Missed call that would have led to OSU running the clock out 17-14.
Posted on 01/07/2003 9:53:14 AM PST by blabs
To err is human..
Having watched football for many years, I can recall on numerous occasions where a team was placed in a 3rd down position to kick a game winning field goal. Many of these games were won, and many were lost, but never has so much controversy erupted as in the 2002 playoff game involving the San Fransisco 49’ers versus the New York Giants.
In case you did not have an opportunity to watch or listen to the game, or have been living in a different country, I will include a brief recap of the final ensuing moments.
It is third down. New York has just completed a drive that brought them within field goal range, with 6 seconds remaining on the play clock. New York brings their field goal team onto the field after an “ice the kicker” timeout called by San Francisco. From 41 yards, the field goal kicker takes his place and calls for the snap. The snap is outside, and the ball lands face down. The holder attempts to upright the ball, but has trouble. The kicker runs towards the ball in kicking motion, but retreats when the holder fails to upright the ball. The holder picks up the ball and begins running towards the sideline, desperately looking for the eligible receiver. The holder throws the ball in a “Hail Mary” fashion across the field, against the direction of the run, towards the receiver. The receiver misses the ball, and the play clock has now expired, rending the game over.
The Controversy Begins!
The first controversial issue was brought to the forefront by Chris Collingsworth, a sports anchor on a national broadcast, as he stated that the place kick holder should have spiked the ball to stop the clock.
The second controversial issue was a penalty called against New York for an “ineligible receiver”.
When listening to a sports anchor, in this case an ex-pro football player, we tend to take more at face value his expertise in the area of the sport. After all, this is a person who has lived the sport and should know what he is talking about. But as we were all shown, this is not necessarily true. There is a technical rule in the NFL that states if the player does not receive the ball directly from under the center, the ball cannot be spiked without a penalty. That penalty would have included a 10 second clock runoff, which would have ended the game and rendered the team a loss.
It was easy to buy into the “spike the ball” comment. After all, it’s often that we see the quarterback spike the ball to stop the clock when he has additional downs. Also, 3rd down field goals are uncommon, and usually due to a lack of time remaining on the playclock. And when was the last time you saw a place kick holder spike a ball? Hindsight 20/20, don’t always believe what you hear, even when it’s from an expert. This controversy was unnecessary, and has been since laid to rest (or we hope!)
The ineligible receiver penalty was called due to confusion of the referees. The receiver was actually an eligible player. Not only was he eligible, but was flagrantly interfered with during the passing motion, which should have resulted in offsetting penalties. Since the game cannot end with a penalty, New York would have been afforded another opportunity to kick again, and possibly win (or still lose)the game.
Let’s agree on something. The referee is a player on the field. You may not believe this, but it’s true. Let me explain.
Sport involves human error; it is an integral part or the game. Whether the error is committed by the player, the coach, or yes, even the referee, it is part of the game and must be accepted at that. If we wanted to ensure that each and every game was free from error, then we might as well replace the entire NFL with robots, who are programmed to do an exact task, and nothing else. The referees’ duty as a player is to watch, and judge. While on the field, the referee can be hit(unintentionally). The referees’ vision can be blocked. The referee can trip and fall. As long as the referee is on the field, he should be considered a player, and with any player comes human error. If you haven’t come to that realization or refuse to agree with that, it’s time to see with a new perspective. Besides, wouldn’t it be boring if there was never any controversy. Here’s to the excitement of the NFL!
What could have been done!
Let’s face it. The game was not lost just by the kicking team, but by the entire team. New York was already ahead by 24 points at the beginning of the third quarter, but failed to provide the defense, the offense, and the special team effort needed to retain victory. Plain and simple!
For the sake of controversy however, I wish to delve into what I believe could and should have been done(the following is strictly opinion, so please take it as such).
In the precarious position the Giants were in (3rd down, kicking a field goal, with one down remaining), it should have been their secondary objective to ensure the preservation of the 4th down (the primary objective was to make the field goal). After all, wouldn’t you rather have two chances to do something than once. I know I would.
As a special teams coach in this situation, the very first thing to do would be to assess the worst case scenario. These scenarios could include a blocked kick, a turnover, or a muffed snap. Since the first two really have no recourse, the only remaining scenario would be the muffed snap. With only six seconds remaining on the play-clock and no timeouts available, only two options were available help to preserve the 4th down(the second chance) and not let the play-clock expire.
