Ok, guys. I've been an avid supporter of Ted Ginn Jr. since the day he was drafted. I still believe he will end up being a playmaker and I also am one that believes his production is hampered by the fact that Chad Pennington can't and won't throw the ball downfield very often.
That said, I agree 100% that he SHOULD have caught that ball at the end of the game. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Mr. Ginn has even said so himself. I do NOT think it was pass interference and whatever contact Ginn received above the shoulders shouldn't have mattered. When you are on an NFL roster (as a WR), you are supposed to be an elite pass catcher. If you get two hands on the ball (and sometimes just one) and the defender does not get a hand on the ball to interfere, you MUST make the catch. Period.
That said, the ball "grazing a finger tip" does not constitute a catchable ball. The pass thrown to Ginn in the back of the endzone during the first half was NOT a catchable ball.
Watch the play again. Ginn is leaning, trying to keep his feet / knee in bounds with his arms and fingers FULLY extended and the ball barely grazes one of his fingers as it is carrying AWAY from him. Not one receiver in the NFL makes that catch. Not one.
Let me clarify ....
In the situation that was presented last night, had the receiver (Ginn in this case) been a little taller and / or had a longer reach, the ball may have been or probably would have been caught.
What my point is, in a similar situation, if Randy Moss or Terrell Owens or Jerry Rice in his prime or any other receiver to ever play this game is leaning, arms and fingers fully extended and the ball barely grazes the tip of one finger while running away from them ... they are not making that catch. Period.
Furthermore, had the ball been a few inches shorter or Ginn's reach been a few inches longer, there's no guarantee that he would have even been able to come down in bounds given the speed he was travelling and the short distance to the endline (it was the first white line, not the second).
What I saw was Ginn, knowing he was at the back of the endzone, trying to stretch for the ball while also trying to keep himself in bounds, The result was the ball barely scraping the tip of a finger.
That was NOT a catchable ball, let alone a drop.
Furthermore, as I've seen written in other threads, while one play may have won the game for the Dolphins, one play certainly did not lose it.
While I am as disgusted by Ginn's drop as the rest of you (it was his big chance to quiet some of the critics for at least a week), I am equally disgusted by a dozen or more other things that happened in that game.
For every thread about Ted Ginn's drop, why isn't there an equal thread about Gibril Wilson's tackle attempt on the very first play of the game???
IMO, it's as big a fundamental breakdown as Ginn dropping the TD pass. And, equally, it also cost the Dolphins 7 points.
Wilson had Dallas Clark dead to rights at the 50 yard line, but made the fundamental mistake of not breaking down and trying to tackle way to high. If he executes a fundamental tackle (like is taught at every level of football starting at the Jr. level) and targets Clark's waist, it's a 30-yard gain instead of an 80-yard TD.
Again, there's absolutely no excuse for that. Every year it seems like there are more and more players in the league that can't tackle properly. They rarely hit and wrap correctly anymore.
You could point to any one play and proclaim that "it" cost the team the game. In truth, the collection of all of these questiobable plays / decisions is what did Miami in.
Not totally in sequencial order:
-Wilson's botched tackle
-Offsides penalty late in the first half that setup a 48-yd FG instead of 53
-Vinatieri's subsequent lucky bounce off the upright
-Carpenter's missed FG
-Ginn's dropped pass in the end zone on the final drive
-Fasano's dropped pass near the endzone in the first half
-Electing to run the ball on 3rd and 6 during the second to last drive
-Electing to run the ball several times to begin the final drive
-Allowing too much time to run off the clock during the final drive
-Electing to keep defending Dallas Clark with a LB
-Allowing Garcon to turn a bubble screen into a 48-yd TD while completely untouched
The Dolphins shouldn't have been is a position where they had to take shots at the endzone (at 30+ yards) with little time remaining. They should have managed to clock to the point where it wasn't a factor. It became a factor because they started the final drive as if (a) they had 13 minutes instead of 3 or (b) they thought they were on the Colts 25 yards line rather than their own. Ridiculous.
And lastly, suppose Ted Ginn Jr. had made that TD catch. There were still 30 seconds left and the Colts had ALL three timeouts remaining. Given the way the defense was playing (surrendering over 10 yards per snap) do you really not believe that Peyton Manning and the Colts, at the very least, wouldn't have driven for the tie?
