Bears win with iffy call

[xvflutop]

Again it seems the big story from national publications is that the roughing call against Suh is what won the game for the bears. Like if Suh doesn't commit that penalty then the bears offense was helpless.

[defiantgiant]

Again it seems the big story from national publications is that the roughing call against Suh is what won the game for the bears. Like if Suh doesn't commit that penalty then the bears offense was helpless.

Seriously, it's just lazy journalism - they're latching on to an easy storyline because of what happened in Week 1, when there's really no comparison. Regardless of whether either call was right or wrong, it's obvious that one was important and the other one wasn't:

 

Week 1 - The call on Calvin Johnson turned a Lions go-ahead score into a 2nd-and-10 from the 25, down by 5, with 0:24 left in the 4th quarter and no timeouts. If the call goes the other way, the Lions are up by 2 and the Bears get the ball back with about 15 seconds to play.

 

Week 13 - The call on Suh turned a Bears 2nd-and-2 from the 14 into a 1st-and-goal from the 7, down by 3 in easy field goal range, with about 9:00 left in the 4th quarter. If the call goes the other way, the Bears are still in range to tie with a chip-shot field goal, and they still have two downs to pick up 2 yards for the 1st. Even if Detroit forced them to take the FG, they'd still be tied up with at least 8 more minutes left to play.

 

The difference between having a lead with 15 seconds left and needing a long TD pass with 24 seconds left...THAT'S the difference between winning and losing. A difference of 7 yards when you're in FG range to tie either way and there's 9 minutes of game left? That's totally inconsequential.

[BearFan2000]

totally agree, and it is lazy and typical of the "bears got lucky again" crowd. Well put, the two situations aren't even in the same league. The result was first and goal at the 7 vs 2nd and 2 from the 14 trailing by 3 with 9 min left. To say that we got lucky and that that call lost the Lions the game is a huge reach at best.

 

Just watched the game again and I personally believe it was the right call. When the official has to make a judgment call at game speed. He was wrong that it wasn't a forearm but the shove was to the back of the head and wasn't necessary Cutler was already going down Suh didn't need to extend to his arms to shove Cutler down like that. It was an unnecessary shove. What I think drew the foul more was the violent way he did it. He could have just wrapped him up from behind and achieved the same effect. That to me was a cheep shot and as such deserved to be called as it was.

[defiantgiant]

Just watched the game again and I personally believe it was the right call. When the official has to make a judgment call at game speed. He was wrong that it wasn't a forearm but the shove was to the back of the head and wasn't necessary Cutler was already going down Suh didn't need to extend to his arms to shove Cutler down like that. It was an unnecessary shove. What I think drew the foul more was the violent way he did it. He could have just wrapped him up from behind and achieved the same effect. That to me was a cheep shot and as such deserved to be called as it was.

I actually think it was the wrong call, but it's inconsequential either way. If he'd actually thrown a forearm to the back of the head, that's one thing. But from what I saw, it looked like he just shoved Cutler in the back, and maybe made some incidental contact with the helmet when they were both falling over; I didn't see a blow to the head, which is what Hochuli called. If that shove were on a running back, there's no way a ref would have flagged it, and when the QB passes the line of scrimmage he's supposed to be treated like any other runner. That's why they teach quarterbacks to slide - because guys like Suh are allowed to deck you once you get past the LOS. Either way, though, it's ridiculous for the media to file that one under "Bears get lucky" or "Lions jobbed by penalties again." It made virtually zero difference in the game.

 

If there's a real storyline there, it's that refs are definitely watching Suh like a hawk. He's gotten hit with some pretty bad calls for what were really just violent-looking legal hits. He tackles Marion Barber by his hair (which is legal,) the refs call it a horsecollar; he shoves Cutler in the back, the refs call it an elbow to the head. They're clearly getting a little trigger-happy when it comes to flagging that guy.