 |
     
     
   
   
  
    
   
   
|
|
|
What They're Saying: The Buffalo Sportswriters Staff Report December 15, 2003
One day after the Titans defeated the Bills 28-26, we look to see what the Buffalo sportwriters are saying about the Titans win.
''There is something about officiating and playing in the Coliseum that does not work for the Buffalo Bills.
''Just like four years ago, the fate of the Bills' season rested in the hands of the officials. Once again, their decision and the subsequent replay review worked against the Bills, who left the Coliseum dispirited again after a 28-26 loss Sunday to the Tennessee Titans.
''Wide receiver Bobby Shaw appeared to catch a two-point conversion pass that would have tied the game with 24 seconds left. The officials, however, ruled that Shaw did not make the catch even though he appeared to have possession long enough for the play to count. The ensuing replay review was not conclusive enough in referee Tom White's mind to overturn the call.
'' 'I caught the ball,' Shaw said. 'But what I think and what the officials called were different, so there isn't much we can do about it.'
''The last time the Bills came to Nashville, in January 2000, they were victims of the Music City Miracle, a controversial last-second kickoff return for a touchdown that gave the Titans a 22-16 win in the first round of the playoffs.
''Sunday, it was The Catch That Wasn't (or Was, depending on whose side you're on).
''Either way, the hard-luck Bills left town frustrated and wondering what they need to do to win a game in the Coliseum.
'' 'It's like we're reliving a bad dream,' lamented offensive left guard Ruben Brown, who was on the field the last time the Bills played in the stadium. "Each time, it seems like we've got them lined up and ready to knock them out, and someway, somehow they get off the ropes and find a way to swing the momentum in their favor. It's kind of heartbreaking.'
''Maybe the Bills should consult with the NFL about who is assigned to officiate their games in Nashville. Four years ago, the referee was Phil Luckett, who took a lot of heat that year for a series of mistakes, including a botched coin flip in a Thanksgiving game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions.
''Sunday's officiating crew was headed by White, who was fined half a game check for fouling up the clock and possibly contributing to the Seattle Seahawks' loss to the Baltimore Ravens earlier this season.
''The disputed call at the end of Sunday's game wasn't the only play in which White and his crew were involved.
''A Titans challenge in the first quarter got a first-down catch by tight end Mark Campbell overturned. Replays clearly showed Campbell stepped out of bounds well short of the first-down marker.
''Shaw also was involved in another replay challenge late in the first half, but this one went in the Bills' favor as he was awarded a 6-yard touchdown catch even though it appeared he was thrown out of bounds before reaching the goal line.
''Another play went against the Bills early in the fourth quarter when Titans wide receiver Derrick Mason caught a 32-yard pass over cornerback Antoine Winfield. The Bills challenged that Mason did not get both feet in bounds, but the replay was inconclusive.
'' 'The two officials got together and discussed what they had on the play,' White said through a pool reporter. 'They determined it was a catch with two feet down in bounds. We went to the replay booth and looked at the play. We had to stay for the full 90 seconds because none of the replays coming from the TV truck were absolutely conclusive to the second foot. He got the ball definitely. The left foot's down. The right foot comes down, but the angle that they showed you, you couldn't tell whether the foot touched the line or didn't touch the line. So it was very tight that we couldn't do anything with it, and we let the ruling stand as it was called on the field.'
''The Bills were upset because the official just a couple of feet away ruled it incomplete, but another official several yards behind the play apparently overruled him.
''The Bills also weren't happy that Mason wasn't called for offensive pass interference.
'' 'We're playing at Tennessee, so I guess that's the way it goes,' said Winfield, who indicated that Mason admitted that he pushed off, though Mason denied that when asked after the game.
'' 'It's very frustrating, but I put the blame on myself,' Winfield said. 'I should have been over the top of the receiver so he couldn't make the catch. You don't want to put the game in the referee's hands.'
''Therein lies the greatest source of the Bills' frustration. They felt the officials never should have been a factor in the outcome. The players said they have only themselves to blame for Sunday's loss, which ended any hope of them making the playoffs.
