| There’s no question that the scene in the
final minute of Cleveland’s home defeat to Jacksonville was ugly, ugly, ugly. But it
never should have come to that. With the Browns trailing 15-10 and driving deep into
Jacksonville territory in the dying minutes of what had been a fierce but well-played game
between two AFC Central rivals, the Browns faced a 4th-and-3 at the Jaguars
13-yard line. QB Tim Couch threw a pass to WR Quincy Morgan that was apparently caught at
the Jacksonville nine.
Morgan never appeared to have full control of the catch and, in fact, the ball appeared
to hit the ground as he rolled over. Of course, any questionable call in the final two
minutes of a half is subject to the replay assistant in the booth calling for a replay
review.
Thinking they had picked up the first down, Couch hurried the Browns to the line and
quickly spiked the ball to stop the clock with 48 seconds left. It was then, and only
then, that referee Terry McAulay met with the other officials and decided that the replay
assistant had buzzed them prior to the snap in an attempt to get a review of the
fourth-down play. Now, according to NFL rules, a play can’t be overturned, or even
reviewed for that matter, once the next play has been run.
This didn’t seem to stop McAulay and his crew. After reviewing the play, the
referee announced that Morgan never had possession of the ball and hadn’t made the
catch. That reversal of the original call turned the ball over to the Jaguars on downs.
When this decision was announced, the Cleveland fans went beserk with a cacophony of
boos. More disturbingly, they took to firing plastic beer bottles and everything else that
wasn’t tied down onto the field, putting the players and officials on the sidelines
at risk of bodily harm.
It was a scary scene for a few minutes, and when McAulay made the decision to end the
game with 48 seconds left on the clock, it seemed like the prudent thing to do. However,
NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue called the officials in Cleveland and demanded that the
game be completed. So, we got to witness the bizarre scene of the two teams taking the
field nearly half an hour after the game had ended prematurely to run two plays (both
kneel-downs by Jaguars QB Mark Brunell) in front of a nearly empty stadium.
This was an embarrassing scene for the Browns franchise, the city of Cleveland and,
more importantly, for the NFL. The officials’ indecisiveness was the direct cause of
the Cleveland fans’ out-of-control reaction. Had the officials called for a review of
the Morgan catch right after it was made, and before Couch spiked the ball on what he
thought was first down, I truly believe the Browns’ fans wouldn’t have reacted
as adversely as they did.
Now, on a lighter note, was there anything funnier this NFL season than seeing the
Cardinals’ overexuberant PK Bill Gramatica fall to the ground, holding his
hyperextended knee, after celebrating a made field goal early in the Cardinals’ 17-13
loss to the Giants Saturday?
Look, I don’t wish ill on anyone, and certainly don’t like to see athletes
get seriously injured. But this was not a serious injury, and the fact that he brought
this upon himself just made it too hilarious.
The Gramatica brothers — Bill’s older brother is Tampa Bay PK Martin
Gramatica — have been a running joke in the NFL with their way-over-the-top
celebrations of successful field goals. I mean, I can understand celebrating a
game-winning kick, but do they have to jump up and down like knuckleheads after every
good kick?
OK, I understand that the Gramaticas are from Argentina and that they have that soccer
mentality of celebrating every goal as if it may be their last. (And in a low-scoring
sport like soccer, there’s a good chance that each goal will be the last you score.)
Saturday’s incident was a perfect example of the Gramaticas going too far. In the
first quarter of the Cardinals’ game in Giants Stadium, Bill Gramatica kicked a
42-yard field goal to give Arizona an early 3-0 lead. Fine, he put his team on top against
a division rival.
After the kick, Gramatica immediately started jumping around, pumping his arm and
finally leaping into the air. However, he landed awkwardly on his leg and immediately fell
down in pain, holding his knee.
It turns out that he wasn’t able to kick off the rest of the game (leaving S Pat
Tillman to handle those duties), and he limited the Cardinals’ offense, missing a
field goal and putting it under pressure to drive for a go-ahead touchdown rather than a
go-ahead field goal in the game’s final minutes.
It was interesting to note that Martin Gramatica hardly celebrated his made field goal
in the Bucs’ 27-3 loss to the Bears Sunday. Think the Gramaticas have learned their
lesson?
I’ve got to say that I absolutely didn’t think much of Chiefs RB Priest
Holmes heading into this season. In fact, he wasn’t even a player that I considered
drafting for our fantasy football league here at PFW. So, I’d like to take this
opportunity to apologize to Mr. Holmes for not giving him the respect he has proven that
he deserves.
Holmes has been a revelation this season, rushing for 1,267 yards with seven touchdowns
and catching 497 yards’ worth of passes for another two scores. He leads the AFC in
rushing and has been as dangerous a back as there is in the league in recent weeks. He
played a key role in the Chiefs’ 26-23 overtime victory over the Broncos Sunday by
rushing 29 times for 121 yards and a touchdown.
You know, for a guy who looked absolutely reluctant to throw the ball downfield and
appeared to have lost his passing touch, Bears QB Jim Miller sure made a couple of pretty
throws at the end of the first half that turned the tide of that game and spurred the
Bears to an impressive 27-3 victory.
Miller looked terrible in the early going against Tampa Bay, coming off subpar
performances against Detroit and Green Bay, and I was beginning to look on the Bears’
sideline for Shane Matthews. But then Miller rose up from the ashes and showed why head
coach Dick Jauron has him starting for Chicago.
