Yeah, on Trusnik I think... I can't remember if any of Long's holds resulted in a TD, but it doesn't matter. Its the principle and the nature of the game. Regardless if it so happened that the non-call caused a TD or an INT. They do not call holding unless its egregious (or they think its egregious). The officiating really wasn't that one sided in my mind. And if the team stepped up in any way when it should have, then it wouldn't be an issue. I don't think that the officiating is a good place to spend time and energy.
I know Sean Smith is getting ragged on for his performance this week, but the fact remains he's improved this year and is still ascending. After all, it took Brandon Browner about 6 years to become the outstanding corner we saw him blossom into last year, and it's not outside the realm of possibility that Sean continues ascending and reaches Browner's level between now and next year.
of course Hartilne's numbers are going to be better - he probably has twice as many targets as he has ever had
It does matter if it affects the game. There are rules in place for a reason, and that's so blatant holds/hooks like what happened to Wake don't alter the game or the nature of the game. So, no, it's not the nature of the game to have refs blow obvious calls, especially after holding out for more money. That's what they're paid for aren't they, to make calls and keep the game fair? It was egregious. If a lineman hooks and pulls downward a defender who's coming up the middle and is right in the throwing lane bearing down on the QB, then it needs to be called. It's not like it was an obscure hold away from the play or out of sight that wouldn't have altered the outcome; it was right in front of Luck. It would've taken 7 off the board and forced a FG. If the FG's not blocked or missed, the score becomes 3-3 rather than 7-3..... 17-9 Miami lead at halftime..... and a 20-19 Miami lead following Indy's last FG with 5:58 left to play.
Same goes for Long's holds. Some of them were bad, but I guess the refs thought they weren't bad enough. What I mean by principle is that basically they will not call too many holds in a game. On anyone. Thats just how the game is reffed and how its played. Our guys do it and their guys do it. They shouldn't call it differently based on whether the play resulted in an INT or a TD. Maybe they should enforce the holding rules differently... but thats a different conversation. I do not feel that the refs treated the Dolphins unfairly in the game and I think calls and non-calls went both ways. The team just needs to get better. No point in harping on the refs too much. Once the team gets better, magically, they don't seem to get screwed by calls as often...
He gets more targets because were not trying to force feed the ball to Marshall. All the Marshall supporters tend to forget how often this offense was stopped because they were trying to satisfy Marshall's demands for the ball. I'd love a guy like Marshall.....without the divaness for the ball and the off field baggage.