'' 'This is a tough place to play, but you make your own breaks,' said wide receiver Eric Moulds. 'Tennessee makes their own breaks. That's why they make the playoffs every year. We haven't made our breaks the last few years, and we're sitting at home every time.' ''
''Bobby Shaw insisted it was a catch. Had there been a stack of Bibles nearby, instead of a stack of dirty towels, he’d have placed his hand on top and sworn it to be true.
''To top it off, Shaw had the backing of his teammates and coaches. Plain and simple, the referee blew it.
''Four seasons ago, another group of Buffalo Bills recited a similar tune in this same locker room. They will go to their graves believing the Music City Miracle, that controversial lateral for a touchdown that lifted the Tennessee Titans to victory in a wild-card playoff game, was an illegal forward pass.
''And while Sunday’s 28-26 loss didn’t cost Buffalo a playoff victory, and Shaw’s 2-point conversion catch that was ruled incomplete in the closing seconds won’t spawn a catchy nickname or even be remembered much after today, it did end the Bills’ 2003 playoff hopes.
''Certainly the heartache was just as real. Because the dream was just as big.
''What is it about this place? Two trips to Nashville, and both times the game ends with the Bills holding their breath as a referee sticks his head into the replay booth only to exit with a ruling they don’t want to hear.
'' 'I was hoping, but it didn’t work out for us. Again,' defensive tackle Pat Williams whispered.
''For the Bills, it was déjà pew all over again.
''That it was referee Tom White at the center of the storm somehow seemed fitting in this 6-8 season when the Bills dug a hole too deep and left too much to chance. Think about it.
''Their season is on the line and they draw the man in stripes who has become the poster child for controversy, recently being docked half a paycheck by the NFL for botching the clock that cost Seattle a win.
''On the two-point play to force overtime, Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe rolled right and threw a low pass that Shaw scooped up with one hand. As he tumbled in the end zone, the ball came free and the pass was ruled incomplete.
''Shaw steadfastly claimed he caught the ball and extended his arm only to show the officials.
'' 'Yeah, it was good,' Shaw said. 'The only time the ball came out was when I raised my hand to show that I had it, and it came out as I showed it. The whole time I was sliding, I had the ball all the way on the ground down here, and he calls it incomplete when I’m up here with it. I was trying to take that judgment out of his hands. As far as I’m concerned, it was a very bad call, very bad.'
''How bad? Well … not that bad.
''Put it this way: It would’ve been an upset had White overturned the ruling on the field. Four times during the game he reviewed plays, and three times he upheld the call, mainly because there weren’t enough camera angles, a common flaw of the system for regular-season games. A Shaw TD at the pylon marker went Buffalo’s way for the same reason.
''White, in fact, made his call on the two-point conversion at warp speed. No 90 seconds of drama here. It was as if he had gotten claustrophobia with his head inside the black viewfinder all day.
'' 'As he rolled over, his arm came up in the air, but the ball was already loose,' White said in a statement. 'So he never really had possession of it under the definition of a completed pass.'
''And that’s that.
''Maybe the Bills are just destined to be fodder for a sad country song. The line dancers in this town are way more in sync.
''And in the end on Sunday, the Bills had to accept losing against a 10-4 Titans team filled with better playmakers that was desperate to snap a two-game losing streak to keep its playoff push on course.''
''So close and yet so far.
''The Buffalo Bills' playoff hopes were laid to rest Sunday in a game they might have been one two-point conversion, one dubious instant replay decision or one fumble away from winning.
''Their 28-26 loss to the Tennessee Titans was like a lot of their defeats this year. It was their fourth straight by four or fewer points.
''Yet with two games remaining, the Bills can't honestly say they were close to where they hoped to be this season.
''They are six games out of first place in the AFC East, which is five games further behind than they finished last season. New England leads the division at 12-2. The Bills, in fact, are tied with the New York Jets for last place at 6-8.
''So the exciting finish in the Coliseum was just the latest chapter in what is one of the most disappointing seasons in Bills history.
'' 'It's a nasty taste,' said Bills running back Travis Henry. 'I still can't believe it. I like this team. We just didn't get it done.'
'' 'You get tired of saying, ''A play here, a play there,'' ' said linebacker Takeo Spikes. 'When is it going to stop?'
''For the record, it stops in 13 days with the season finale in New England. This will be the Bills' fourth straight year out of the postseason.
