushed him down in the ESPN recap.

"Yeah, you've got to do whatever you've got to do to win," he said. "It was one-on-one coverage with one guy. But he was kind of flat-footed, and he tried to grab me, so I just pushed him down."

-_-

Basically confirming what we've been saying.

[cyofish]

It was a veteran move. The contact was incidental. He had the defender spun around and off balance a slight bump and he fell down. Roddy may have even stepped on his foot when he cut to the outside.

[egoprime II]

From what I could tell the defender tried to push White, seemed to me within the five yard zone, so no illegal contact on him. However the defender is much smaller than White, looked to me the defender pushed HIMSELF off balance. All White did was swipe at the guys' arms to get them off him. Off balance already, the defender completed his bad play by falling down.

That five yard chuck rule, seems to me that it goes both ways...if a defender initiates contact, the WR can make contact too. Maybe not with a stiffarm, but thats not what White did anyway.

If anyone wants to find a penalty non-call, take a look at Ryans' being forearmed to the head after he had already slid to the ground on that play he ran for a first down. Not to mention the defender appeared to also knee Ryan to the head (thats why the defender was slow getting up).

Edited November 12, 2010 by egoprime II

[houziboy]

Which is why i said there were so many bad calls and non-calls in that game, that one call didn't matter.. read the whole post guys.

I was agreeing with you, not arguing against you. That one call didn't matter as much as everyone is saying.

[houziboy]

it would have been a passing inteference on us and a 10yd penalty...that might push it out to a long field goal in the 50's or so...i think

I don't know if Bryant can keep making 50+ yards filed goals all the time.

Still, first down, over 20 seconds, one time out, ten yards to get in range. With Ryan at the helm, I like our chances anyway.

[BADTOLZ]

In Harbaugh's post game he said he saw it and he definitely pushed off and then did the whole, "I'm not gonna question the refs...yada yada." He also eluded that a couple bad calls were made. I might add I'm sure he thinks the Ravens didn't benefit from any of the "bad calls" or "non-calls."

Also on the Roddy note, I think I heard he admitted to pushing off. He said that he got in his way and tried to grab him, so he pushed him down.

PS. The grapefruit post was awesome!

Edited November 12, 2010 by blinky

[1000#]

That dude fell on his own. I'm glad the refs didnt get to decide this one.

[BADTOLZ]

Which is why i said there were so many bad calls and non-calls in that game, that one call didn't matter.. read the whole post guys.

C'mon. Not to be crappy but there are "so many bad calls and non-calls" in any game....any game.

You're going to tell me that the Saints have never benefited from these calls? I'd wager if you weren't a Saint's fan, you could watch last year's playoffs and find numerous such calls...right?

I'm sorry, but if a game is decided as some would argue on a non-call or a "bad call" then maybe they should lose? One call doesn't change the outcome of a 60 minute game. There were non-calls on both sides of the ball, but none that was attached to such a big play because the Ravens didn't do much really.

Honeslty, I don't think anyone is arguing there's more then two calls that really stuck out...so is any game decided on two calls?

If the Ravens played like they were being hyped to be able to play, they should have beat the Falcons handily.

Reminder that the Falcons were actually the underdog.

Blaming a loss on one call is weak in my opinion. Blaming someone's win on one call is even weaker.

But alas, that's only one man's opinion.

Edited November 12, 2010 by blinky

[Dale4Saul2Red0]

Doesn't matter, do not care

[north falcon]

He didn't do anything that hasn't been done a million times before.

[darkdude41]

C'mon. Not to be crappy but there are "so many bad calls and non-calls" in any game....any game.

You're going to tell me that the Saints have never benefited from these calls? I'd wager if you weren't a Saint's fan, you could watch last year's playoffs and find numerous such calls...right?

I'm sorry, but if a game is decided as some would argue on a non-call or a "bad call" then maybe they should lose? One call doesn't change the outcome of a 60 minute game. There were non-calls on both sides of the ball, but none that was attached to such a big play because the Ravens didn't do much really.

Honeslty, I don't think anyone is arguing there's more then two calls that really stuck out...so is any game decided on two calls?

If the Ravens played like they were being hyped to be able to play, they should have beat the Falcons handily.

Reminder that the Falcons were actually the underdog.

Blaming a loss on one call is weak in my opinion. Blaming someone's win on one call is even weaker.

