Many Ravens fans gasped when they saw the slow motion footage from Jermaine Gresham's (would be) touchdown catch on the jumbo-tron at M&T Bank Stadium on Sunday. It sure looked like a catch to just about everyone there. Little did we all know it was not a touchdown. Hell, it wasn't even a catch! Could have fooled me. Well that just goes to show that if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck, well... Sometimes the authorities tell you, it's just not a duck.
However, the rule clearly states that the receiver must control the ball all the way to the ground and beyond so I guess there should be no argument right? Yeah, try telling that to a fan of Cincinnati or Detroit... Hey, I know how I felt when Santonio Holmes caught that ball outside the end zone and it was ruled a touchdown for Pittsburgh.
Sometimes you just have to wipe your hands and understand that the human element to football is one of it's greatest qualities. These things happen so one day, when we are all old men we can talk about the good old days when there were human referees on the field instead of cameras and sensors.
Without these types of plays what would fans banter about? Every second place team has a reason why they never won it all and it usually is not because the other team was just flat out better. Yes Gresham beat our coverage on that play and yes he got the ball into the end zone but touchdown it was not! In the NFL it is only a touchdown when the guys in the striped shirts say it is.
In the end that is all that matters and every team gets both ends of the stick at some point. You just have to hope you get the good end when it counts!