No one has said otherwise. By the way, your statement “it didn’t affect the outcome” is meaningless if the game was not over regardless of whether Jones scored or not.
You’re just wrong to say we have no idea. The game was almost 75% over when this play occurred. We can’t say for sure what would have happened, but we can absolutely make informed statements about likelihoods. The play appeared to take four points away from Baltimore, meaning the Steelers were trailing by a significantly smaller amount after that drive. I’m sure we can agree that being down by 13 is worse than being down by 9. There are even websites that calculate teams’ chances of winning at various points in the game. I would be very interested to see what they say about the Steelers’ odds at that juncture.
It wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. The drive that produced that field goal lasted 2:37, and it could have gone a few minutes longer than turned into a TD anyway. That would have been bad for the Steelers, but then again, having the other team start on your 27 is a lot better than having the other team score a TD right away. In one case, you have a chance to stop them from scoring a TD. In the other, you have essentially no chance of doing that.
It looks like he felt it was unlikely.
By changing the outcome of the play, he changed the outcome of the game. He took an almost sure touchdown off the board.
I think you are ignoring the existence of probability and the fact that things change as the game progresses. You can’t say ‘the game was not over even if Jones had scored’ and ‘the Ravens won anyway’ as part of the same argument. The first statement notes that we’re dealing in probabilities and circumstances change over time; the other starts at the end of the game and works backward. That’s not how the game actually unfolds.
Bottom line: yes, it was not a 100% guarantee that Jones was going to score. It was overwhelmingly likely and there is no reason to assume that anything else was going to happen. I’m willing to assume that that means “he was going to score.” After all Mike Tomlin didn’t think his players were going to catch the guy without a little help.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a delay. Players mostly use it during a live play to avoid breaking stride in order to look behind them. You can tell positions, but I sincerely doubt any player would think of it as a substitute for actually looking at a play.
According to the rules he was not even supposed to be there. It is illegal to be in the white zone (as it is only for immediate loading and unloading). If you are already violating the rules by being to close too the field, you lose all rights of “Oooops!” as an excuse when you are one step beyond that.
You’re right. Now please tell me where I said it was delayed “several seconds”? The point is that given the short reaction time he had, I don’t thinking looking at the jumbotron is reliable enough.
I had noticed the “3 seconds” comment in your post. On review I see that you were talking about the time that had elapsed in the video. Still, I think there was probably enough time for Tomlin to panic and decide to engage in a little gamesmanship.
I think we’re all agreed that the NFL has always ignored that rule - the NBA is the same way with its rules on the subject - and that that needs to change.
One thing I think about: this guy is no dummy. To make it to head coach status in the NF freakin L, you have to be near the top of your game. Even if you’re the 32nd ranked coach in the whole NFL, you still have a football mind that got you that far.
Can a football smart HEAD coach zone out during an important, maybe even pivotal, play during an important conf game with a major rival? Seriously, I don’t think so. YMMV. I think he saw a split second opportunity, thought he could get away with, and did the deed. All decided in a few seconds.
Fine him. Suspend him. He deserves it.
As for the draft picks, I have a problem with that. It was him, not a group of players or coaches or assistants.
But seriously, is “probably” strong enough call the guy a liar, and imply the two other NFL coaches who have been in similar situations, and know Tomlinson personally, are seeing the situation incorrectly?
Again, I am not saying it was impossible to pull off. I am saying that after taking into account his character, his vehement and seemingly sincere denial, the circumstances, the opinions of other coaches, and the sheer stupidity of trying to get away with something like that, I have to think it was more than likely accidental.
I can accept that you can lose track of your position while watching the Jumbotron. I don’t have the best sense of direction myself. But Belichick and Harbaugh never managed to interfere with a play and I’m finding it hard to believe Tomlin got all the way out there by accident.
It has nothing to do with intelligence. Bill Belichick, probably the best coach in the NFL, has been hit on the sidelines while coaching a game. Sean Payton’s knee was destroyed during a sideline collision. That’s in addition to countless others. They are not stupid people, nor is Tomlin. They just got in the way. It happens to lots of them in part because the game is insanely fast and unpredictable. To think Tomlin would intentionally get in the way and risk almost certain injury is just not that likely.
My point is if you are already too close to the field (by rule) then you cannot use the “it was an accident” for being TOO close to the field. Just like if you drive 10mph over the speed limit, you can’t say “oooooops” or “It was only 1 more mph.” when PoPo Joe flashes you for going 11 mph over.
What interests me in that video is that one of the refs had to run AROUND Tomlin (away from the field), so the ref had to know he was too close to the field. Throw the fucking flag, ref!