But alas, that's only one man's opinion.

exactly! i was at the saints falcons game in NO last season, i can recall at least 3 instances when saints receivers pushed off on falcons defenders to make a play.... i know shockey did for sure at least once, maybe twice, and i think henderson did once too for sure, i saw it up close and personal

[A-TowN.-]

Roddy has admitted he pushed him down in the ESPN recap.

"Yeah, you've got to do whatever you've got to do to win," he said. "It was one-on-one coverage with one guy. But he was kind of flat-footed, and he tried to grab me, so I just pushed him down."

At least quote it word for word. He just admitted the guy fell.

The CB shouldn't have grabbed him anyway

also if we are going to complain about penalties let's bring up the one where Ed Reed put his forearm on Matt Ryan's head when he was sliding.

I hate subjective fans who justify a loss or win by blaming it on one penalty. Blame the Ravens D for letting us get in that positions. If you are going to blame it on ONE penalty, watch the whole game and point out the other times the game could have changed. Like if the Ravens D picked off Ryan, or maybe if Roddy did catch that 3rd down pass, or maybe Ed Reed should have gotten a forearm to helmet penalty.

Point is, QUIT SAYING IF, ANDS, OR BUTS THE GAME IS OVER WE GOT A W

Edited November 12, 2010 by A-TowN.-

[Same Ol Falcons]

He pushed off, it was pretty clear but the refs decided not to throw the flag...oh well.

If the refs wanted to, I would be willing to bet they could throw a flag on 99% of every play every Sunday. I think a lot of times the ref looks at the situation and decides in a split second if he thinks that the foul that occurred has any bearing on the way the play ended and then he decides to be ticky tack or not - In this case I would guess the ref sees an offsetting situation of illegal contact on both sides and determines to just let the play finish because they both used a technique to gain an upper hand and White got it this time.

I do know if White hadn't caught the ball this board would be screaming where's the flag, I just let it go - I never hang on penalties, if they call one..oh well, if they don't...oh well

[Same Ol Falcons]

At least quote it word for word. He just admitted the guy fell.

The CB shouldn't have grabbed him anyway

also if we are going to complain about penalties let's bring up the one where Ed Reed put his forearm on Matt Ryan's head when he was sliding.

I hate subjective fans who justify a loss or win by blaming it on one penalty. Blame the Ravens D for letting us get in that positions. If you are going to blame it on ONE penalty, watch the whole game and point out the other times the game could have changed. Like if the Ravens D picked off Ryan, or maybe if Roddy did catch that 3rd down pass, or maybe Ed Reed should have gotten a forearm to helmet penalty.

Point is, QUIT SAYING IF, ANDS, OR BUTS THE GAME IS OVER WE GOT A W

He did quote it word for word

Roddy White catches 2 TDs as Falcons upend Ravens in final minute

Associated Press

ATLANTA -- Having a squandered a 13-point lead, Matty Ice and his favorite receiver looked at each other on the sideline and knew what they had to do.

Take it to the end zone.

Roddy White hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan with 20 seconds remaining and the Atlanta Falcons bounced back after blowing a fourth-quarter lead, rallying past the Baltimore Ravens 26-21 Thursday in a prime-time matchup between two of the NFL's top teams.

If this was a Super Bowl preview, it's going to be quite a game in Big D.

"That might have been the most the intense game I've ever been involved with at any level of football," said Falcons coach Mike Smith, a former Ravens assistant.

Baltimore appeared to be on its way to the victory when Joe Flacco threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap with 1:05 left.

"You think it's your game," Flacco said. "You think it's over."

Not so fast.

Not with 65 seconds left for Ryan and White to work their magic.

"After they scored, we were on the sideline. We just looked at each other and smiled, man," White said. "We just relish moments like this. We knew we were going to go down there and get what we needed to win this game."

Ryan needed less than a minute to pull off an 80-yard drive, hooking up with Michael Jenkins on a huge third-down pass along the sideline before going back to his favorite receiver for the winner.

Ryan rolled to his left to get away from the pressure, and White shoved off Josh Wilson with his right hand to get free, sending the cornerback tumbling to the turf. Ryan delivered the ball perfectly, White caught it with no one around and cruised into the end zone.

Wilson hopped up, screaming for a penalty. But the official kept the yellow flag in his back pocket and held up both arms. Touchdown.

