After this post I am done discussing this play. Many people including some here say that the no call gave the Rams a trip to the superbowl. While it certainly worked against the Saints the fact of all this is it did NOT give the Rams a trip to the superbowl, what it did do was give the Rams time and a TO to use on the drive to win/tie it in regulation.
The Saints still could have won that game had their Defense stopped the Rams from moving the ball into FG range. then the no call would not have mattered at all. The Saints could have scored in OT to end the game since they had the ball first. That also did not happen. One of the true reasons the Saints lost was because Sean Payton went ego maniac on his team and instead of simply running the ball with his two backs he decided to throw the ball on 2 of the 3 downs. GIVING the Rams the opportunity to retain a TO and time on the clock.
My old ball coach used to tell us. when you pass the ball late in a game only 3 things can happen and two are negative. Payton put his team in the situation for the no call to be called in the first place. Suck it up and deal with it. The Rams won that game, they were handed nothing but time. they STILL had to drive into FG range and make the FG attempt, they STILL had to stop the Saints on that first possession of OT and then move into FG range and make the FG. That FG was no gimme at 57 yards.
I am sick and tired of hearing people talk about the no call as it was the determining factor in this game. YES! it was a penalty and should have been called and would have allowed the Saints to take 87 seconds off the clock. leaving the Rams a whopping 22 seconds and no TO's to score IF the Saints made the FG. Remember the Bears/Eagles game? it was widly considered that the Bears were going to win that game with the FG that went though the uprights just after the TO was called. then the re-do missed. same thing could have happened in this game. OR The Rams could have just allowed the Saints to score a TD on the first play following the call and had 1:49 and 1 TO to score a TD.
Nothing is final until the final horn sounds. so enough of the whining from those doing so about the damn no call. it was not called and tough SH&^! the fact is the Saints were not as mentally tough as the Rams. And I draw that conclusion from Sean Payton himself saying that after the no call something left the Saints heart. well sir, I explain that as the team allowed adversity to become an emotional draw on their psyche, and that was as big of a determining factor in losing the game as was the no call.
And to those saying the Goff facemask did not matter. That call would have meant 1st and goal from the 1 yard line, a TD there makes this game 24-20 RAMS. and the entire mentality of the Saints changes as does the way the Rams played defense. no one here KNOWS whether or not Brees, (who had the worst game of his career in the dome) would have led his team to a game winning TD or tried to do too much causing a Turnover to lose the game. So stop trying to make it out that the no call on the facemask didn't matter. I will say that it feels damn great to finally get a benefit of a bad call as soooo many have gone against us in the past 47 years that I have been a Rams fan.
WHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Time to turn the Dynasty clock in our direction by beating the team that STOLE it from us in 2001.