The first option would be for the holder to instantly pick up the ball, step out of the box, and throw the ball near any eligible receiver (preferably past the receiver), letting the ball hit the ground and instantly stopping the play-clock. Without hesitation, this would have left at least 2 seconds remaining for the 4th down.
The second option would be for the holder to instantly pick up the ball and make a full run stride for the sideline, stopping the clock. In theory, this could have been accomplished without hesitation, with at least a 1 second left for the 4th down (of course, factors such as speed, and pursuing lineman make the first choice preferable).
Before ever sending the kicking team onto the field, the special teams coach should have mentally prepared his players with this scenario. No heroics. No hesitation. If for any reason this snap is muffed, do either of the previous and nothing else. Got it! Look me in the eye! Got it! Good! Do it! This is what great coaches do. Not good coaches. Great coaches!
As you painfully watch the replay, it is obvious that this was not done. You can see the confusion, and the hesitation, even in the run, as precious seconds tick away from the clock. The holder did what he practiced to normally do – pick up the ball, find a receiver, and throw. Unfortunately, this was not a normal situation.
When the entire season, the playoffs, and possibly the Superbowl, rest on the shoulders of the kicking team, the chance for error are great, and common. It is of the upmost importance for the coach to remove the normal instinct from the mind of the player, and replace it with specific instructions.
I really had no favorite when it came to winning the game, after all the 49’ers put on one of the greatest playoff comebacks. We’ll see who ends up at the big game. Until then, I hope that we have all learned a lesson from this. Errors will occur.
It is a reflection of our imperfection.
Go Jets!!
The admission was likely made only because a New York team came up on the short end.
The Raiders are going to down those Jets, possibly with ease.
Anyway, any team who played that badly should not be furthered in the playoffs. The Giants sucked, big time.
You must have missed some of the most unbelievable endings to overtime games in the last several years, including one earlier this season between Pittsburgh and Cleveland at Heinz Field. In that game, Pittsburgh lined up to kick the winning field goal in overtime on third down. Cleveland blocked the kick, but Pittsburgh recovered the ball behind the line of scrimmage (if it had gone beyond the line of scrimmage it would have been a "deflected" kick and therefore Cleveland's ball on the missed field goal) and then successfully won the game with a field goal on 4th down.
The Giants played an overtime game against Philadelphia a few years back, and a similar thing happened. The Giants blocked the winning field goal attempt, but Philadelphia recovered the ball in their own backfield and ran it into the end zone for a game-winning touchdown.
Could be.
What few are talking about is the monumental mistake the Giants made by playing a soft zone defense through the last third of the game. The "prevent D" usually prevents only one thing - winning. The Giants rushed only 3 D-lineman during this time, and Garcia had all day to choose his receivers. Bad coaching, and Fassell should be fired.
Yep. Garcia sat in the pocket and looked for whoever Sehorn was covering the entire 4th Quarter. The Giants would've been better off pressuring Garcia, even if it hurt their pass coverage game.
The Giants were involved in an odd situation against the Dallas Cowboys back in the late 1980s. The Giants were awarded a safety on the opening kickoff when the Dallas kick returner muffed the kick in his own end zone and was tackled trying to run it out.
It turns out that Dallas should have had the ball on their 20 yard-line. A safety on a punt or kickoff only occurs if the returner muffs the kick outside the endzone and gets tackled inside the end zone.
Not only did the NFL announce after the game that a mistake had been made, but the entire team of off-field officials for that game was fired before the end of the day.
The only thing that changed at the end was that they used their nickel defense because San Francisco was using a three-wideout set.
According to reports that I've read, he reported to the ref before the game that he would be eligible on all field goal tries. I could be wrong but I thought he had to report before each play in which he would be eligible.
Go back and look at the last quarter of the game this year between the Giants and Titans. I'm sure the 49ers did, which is why the end of that game in Sunday seemed like a flashback to most of us.
True enough - the Cowboys and Packers are certainly the league office favorites. I did notice, however, that the NFL declined to release the Divisional Championship lineups until after this past weekend's slate of games. I suspect this was done to insure both NY teams weren't in play on the same day. As best I can remember, Week 1 and 2 locations/times were always released prior to the start of the playoffs.
ok....if he's a player, who's side is he on?
Missed call that would have led to OSU running the clock out 17-14.
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