White knew he got away with one.

"Yeah, you've got to do whatever you've got to do to win," he said. "It was one-on-one coverage with one guy. But he was kind of flat-footed, and he tried to grab me, so I just pushed him down."

White was listed as questionable for the game after hurting his right knee in last Sunday's win over Tampa Bay and practicing only once during the short week. But he had a big smile when he danced out of the tunnel during the pregame introductions and clearly wasn't bothered.

He finished with 12 catches for 138 yards, giving him a staggering 70 catches for the season. Ryan threw a career-high 50 passes, completing 32 of them for 316 yards and three touchdowns.

"We've been in these situations before," said Ryan, who improved to 18-1 when starting at home. "We were confident. Nobody blinked. We just went out there and executed. We only needed three, but we got six."

Flacco, coming back from a sluggish start, was 22 of 34 for 215 yards and three touchdowns of his own.

It wasn't enough.

"We were pretty confident we had them," cornerback Chris Carr said. "We did an excellent job. We just came up short."

With commissioner Roger Goodell looking on, just adding to the big-game feel, the Falcons (7-2) appeared to be in control after Ryan went to White for a 4-yard touchdown with 11:34 remaining to make it 20-7. Curiously, Smith didn't attempt a 2-point conversion, which nearly came back to bite him.

After barely touching the ball in the first half, Baltimore (6-3) suddenly came alive. Flacco capped back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter with touchdown passes.

"It was a playoff atmosphere against a playoff-caliber team," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Obviously, it's difficult when you play a team like that in their place. Being in this environment will help us later in the season."

The Falcons dominated the first half, holding the ball for more than 21 minutes and going to the locker room with a 10-0 lead. The Ravens were fortunate it wasn't worse.

Late in the first quarter, Ryan started a drive that would stretch into the second period and wind up covering 91 yards on 14 plays. He finished it with a short pass to a wide-open Jason Snelling out of the backfield. He worked up a head of steam, broke free from an attempted tackle by Dawan Landry and tumbled into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.

Atlanta got close again just before halftime, but wound up settling for Matt Bryant's 28-yard field goal.

Ryan completed 20 of 28 for 160 yards in the opening half, playing keep-away with the Ravens offense. Flacco had just 31 yards passing at the break, and the third quarter didn't start out very well, either. Trying to stretch the field with a pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Flacco threw it a little short and Brent Grimes made the interception.

That resulted in another field goal by Bryant, this one from 51 yards.

Baltimore's offense finally got going on its next possession. Flacco directed a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Anquan Boldin grabbing a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Just like that, it was a game -- what everyone expected all along from these teams.

White's first touchdown catch restored the 13-point lead, but Flacco wasn't done in this matchup of quarterbacks who were first-round picks in 2008 and have followed eerily similar career paths.

The Ravens marched down the field on a 75-yard drive, Flacco finishing it off with a 6-yard pass to Derrick Mason. After the ensuing kickoff, the Falcons picked up one first down but had to punt it away.

Flacco took his team the other way, completing five passes on a 72-yard drive that put the Ravens ahead for the first time all night.

The Ravens can only hope they get another shot at the Falcons in Dallas on that first Sunday in February.

Game notes

The Falcons honored Deion Sanders at halftime, inducting Prime Time into their ring of honor with a No. 21 banner high above the Georgia Dome, which he once proclaimed "is my house." Sanders played with the Falcons from 1989-93. ... Atlanta RB Michael Turner was held to 39 yards on 17 carries, forcing the Falcons to rely mostly on their passing game. ... Flacco spread it around, completing at least five passes to five different receivers. Boldin led the way with seven catches for 50 yards.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

[A-TowN.-]

He pushed off, it was pretty clear but the refs decided not to throw the flag...oh well.

If the refs wanted to, I would be willing to bet they could throw a flag on 99% of every play every Sunday. I think a lot of times the ref looks at the situation and decides in a split second if he thinks that the foul that occurred has any bearing on the way the play ended and then he decides to be ticky tack or not - In this case I would guess the ref sees an offsetting situation of illegal contact on both sides and determines to just let the play finish because they both used a technique to gain an upper hand and White got it this time.