Personally, had that situation presented itself, I would have bet money that the Colts would have scored a winning TD in that 30 seconds. After watching that game, how could you not? Seriously??
That said, I agree 100% that he SHOULD have caught that ball at the end of the game. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Mr. Ginn has even said so himself. I do NOT think it was pass interference and whatever contact Ginn received above the shoulders shouldn't have mattered. When you are on an NFL roster (as a WR), you are supposed to be an elite pass catcher. If you get two hands on the ball (and sometimes just one) and the defender does not get a hand on the ball to interfere, you MUST make the catch. Period.
That said, the ball "grazing a finger tip" does not constitute a catchable ball. The pass thrown to Ginn in the back of the endzone during the first half was NOT a catchable ball.
Watch the play again. Ginn is leaning, trying to keep his feet / knee in bounds with his arms and fingers FULLY extended and the ball barely grazes one of his fingers as it is carrying AWAY from him. Not one receiver in the NFL makes that catch. Not one.
Let me clarify ....
In the situation that was presented last night, had the receiver (Ginn in this case) been a little taller and / or had a longer reach, the ball may have been or probably would have been caught.
What my point is, in a similar situation, if Randy Moss or Terrell Owens or Jerry Rice in his prime or any other receiver to ever play this game is leaning, arms and fingers fully extended and the ball barely grazes the tip of one finger while running away from them ... they are not making that catch. Period.
Furthermore, had the ball been a few inches shorter or Ginn's reach been a few inches longer, there's no guarantee that he would have even been able to come down in bounds given the speed he was travelling and the short distance to the endline (it was the first white line, not the second).
What I saw was Ginn, knowing he was at the back of the endzone, trying to stretch for the ball while also trying to keep himself in bounds, The result was the ball barely scraping the tip of a finger.
That was NOT a catchable ball, let alone a drop.
Furthermore, as I've seen written in other threads, while one play may have won the game for the Dolphins, one play certainly did not lose it.
While I am as disgusted by Ginn's drop as the rest of you (it was his big chance to quiet some of the critics for at least a week), I am equally disgusted by a dozen or more other things that happened in that game.
For every thread about Ted Ginn's drop, why isn't there an equal thread about Gibril Wilson's tackle attempt on the very first play of the game???
IMO, it's as big a fundamental breakdown as Ginn dropping the TD pass. And, equally, it also cost the Dolphins 7 points.
Wilson had Dallas Clark dead to rights at the 50 yard line, but made the fundamental mistake of not breaking down and trying to tackle way to high. If he executes a fundamental tackle (like is taught at every level of football starting at the Jr. level) and targets Clark's waist, it's a 30-yard gain instead of an 80-yard TD.
Again, there's absolutely no excuse for that. Every year it seems like there are more and more players in the league that can't tackle properly. They rarely hit and wrap correctly anymore.
You could point to any one play and proclaim that "it" cost the team the game. In truth, the collection of all of these questiobable plays / decisions is what did Miami in.
Not totally in sequencial order:
-Wilson's botched tackle
-Offsides penalty late in the first half that setup a 48-yd FG instead of 53
-Vinatieri's subsequent lucky bounce off the upright
-Carpenter's missed FG
-Ginn's dropped pass in the end zone on the final drive
-Fasano's dropped pass near the endzone in the first half
-Electing to run the ball on 3rd and 6 during the second to last drive
-Electing to run the ball several times to begin the final drive
-Allowing too much time to run off the clock during the final drive
-Electing to keep defending Dallas Clark with a LB
-Allowing Garcon to turn a bubble screen into a 48-yd TD while completely untouched
The Dolphins shouldn't have been is a position where they had to take shots at the endzone (at 30+ yards) with little time remaining. They should have managed to clock to the point where it wasn't a factor. It became a factor because they started the final drive as if (a) they had 13 minutes instead of 3 or (b) they thought they were on the Colts 25 yards line rather than their own. Ridiculous.
And lastly, suppose Ted Ginn Jr. had made that TD catch. There were still 30 seconds left and the Colts had ALL three timeouts remaining. Given the way the defense was playing (surrendering over 10 yards per snap) do you really not believe that Peyton Manning and the Colts, at the very least, wouldn't have driven for the tie?
Personally, had that situation presented itself, I would have bet money that the Colts would have scored a winning TD in that 30 seconds. After watching that game, how could you not? Seriously??