First, while on the run, Miller hit WR David Terrell in stride with a deep pass that
went for 62 yards and set up the Bears with a 1st-and-goal situation. Then, on
3rd-and-goal from the two, Miller displayed perfect touch on a lofted pass to
the corner of the endzone that was caught by WR Marty Booker in stride for a touchdown.
That broke a 3-3 tie, and the Bears dominated the rest of the way.
What if …
Do you think Ravens head coach Brian Billick had another sleepless night Sunday when he
once again pondered Baltimore’s decision to draft RB Chris Barnes in the fifth round
of last April’s NFL draft instead of RB Dominic Rhodes? Apparently, the Ravens were
seriously considering selecting Rhodes, a revelation as an undrafted free agent with the
Colts this season, with their fifth-round pick. However, after weighing their options, the
Ravens went with Barnes, who failed to make the team and was cut.
Billick must be especially second-guessing that decision after watching his Ravens
struggle to rush for 58 yards in a 26-21 home loss to Pittsburgh, then find out that
Rhodes ran for 177 yards and two touchdowns in the Colts’ 41-27 victory over the
Falcons. … And don’t forget that the Ravens (who have gone through Jamal Lewis,
Terry Allen, Jason Brookins and Moe Williams at running back this season) let Priest
Holmes go this past offseason to free up salary-cap space.
Let’s hear it for the Lions! And, not just for winning their first game of the
season, but for sticking it to Jay Leno in their postgame comments. Leno had ridiculed the
1-12 Lions for weeks on his "Tonight Show," and the Detroit players were all too
aware of that fact. So much so, that WR Johnnie Morton looked directly into a camera
during an on-field interview following the Lions’ 27-24 victory over the Vikings and
said that Leno could kiss his you-know-what. Don’t worry, Jay; it had to happen
sometime.
It was a small play, but it just seemed to crystallize my feelings about Raiders QB
Rich Gannon being a leading MVP candidate this season. In Oakland’s hard-fought 13-6
victory over the Chargers Saturday, Gannon made an incredibly savvy and gutsy play during
the first quarter of a scoreless game. He had led the Raiders deep into Chargers territory
and then got sacked for a seven-yard loss. On 2nd-and-17, Gannon dropped back
to pass and found Chargers MLB Junior Seau immediately in his face on a blitz. As Seau
pounced on him, Gannon calmly flipped a pass to RB Charlie Garner. Garner burst up the
middle of the field just vacated by Seau and was finally tackled after a 17-yard gain,
just enough for a first down. The Raiders’ drive stalled three plays later, and they
settled for a field goal, but I couldn’t help but admire how brilliant Gannon’s
play was.
Is CBS play-by-play man Don Criqui in line to get a cut of some bonus money if Patriots
WR Troy Brown makes the Pro Bowl? Criqui referred to Brown as "the great Troy
Brown" on several occasions during the Patriots’ 12-9 overtime victory over the
Bills. And he was overheard at one point openly campaigning for Brown’s selection to
the Pro Bowl. I almost thought I was listening to Brent Musburger there for a minute.
I’m guessing that Bears C Olin Kreutz is a big fan of the movie "The
Karate Kid." How else do you explain his actions during a sideline scrum in the first
half of the Bears’ 27-3 victory over the Buccaneers? Some players from both teams got
into a little pushing and shoving match near the Bears’ sideline, and Kreutz was seen
getting into a textbook Mr. Miyagi fighting pose (picture both arms outstretched, standing
on one leg with the other lifted and poised to kick). Thankfully for the Bears, he
didn’t act on it and risk an ejection since he’s a vitally important cog in
their offensive line, but it certainly provided some comic relief on a dismal, rainy day.
Weird stat of the day: The Jets have won eight of 13 games this season despite the fact
that QB Vinny Testaverde has reached 200 passing yards in only one — that’s
right, ONE — game this season. He just missed doing it a second time in Sunday’s
come-from-behind 15-14 win over the Bengals as he threw for 196 yards and two
fourth-quarter touchdowns. The win improved the Jets’ record in the month of December
to a poor 19-41.
Also from that Jets-Bengals game, Cincinnati looked like a Super Bowl team on two
drives and looked like the 4-9 team that it is the rest of the day. Cincy took the opening
kickoff and held the ball for an amazing 20 plays, taking 12 minutes off the clock before
RB Corey Dillon capped the 81-yard drive with a one-yard TD run. Then, in the third
quarter, the Bengals put together another impressive drive, this time marching 87 yards in
13 plays to set up a three-yard Dillon TD run. Take away the 168 yards they gained on
those two drives, and the Bengals managed to gain 80 yards the rest of the game.
Give the young, injury-riddled Bills credit for playing tough despite suffering through
a 2-11 season. Buffalo’s defense delivered some of the biggest hits of the NFL slate
this weekend, with Patriots QB Tom Brady taking one vicious shot that knocked his helmet
off and WR David Patten getting knocked silly by FS Keion Carpenter.
In fact, the Carpenter hit came in overtime after Patten had made a catch in Bills
territory. As Patten fell to the ground, half in the field of play and half over the
sideline, the ball came loose, and Bills CB Nate Clements recovered for an apparent
turnover. However, upon review by instant replay, the ball was shown to be in contact with
the unconscious Patten’s feet. Since the top part of Patten’s body was lying out
of bounds, once the ball made contact with Patten, it was out of play. The replay official
thus overturned the fumble call on the field, and the Patriots took advantage of the
break, driving for the game-winning field goal in a 12-9 win. |