I do know if White hadn't caught the ball this board would be screaming where's the flag, I just let it go - I never hang on penalties, if they call one..oh well, if they don't...oh well

There's a difference between a push off and getting someones hands off you. The guy was trying to hold Roddy from burning him, then Roddy put his hands off of him because he was making contact. The guy got burned and "stumbled". Which was a big hack, he looked like he faked it. He knew he was burned.

Had it been a so called push off, he would have pushed the guyed with a full arm extension. I would have called it shrugging him off, the guy was trying to stand in his way and grabbed him. Talk about karma.

[A-TowN.-]

He did quote it word for word

Roddy White catches 2 TDs as Falcons upend Ravens in final minute

Associated Press

ATLANTA -- Having a squandered a 13-point lead, Matty Ice and his favorite receiver looked at each other on the sideline and knew what they had to do.

Take it to the end zone.

Roddy White hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan with 20 seconds remaining and the Atlanta Falcons bounced back after blowing a fourth-quarter lead, rallying past the Baltimore Ravens 26-21 Thursday in a prime-time matchup between two of the NFL's top teams.

More From ESPN.com

Yasinskas It wasn't easy, but the Falcons stepped up and delivered twice Thursday night, ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas writes. Blog

Walker Usually the key to the Ravens' success, the D let the Falcons off the hook Thursday, ESPN.com's James Walker writes. Blog

• Reaction:

NFC South | AFC North | Stats & Info

If this was a Super Bowl preview, it's going to be quite a game in Big D.

"That might have been the most the intense game I've ever been involved with at any level of football," said Falcons coach Mike Smith, a former Ravens assistant.

Baltimore appeared to be on its way to the victory when Joe Flacco threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap with 1:05 left.

"You think it's your game," Flacco said. "You think it's over."

Not so fast.

Not with 65 seconds left for Ryan and White to work their magic.

"After they scored, we were on the sideline. We just looked at each other and smiled, man," White said. "We just relish moments like this. We knew we were going to go down there and get what we needed to win this game."

Ryan needed less than a minute to pull off an 80-yard drive, hooking up with Michael Jenkins on a huge third-down pass along the sideline before going back to his favorite receiver for the winner.

Ryan rolled to his left to get away from the pressure, and White shoved off Josh Wilson with his right hand to get free, sending the cornerback tumbling to the turf. Ryan delivered the ball perfectly, White caught it with no one around and cruised into the end zone.

Wilson hopped up, screaming for a penalty. But the official kept the yellow flag in his back pocket and held up both arms. Touchdown.

White knew he got away with one.

Hot Rod

Roddy White became one of four players in the last 15 seasons to have at least 12 receptions, 130 yards and two touchdowns in a home win.

Player Team Season

Roddy White Falcons 2010

Anquan Boldin Cardinals 2007

Marvin Harrison Colts 2002

Shannon Sharpe Broncos 1996

-- Source: ESPN Stats and Information

"Yeah, you've got to do whatever you've got to do to win," he said. "It was one-on-one coverage with one guy. But he was kind of flat-footed, and he tried to grab me, so I just pushed him down."

White was listed as questionable for the game after hurting his right knee in last Sunday's win over Tampa Bay and practicing only once during the short week. But he had a big smile when he danced out of the tunnel during the pregame introductions and clearly wasn't bothered.

He finished with 12 catches for 138 yards, giving him a staggering 70 catches for the season. Ryan threw a career-high 50 passes, completing 32 of them for 316 yards and three touchdowns.

"We've been in these situations before," said Ryan, who improved to 18-1 when starting at home. "We were confident. Nobody blinked. We just went out there and executed. We only needed three, but we got six."

Flacco, coming back from a sluggish start, was 22 of 34 for 215 yards and three touchdowns of his own.

It wasn't enough.

"We were pretty confident we had them," cornerback Chris Carr said. "We did an excellent job. We just came up short."

With commissioner Roger Goodell looking on, just adding to the big-game feel, the Falcons (7-2) appeared to be in control after Ryan went to White for a 4-yard touchdown with 11:34 remaining to make it 20-7. Curiously, Smith didn't attempt a 2-point conversion, which nearly came back to bite him.

After barely touching the ball in the first half, Baltimore (6-3) suddenly came alive. Flacco capped back-to-back drives in the fourth quarter with touchdown passes.

Ravens Get Iced

Thursday, Matt Ryan set a record for the most completions without an interception against the Ravens' defense.

Date Player Comp.

