Yeah, I just happened to see it 3/4s down the page of a long list of links while looking for playoff scenario articles. The rules, or non rules, concerning this need fixing.
There’s an enormous difference between interfering with an official during a play like that and interfering with the ballcarrier. That difference is certainly enough to explain the much more severe penalty to Pittsburgh.
I spent another week reflecting on the history of football, on the game’s traditions and social importance, on its vital place in America’s heart, and recalled every lesson my high school coach instilled in me that made me the man I am today, and all this has led me to conclude, reluctantly, that the Steelers should lose their draft picks for the next 15 years.
I recommend that you spend the next 7 years of your life in deep, contemplative silence in Tibet, meditating on the meaning of life and the nature of the human soul, and determining that the Steelers should lose their draft picks for the next 20 years.
But I wanna do it now.
Not sure how one could enter a deep meditative state with the possibility that Pittsburgh might get and use a draft pick that they are enjoined from weighing on one’s mind.
Well, yes and no.
According to the article, the coach was on the field, and
“The officials’ failure to throw the flag, which would have given the Steelers an untimed down from the Miami 26 in a game ultimately decided by six points, strengthens the case for adding this specific violation to the list of plays that can be reversed via replay.”
I would say that this is a significant play, and the lack of a penalty flag being tossed could have cost the Steelers the game. They would have been able to run another play with no time on the clock right before halftime.
I don’t want to get into a debate about Tomlin’s actions, because I don’t defend them. He should have been punished. But you would ink that the ref who was actually cut down as he was following the play would have realized what happened and tossed the flag. The coach was clearly on the field, which is supposed to be a penalty.
I don’t like the NFL’s inability to be consistent with rules. Hell, Tomlin didn’t even get flagged, which was also wrong.
Yeah, it’s amazing that no flag was thrown in either game. Especially against Miami, after a week of it being a huge issue for the league. It makes me think that coaches stepping onto the field may be something that happens often, and the officials are used to ignoring it as long as no one interferes with the actual play.
Good theory, I’ll have to watch for it.
Personal anecdote: when I played HS fooseball (the Devil’s game!), we would sometimes crowd the sideline with excitement over a close rivalry game. The refs would WARN us back. Sometimes several times. I don’t remember getting flagged, tho. When I photographed college ball, same thing, a ref would say “Stay off the white” or something similar.
In the NFL, I’ll see a coach standing right next to a side judge sometimes, usually to wait til the perfect time to call his last timeout right before the snap, or something similar. Other times, I haven’t paid much attention til now.
I think the punishment is really ok
Y’know, I spent way too much time thinking about this when it happened, and never came to any satisfactory conclusion. Now, though, looking at it again with fresh eyes…same result.
On the one hand, it had to be intentional, because come on, how oblivious would you have to be?! (And that shit-eating grin didn’t much help his case either.)
On the other hand, it couldn’t have been intentional, because come on, how stupid would you have to be?! (And if he did screw up that badly in front of millions, what else could he do in the moment but laugh at himself?)
After much consideration, I find that the answer to both of the italicized questions is “far moreso than I would have expected any NFL coach not currently employed by the Raiders to be,” and hence I remain undecided.
Yeah, I’m glad the team doesn’t suffer (draft pick), but I still think he did it knowingly. Fines were the right answer, but not sanctions. I didn’t see any new mentions of the Miami coach incident