One play that is still being talked about from the Giants NFC Championship game win on Sunday is the forward progress ruling on a play where Ahmad Bradshaw lost the football deep in Giants territory.  It was a close call and naturally has many on the San Francisco side upset with the call, as a fumble recovery by the 49ers there surely would have led to points. 

One thing I’ve heard and read over and over is that the ball may have been out before the whistle, and that the whistle was early.  Problem with that argument is, the whistle itself is irrelevant on this call.  The official ruled forward progress, it doesn’t matter when he actually blows the whistle.   The ball can be out long before the whistle, and the official can still make the ruling that the player’s progress had stopped.  What if the referee dropped his whistle?  Is he not allowed to make the call then?  The call is made regardless of the whistle. 

Another point that WFAN morning host Craig Carton keeps hammering on is the fact that the official threw the blue bean bag on the play.  He argues that the blue flag signals a change of possession, meaning the official was first going to rule a fumble, but then for some reason change his mind. 

This is just stupid for a couple of reasons.  First is the timing.  Watch the video below and you can clearly see the official blowing the whistle and throwing the blue bag down while the ball is still rolling around on the ground.  How could he have been signaling a change of possession when the ball wasn’t even recovered yet.

Next is where he threw the blue flag.  He runs over and tosses the blue bag down at the 21 yard line, while Bradshaw and the subsequent fumble and pileup were all the way back at the 18 yard line.  While Carton is right that they use the blue bean bag on changes of possession, that’s not the only thing its used for.  The white and blue bags officials have are simply just makers for them to use any way they see fit during the course of a play. It’s clear to anyone with half a brain that the official here was simply marking the spot of the forward progress before going over to make the call. He never had any though of ruling that a fumble.

When all was said and done, the right call was made.  Fox Sports officiating guru Mike Pereira wrote in his Monday morning article that even if that play could have been challenged, its would have stood because the right call was made. 

I can understand the frustration of 49ers fans because some officials do let a play like that go longer before calling forward progress.  Claiming the Giants were lucky though, is basically saying the Giants were lucky the officials didn’t screw up.  But based on the level of officiating we’ve seen the past few seasons, that might actually be a valid argument.