Thursday Matt Ryan 32*

Sept. 14, 1997 Dave Brown 28*

Nov. 12, 2001 Steve McNair 27*

Oct. 14, 2001 Brett Favre 27

* - Ravens lost game

-- Source: ESPN Stats and Information

"It was a playoff atmosphere against a playoff-caliber team," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Obviously, it's difficult when you play a team like that in their place. Being in this environment will help us later in the season."

The Falcons dominated the first half, holding the ball for more than 21 minutes and going to the locker room with a 10-0 lead. The Ravens were fortunate it wasn't worse.

Late in the first quarter, Ryan started a drive that would stretch into the second period and wind up covering 91 yards on 14 plays. He finished it with a short pass to a wide-open Jason Snelling out of the backfield. He worked up a head of steam, broke free from an attempted tackle by Dawan Landry and tumbled into the end zone for a 28-yard touchdown.

Atlanta got close again just before halftime, but wound up settling for Matt Bryant's 28-yard field goal.

Ryan completed 20 of 28 for 160 yards in the opening half, playing keep-away with the Ravens offense. Flacco had just 31 yards passing at the break, and the third quarter didn't start out very well, either. Trying to stretch the field with a pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Flacco threw it a little short and Brent Grimes made the interception.

That resulted in another field goal by Bryant, this one from 51 yards.

Baltimore's offense finally got going on its next possession. Flacco directed a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with Anquan Boldin grabbing a 5-yard touchdown pass.

Just like that, it was a game -- what everyone expected all along from these teams.

White's first touchdown catch restored the 13-point lead, but Flacco wasn't done in this matchup of quarterbacks who were first-round picks in 2008 and have followed eerily similar career paths.

The Ravens marched down the field on a 75-yard drive, Flacco finishing it off with a 6-yard pass to Derrick Mason. After the ensuing kickoff, the Falcons picked up one first down but had to punt it away.

Flacco took his team the other way, completing five passes on a 72-yard drive that put the Ravens ahead for the first time all night.

The Ravens can only hope they get another shot at the Falcons in Dallas on that first Sunday in February.

Game notes

The Falcons honored Deion Sanders at halftime, inducting Prime Time into their ring of honor with a No. 21 banner high above the Georgia Dome, which he once proclaimed "is my house." Sanders played with the Falcons from 1989-93. ... Atlanta RB Michael Turner was held to 39 yards on 17 carries, forcing the Falcons to rely mostly on their passing game. ... Flacco spread it around, completing at least five passes to five different receivers. Boldin led the way with seven catches for 50 yards.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-player-interviews/09000d5d81c0d471/Roddy-on-the-win

no those weren't his words.

didn't hear the words pushed him.

Edited November 12, 2010 by A-TowN.-

[Same Ol Falcons]

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-player-interviews/09000d5d81c0d471/Roddy-on-the-win

no those weren't his words.

I guess the AP didn't get another quote from him later

[Same Ol Falcons]

There's a difference between a push off and getting someones hands off you. The guy was trying to hold Roddy from burning him, then Roddy put his hands off of him because he was making contact. The guy got burned and "stumbled". Which was a big hack, he looked like he faked it. He knew he was burned.

Had it been a so called push off, he would have pushed the guyed with a full arm extension. I would have called it shrugging him off, the guy was trying to stand in his way and grabbed him. Talk about karma.

Michael Irvin used to be the king of the jab push off where the arm didn't extend

[A-TowN.-]

I guess the AP didn't get another quote from him later

I am going by what he said right after the game. It is over man just be happy with a win. The CB came up and challenged him, Roddy could have easily "fallen" and added a PI call for himself since the CB had got some happy hands. But I believe the refs let them play it out. I still didn't see any arm extensions notifying a "push off", I saw him try and get around someone who was trying to hold him up.

[Tribal Chief]

I like how he fell to the ground like a Deck of cards, and then instead of trying to chase White down, stopped to complain.

His own man said it last week. Take your butt whoopin like a man

[OilFuturesTrader19]

+1

I thought that kind of contact was allowed within the first five yards?

I don't think it was a push-off -- I think Wilson just fell down to draw a flag, honestly. :P

I agree. Looked like he flopped to try to get the call.

[Guest James H.]

Reminds me of soccer... the losing team's players tend to trip over their egos in the final minutes; their eye on the refs the whole time.

Sports, as in life... when all else fails, try cheating.