To err is human (49'ers v. Giants)

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 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!

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.

If any NFL team has a right to bitch about the referees, it's the Raiders.

But, I believe that poor/slanted officiating in the NFL comes from on high, and is not the result of poor decision making by the referees.

The NFL wants and needs an exciting product. There is no doubt in my mind (now) that the ref's will call a defensive hold or pass interference just to keep a drive going for a team which is down and trying to make a comeback. See: Miami-New England, Dec. 27th. Dolphin Jamar Fletcher was called for a pass interference which, if anything, was offensive interference. But, it made the game much more exciting.

I'm really into racing so I don't follow the football games very much anymore but since they were the play off's I thought i'd at least watch a few of them and this just happened to be one that I watched. The pass interference was so obvious a 6 year old could have called the penalty, they really screwed up on this one.

He reported he was eligible before the game even started. It is allowed and normally practiced. He was eligible.

And, why the NY bashing?? The Giants were choaking, but they deserve as much as a chance as anyone else. The rules should have worked for them, not against them.

NFL officials did not admit, nor would they review, the interception made by the 49ers Ahmed Plummer only three plays before the final snap. There are all sorts of errors made in a game, but we generally remember only the last one.

I didn't see it, so I can't comment, but, the NFL admitted it was a blown call, so I will assume it was.

It's too bad when the game is taken out of the hands of the players and put in the hands of the referees.

Not that I'm bitter or have a major grudge, but the 1978 AFC championship game (for the '77 season) between the Raiders and the Broncos (Raiders were defending Super Bowl champs) had a MAJOR boner on the part of the officials. Broncos clearly fumbled the ball on the Raider 2-yard line, it was scooped up by Dave Rowe, as I recall, of the Raiders, and he ran it back 98 yards for a TD...but the refs called the play dead before the fumble. The replay showed otherwise. Denver was given the ball back on the Raiders' 2, and the subsequently scored. A 14-point swing. The Broncos won my less than 14 points.

So, the Giants aren't the first team to be robbed. Besides, even if the got to re-kick the FG attempt, at 41 yards, what with the lousy snaps of the center, and the poor kicking of the kicker, there's no guarantee they would have made the FG anyway.

If the Giants had one, the NFL would not have been able to release the schedule for any games beyond next weekend because there was a remote possibility that both the Giants and the Jets, who play in the same stadium, could have hosted league championship games.

I heard that the NFL was actually prepared to schedule both of them in Giants Stadium on the same day, with an interval of 2-3 hours between games.

That doesn't show sh*t.

Defenders are given a 5 yard allowance, didn't you know this?

First of all...nice mouth...

Second, You are allowed to bump 5 yards of the line, not pull their jerseys down to make belts out of them... Keep crying, Ill be dancing over here...

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.

A pox on thee for making me relive that one ;-)

There is no doubt in my mind (now) that the ref's will call a defensive hold or pass interference just to keep a drive going for a team which is down and trying to make a comeback.

Yep, and I've been saying the same thing for years. Certain "penalties" - like holding, either offensive or defensive - can be called on almost any play without the refs drawing too much attention to their incompetence (or cheating), and this is how the league attempts to determine the outcomes of games.

I believe that poor/slanted officiating in the NFL comes from on high

Same could be said of the NBA officiating. I have noticed more consistency in actually enforcing NBA rules this year, which explains in large measure why the Lakers are mired near the bottom of their division.

Collingsworth today said that by spiking the ball he meant the holder could "throw a pass" 5 feet into the ground.....it would have worked...

Everyone forgets that the Bills gave the Jints a gift Super Bowl when Christie missed the last second FG.....so what go around comes around....

Jets kick Raider butt!!!!!

And, why the NY bashing?? The Giants were choking, but they deserve as much as a chance as anyone else. The rules should have worked for them, not against them.

I admit that the Giants were the victims of bad officiating. I just don't think the league offices would've made a statement admitting it if the victims played in another city.

I remember that game not because of the ending, but because the ending was inevitable. Phil Simms got injured earlier in the game, and Jeff Rutledge was their quarterback in overtime. There was no way in hell the Giants were going to win that game unless their defense or special teams scored. I think they had something like 50 total offensive yards after halftime.

Yep, another bandwagoneer.

All of the sudden, this board is loaded with OSU fans.

So all you have is to accuse me of being an bandwagoneer? I was born and raised in Columbus with OSU as the football I followed... But ok, whatever you wish to think...

The team was supposed to lay a smackdown on OSU so dont focus on one play that didnt "win" it for OSU, it just didnt win it for Miami at the time. If I recall, UM had 4 chances to punch it in but OSU stopped them... Play again...

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