<< NFL Rule 3, Section 21, Article 2
Note 2: When a Team A player is holding the ball to pass it forward, any intentional forward movement of his arm starts a forward pass, even if the player loses possession of the ball as he is attempting to tuck it back toward his body. Also, if the player has tucked the ball into his body and then loses possession, it is a fumble.
Note 3: If the player loses possession of the ball while attempting to recock his arm, it is a fumble.
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its right there in black and white. its a fumble. anybody watch nfl gameday on espn? steve young and sterling sharpe both proclaim fumble. steve young was saying that he has asked refs what tuck means many times and they have told him that once a player has clear control of the ball, that constitutes a tuck. brady obviously had the ball in his control, not moving forward, rather downward, with both hands on the ball, with absolutely no intention of throwing. and the fact that brady is a qb is meaningless cause any player on the offense, with the exception of the o-line, can throw the ball. what if a wide reciever catches the ball but never touches the ball with his body, does that mean he didnt catch the ball because he never tucked it? of course not. brady pump faked, but thats meaningless, because he tucked the ball. you dont have too look at intention. the pump fake was over. his arm was not moving forward. he had complete control of the ball and he dropped it. thats why it was ruled a fumble on the field and not an incomlpete pass. it was a fumble.
witht hat said, yes, the raiders did play like losers in the 4th. they played not to lose instead of playing to win. gruden was way to conservative with his play calling. but the fact of the matter is the raiders lost, not because of play calling, but because of blown call by the refs. i like what tim brown said (im paraphrasing) "we all know the league has a vendetta against al davis. the players just hope that it doesnt show on the field"
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