My Facebook has been filled with whining — for days and days after the 49s versus Saints game, everyone is complaining.
Thank goodness for the nifty “hide” button on Facebook because I can’t take it anymore.
Yes, the Saints won the game. Yes, there was a “controversial” call when the Saints were down 20-17 that went in favor of the black and gold. Yes, it was a big play.
But I will never be a believer that any game can be won or lost on one play. If that was the case, then give one team one play and that’ll be the whole contest. There is a reason there are four quarters or two halves.
I have had more Niners fans in the past few days complain about that one call that favored Drew Brees and the Saints. In case you missed it, here is what happened:
In the final few minutes of Sunday afternoon’s game between the Saints and the San Francisco 49ers, the 49ers’ Ahmad Brooks was penalized for a hit on Drew Brees.
With the score 20-17 in favor of San Fran, Brees fumbled the ball on the play and the 49ers’ Patrick Willis recovered, but the personal foul penalty overturned the fumble and gave the ball back to the Saints.
Brooks appears to wrap Brees around the shoulders at first (causing Brees’ neck to extend like a cartoon character), but he then reaches up towards the neck as he finishes the tackle.
It could have been called both ways in my opinion, but with the way the NFL has committed to protecting the quarterback, it shouldn’t be shocking that the play was called a penalty.
But how did that one play lose the game for San Fran?
First of all, the visiting team was winning so even with the Saints having the ball, the Niners defense did not stop New Orleans on that drive to secure the win.
What about when Corey White was down by contact but they called it a touchback earlier in the game? Had it been the right call, the Saints could have scored and then the game would have been 27-20 at the time of the personal foul call.
Also, the Saints defense held the 49ers to just 189 yards of total offense. How about the San Fran fans talk about that. And 14 of the Niners’ points came off Saints’ turnovers.
The point is, stop whining and complaining. When the Saints lost to the Patriots this year, and the refs missed a huge holding call on the final play, I didn’t blame the game on that. I blamed it on the Saints poor clock management in the final two minutes.
So, people, please stop thinking a game is made up of one play. It’s made up of a lot of big and small plays throughout a game. The key is to not let a referee’s good or bad call feel like it has determined an outcome.
Who Dat!
(Chrissy Smith is Sports Editor of the Slidell Independent, and a former college athlete. She can be reached at chrissycsmith@gmail.com.)