Week 11 Summary

Week 11 involved two losses which we'll bounce back from but were very difficult to swallow at the time. The first was the Over in the TB/Min game. The second was the Steelers game, stolen by the referees.

The only 4pm game we had was completely robbed from us. The Steelers game ended in what should have been a cover, and the ref admitted his mistake in taking the TD off the board (Click for Link) Not to mention the 13-1 penalty advantage for SD, or the fact that the only SD TD was due to a phantom pass interference call on the Steelers. The Steelers had double the yards on the game (410 to 213) and had 13 more minutes in time of possession. But it wasn't just a bad beat, it was a stolen game by the official, which makes it so tough.

What makes it even more difficult to take is the fact the ref's decision came:

A. 10 minutes after the game was over
B. After the points were on the board
C. After an official review so they had a chance to make sure they were right
D. After decision from the booth which would allow the play to stand
E. After a 2nd officials huddle that then ignored booth review and provided a wrong ruling

Also factor the fact that they removed the points from the board 10 minutes after the game was over, and then seconds later, the official openly admitted that what he did was wrong and the TD should have stood.

But even before that game, the TB/Min Over play was the definition of a bad beat. The two teams needed to put up over 38.5 points to win the play. They put up 32, so all we needed was 1 more TD to cover. Anyone who didn't watch the game probably thought it was a defensive struggle. But the reality was TB marched the ball up the field with ease time and time again, getting inside the Minnesota 20 on five occasions, but walked away with only 1 TD to show for it. Want more? How about the fact that the teams COMBINED for THREE PUNTS!!! TB only punted once! Min only punted twice!

More to make you sick: Here are drives where TB advanced the ball into Min territory only to kick FGs or fumble:

TB reached the -
Min 37 - TB turnover on downs
Min 17 - TB FG
Min 3 - TB FG
Min 30 - TB fumble
Min 10 - TB FG
Min 8 - TB FG
Min 23 - TB missed FG
Min 28 - TB kneel down - end of game

I was sick to my stomach after that terrible performance. We got the TB cover, but it was closer than it ever should have been. TB dominated that game in every respect, but was totally worthless once in scoring range. Which was quite surprising, considering prior to this game, Minnesota's defense was in the bottom half of red zone efficiency, allowing a TD on 56% of trips inside the red zone. TB was inside 5 times and came away with only 1 TD, and was inside the 30 (for a 47 yd FG or closer) on two other occasions and walked away with zero points.

Normally I don't dwell on the bad beats, but to have two in one day, one of which was a pure robbery and the other would be impossible to believe if you read the stats I just listed above and then looked at the final score of the game. It took these outcomes to provide the first ATS computer system losing weekend of the season, finishing 2-3 ATS instead of 3-2, due to the Steelers game. Rest assured, I am not forgetting that fact and will be working harder than ever this week to ensure we get back on track and reestablish the record I earned up to this point.