Very similar to the Branch play, flagged for unnecessary roughness just like Branch, but no ejection from New York.
It’s a dumb play by Branch and Poyer, just extend your arms ffs, and Branch already had a concussion this season making it double dumb, but the NFL should be officiating this stuff consistently.
Everything was the same, except the timing of the hit. Poyer hit him as the ball arrived, Branch hit him after the ball was well beyond the receiver.
Branch’s hit also had slightly more shoulder but he took a good 2 full strides after the ball was dropped. He clearly had time to disengage unless he’s running in there with his eyes closed.
BB eject felt weak but how did Poyer not get ejected that dude went full airborne middle leading with his helmet right into Coleman’s facemask 
The NFL feels so random at times
Branch didn’t ‘launch’ like Poyer did above. I think the one OP shows here is worse than Branch’s hit.
I was listening to the radio in my car at this point, they couldn’t believe the ejection either. Got clarification about 3 times and still thought it wasn’t right,
I don’t think BB knew if he had caught the ball or not.
Heres the one from the Miami bills game. No ejection
I love it when lessons can be learned and we still walk away with the win.
I’ll bet Branch will never take that risk again.
I can see a penalty-ok-, but thee ejection for Branch was BS !!!
I think all of of us for the most part agree the ejection was dumb unless you’re a Packers fan or crazy. It was still a very dumb play on Branch’s part and thankfully it didn’t cost the team a win. We are not going to get any favors from anybody and every week will be a battle. I hope that Branch channels that anger from the ejection into his next game.
The ejection was total bullshit. At halftime they showed the replays of the games and showed the Poyer hit which was only a 15 yard penalty, as it should have been. There were at least 2 other games with similar hits, none were ejections. I think this is exactly what Campbell was referencing after the post game when he said he was going to tell Branch that the NFL doesn’t care about the 1pm games, it’s the later afternoon and evening game they watch closely.
I don’t care if it sounds conspiracy theory, the fact this call came directly from New York, and within 30 seconds of the hit happening, I 100% believe that the NFL was trying to level the playing field for Green Bay. They are DYING to get Green Bay back on the map because of how popular they are, and Detroit walking in and mopping up the Packers, at their house, makes for a boring product. Ejections are rarely called outside of a player kicking/punching another or striking an official.
I did find it interesting that Campbell was quick to compliment how good the officiating was. Maybe he will have some different thoughts after he sees how weak the hit was. It could also be Danny knowing, we won and let’s not put a target on our backs by throwing the officiating a bone. The facts were, Branch’s 2 penalties were the only calls against us to that point. We all know, that NEVER happens at Lambaugh. They even called HOLDING, against GREEN BAY!
Even the non-homer Packer fans didn’t think it was ejection worthy, and in Grossi’s stream he said repeatedly no, it won’t be an ejection, that’s more like college, and was shocked when it happened. After his initial glee wore off, he said repeatedly he did not feel the hit was worth an ejection. The NFL’s explanation was weak as hell, which tells me they just were looking for any way they could to keep the game close. Remember, this is the same game McKinney said the Lions were going to try to embarass them. Green Bay was admitting defeat and who the better team was before they even stepped on the rain soaked field to find out.
Strangely, there’s so many differing opinions on this thread, but somehow I agree with them all.
The Branch ejection was bullshit and indefensible. I’ve been watching Green Bay fan videos and they don’t see. Most of them are defending Branch!
And the fact that it came from NY says they’re trying to influence outcomes. It really couldn’t be anything else.
There is no collegiate style “targeting” rule in the NFL!
They owe everyone an explanation.
Of course, they don’t explain themselves to anyone, not even Tom Brady. He’s in trouble for questioning it on air. He’s a owner, you know.
Don’t do corrupt shit and you won’t have to silence people.
Starting with the comment that the hit was still not ejectionable, I can agree with the hit timing being too late. However, you also have to take into account circumstances. The NFL said the ejection was based on “Branch had enough time to hold off on the contact.” Did he? It was pouring down rain. The field was very slick. If the field is slick, it’s extremely difficult for a player to stop their forward momentum. Remember early in the game, there was a tackle by the Lions that was WAY out of bounds. Any other game, that’s an immediate no questions flag, and rightly so. The refs did not throw a flag. Why? Because they know that with an extremely slick field, there was no way for the defender to stop his momentum going out of bounds and both players ended up about 10 feet past the boundary. I was enjoying that early on in the game, you could see guys from both teams running like penguins on ice. They were basically tip-toeing and going in and out of breaks as gently as possible while they got their feet under them. Once they got used to the field, you could see them starting to run a bit more confidently and crisply.
Branch had already committed to the hit, and there was no way he could either peel off or get his body out of the way on a slick field. I get why it was called a penalty. By no part of the rules book was it ejectionable. We all know, the NFL does not call games by the book, they call them on gut feelings and “marketing”.
I believe so… The ball hit the ground before Branch even started lowering his head to make the hit.
Now, if he didn’t see the ball at all, then I understand why he went for the hit… I can’t comment either way on that bc only Branch knows what he saw
He led with his head. That’s not a timing thing, that’s a technique / stupidity thing. If he leads with his hands there’s no penalty and he makes the hit all the same.
I get that, like I said it was a penalty. I agree with that and am fine with that call. I am not fine with the “It was so egregious and so late that it was an ejectionable offense.” Which is what the NFL said.
This is the same NFL that said a New Orleans player who is grabbing and twisting the leg of Justin Herbert, a quarterback who has a well known ankle issue, was not trying to hurt him.
Personally, I thought they were a bit quick with the ejection. But right or not, he put them in a place where they had to make a decision.
I took a moment to think, ‘what if someone did that to Amon-Ra?’ and I wonder if I would expect an ejection. My own review says no. So I think this was a bad ejection.
The reason I don’t feel to upset about the ejection is that:
Sometimes it isn’t about intent. Sometimes it is just an aggressive play where you give the geeks in NY a chance to see something that probably isn’t there.
yep. still pop him. I mean, why not? would’ve been better to hit him and shove with the arms. you should never lower your head anyway, for your own sake I mean it’s dumb as hell.
It’s just possible that with the wind and the rain, Branch had just gotten a wet gust in the face and thought that he was trying to separate the receiver from the ball.
It’s possible he didn’t see that the catch hadn’t been made.