'' 'It's been a disappointing year for us, it really has,' said quarterback Drew Bledsoe. 'Our defense has played very well and we haven't been able to produce enough points consistently offensively.'
''The Bills' defense was good Sunday, but not good enough, considering it had the fortune of playing against backup quarterback Billy Volek, a fourth-year player making his first career start.
''Subbing for injured Titans star Steve McNair, Volek threw for 295 yards on 26-of-41 passing and had a passer rating of 101.2.
''That was the biggest difference between the teams. The Titans' passing game was sensational. The Bills' passing game was largely ineffective. Bledsoe was 17 of 30 for 168 yards and a passer rating of 94.9. But during the first 57 minutes of the game, Bledsoe had a mere 88 yards passing against a Titans team ranked 32nd against the pass.
''Still, the Bills would have won if not for two close officiating calls and one devastating turnover.
''Bledsoe pulled the Bills within two points by throwing a pretty touch pass to diving tight end Mark Campbell in the corner of the end zone with 24 seconds left. The throw capped a beautifully executed, nine-play, 81-yard drive over two minutes.
''However, Bledsoe's two-point conversion pass for receiver Bobby Shaw fell incomplete. It was a rollout, and Bledsoe threw low for a sliding Shaw, who picked the ball out of the air just before it hit the turf. As Shaw rolled on the ground, however, the ball came loose.
''After video review, referee Tom White ruled it was no catch.
''Said White: 'As he rolled over, his arm came up in the air, but the ball was already loose. So he never really had possession of it under the definition of a completed pass. Therefore, it's incomplete and the try is no good.'
''Shaw strongly disagreed.
'' 'The only time the ball came out was when I tried to raise my hand to show I had it,' Shaw said. 'It came out as I was showing him. But the whole time I'm sliding I had the ball all the way. You try to show him you have it because I was low. As far as I'm concerned, it's a very bad call. I had possession of the ball the whole time I'm sliding and then as I rolled over I'm already down. I mean, how long do I have to have it? . . . It's kind of a Catch-22. On a low ball, if I don't show him, he rules it incomplete.'
'' 'We have seen that kind of ruling a number of times this year with our team and with other teams, where if you don't possess the ball the whole way they are going to call it incomplete,' said Bledsoe.
''A replay ruling in Tennessee's favor at the start of the fourth quarter upheld a 32-yard pass from Volek to Derrick Mason to the Bills' 2. One play later, Tennessee scored to go ahead, 21-17.
''Mason got a half-step behind Antoine Winfield down the left sideline and made a grab. His left foot was down. His right foot came down very close to the sideline. White ruled that the replay did not conclusively show whether the second foot was out of bounds.
''What infuriated the Bills was the fact field judge Boris Cheek was a couple of yards away from the play and initially ruled the pass was incomplete, only to be overruled by the back judge much farther away up the sideline.
''Even without that catch, however, Mason terrorized the Bills. He finished with 137 yards receiving and 302 all-purpose yards, counting kickoff and punt returns.
''The Bills' defense had plenty of good moments, too. Defensive tackle Pat Williams scooped up a fumble (caused on a sack by Jeff Posey) and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown to give the Bills a 17-6 lead 1:41 into the third quarter.
''But the Titans' defense evened the score seven minutes later.
''The Bills had a second-and-7 play from their own 24, and Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck got wide on tackle Marques Sullivan and knocked the ball out of Bledsoe's hands. The Titans recovered and scored three plays later. It was one of the few plays in which the Bills had no back in the backfield to help block.
'' 'The first read was to Eric (Moulds), then Bobby, then I was coming back to the tight end in the middle and he got squeezed by the 'backer, and I was going to drop it off to the halfback,' said Bledsoe. 'The halfback was the fourth read in the progression and I didn't have time to get to it.'
''The Titans' defense, ranked No. 1 in third-down efficiency, held the Bills to 2 of 12 conversions on third down. That helped Tennessee hold an edge in time of possession, 36:45 to 23:15.
'' 'We have no one to blame but ourselves,' said Campbell. 'It definitely is a dejected feeling when you have a team with this much talent and you couldn't get it done.' ''
|
