NFL Officials: Leaping Penalty on Tampa Was Correct

Yahoo News ^

[GulliverSwift]

NEW YORK - The NFL upheld the penalty on leaping Simeon Rice (news), a call that gave the Indianapolis Colts (news) a second chance at a field goal that beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (news) in overtime.

Rice was penalized Monday night for unsportsmanlike conduct after jumping in an attempt to block Mike Vangerjagt's unsuccessful 40-yard field goal. Vanderjagt received another chance and made a 29-yarder that caromed off the right upright.

The Colts won 38-35 in overtime after rallying from a three-touchdown deficit in the last four minutes of regulation.

The league confirmed Tuesday what referee Johnnie Grier said after the game: The rules ban running forward, leaping and falling on a player, as Rice did.

Rule 12, section three, article two calls for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a player "clearly running forward and leaping in an obvious attempt to block a field goal or try-kick after touchdown and landing on players unless the leaping player was originally lined up within one yard of the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped."

[GulliverSwift]

Sorry, Tampa fans. That game was amazing, though. I never would've thought, and so did all the people in the stands who left early, that the Colts would win. Reminds me of the bizare Cowboys-Giants game a few weeks ago. Seems to be a lot of these this year. As well as Dante Hall scoring four touchdowns in a row in Kansas City.

Maybe all the players have something new in their gatorade this year.

Even though the ruling was technically correct, I'm sure guys do that all the time up on the line. It's a natural instinct. I bet the ref was feeling guilty about the "roughing the kicker" penalty earlier that saved the Buchanneers from having to turn over the ball.

[Support Free Republic]

Hi mom!

[NavyCaptain]

Well having seen this done by others literally hundreds of times, I hope the officials start calling it all the time. Maybe they will call this as often as they call "holding" which seems to be almost never!

[Chancellor Palpatine]

I fell asleep in my chair, woke up and turned it off without watching the comeback.

[conservativefromGa]

Hi Dad!

[Pikamax]

"The league confirmed Tuesday what referee Johnnie Grier said after the game: The rules ban running forward, leaping and falling on a player, as Rice did. "

Next Time Rice should pull a Matrix and stop in the air. if thats the rule then every goal line play would have a penalty.

[GulliverSwift]

I was watching other shows at the same time, and flipping back occasionally, but not wanting to see such a boring game. I'm glad I stayed up to watch those other shows, because the game finally got interesting.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Oh, stop, LOL. So I'm turning into my father already.....

[Stew Padasso]

Colts dominated the second half. Tampa spent too much energy talking trash and yelling at the officials. Up next, Carolina. Hopefully the Colts can recover in time for another brawl.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

It was so damn dull - I just could not keep my eyes open.

[Mr. Bird]

The standard practices of NFL officiating are horrible. You bring up holding: the league (and even the top official, Seaman) acknowledges that holding occurs on virtually every play. They state that they will call it if it occurs at or near the site of the action. In other words, it's holding if the ball is close to you, a no-call if it's away from you. So much for rules.

A comment on the leaping call (I didn't watch it). I have seen it called before. I would liken this call to the rare instance where a tackle is flagged for helping a RB by pushing him, or some other odd occurrence. Bummer for the Bucs, but they should have never been in the position to lose.

[SGCOS]

... referee Johnnie Grier

Gotta put in a Johnnie Grier plug. He's the best.

[Guillermo]

What's Tampa Bay's record now? 3-2? LOL!

[Guillermo]

You're right.

Grier has an excellent reputation.

Although the zebras miss calls, the vast majority of the time they're right on.

[Bikers4Bush]

How the hell are they supposed to block a kick then only by falling forward into its path?

[GulliverSwift]

No, even worse. Its 2-2

[SengirV]

I think that there has been an emphasis on calling everything on potential game winning plays after that missed call in the Giants/niners game in the playoffs last year. All the games I've watched this year have had TONS of penalties called(I've watched a couple redskins games =) ). I admit that I do not like the inconsistent calls, but it appears that there would be penalties on every play if the refs followed the letter of the law like they do on those potential game winning plays.

[bobjam]

A goal line stand is different from a kick attempt. This rule is related to the one against launching another player into the air off one's back; players can't form pyramids to block kicks. Technically, an offensive player is also not allowed to push, drag or carry the ball carrier forward (another one I would like to see called).

[GulliverSwift]

I understand how a hold is most effective if it's done close to the guy with the ball. One hold is all that's needed many times to get big yardage. It's not possible for the refs to watch 22 players at once. But I think holding penalties are too much. ten yards. That's an entire down series right there.

[Colonel_Flagg]

So much for rules.

There's one that's worse than holding. The NFL's crews seem to have no collective idea of what constitutes pass interference. It varies from crew to crew.

I'm a Vikings fan and I'm amazed that Randy Moss has become the superstar that he has. Considering that he's flagged for offensive interference more than any receiver in the league, you'd think he'd get some calls his way once in awhile due to his raw ability. What happened to him in Atlanta in the end zone last week was laughable. He was body-checked before the ball arrived, it was intercepted, and no flag was thrown.

You're right - the NFL has a lot of work to do in this department.