NFL Office Needs to Re-Examine Its Priorities and Logic

The National Football League has been wildly popular, a tremendous success story and the model for professional sports in many ways. That being said, the executives who run the league continue to have skewed priorities and counter intuitive thinking.

Over the years, the NFL has paid particular attention to ensure that their players wear uniforms with robotic precision, teams meticulously update injury reports to keep gamblers in the know and, heaven forbid, they drive any show of elation or fun to the confines of closed locker rooms. (Well, unless you are a Green Bay Packers player, which gives you license to jump into the stands and table dance with your fans after each and every touchdown while your team song pumps through the stadium loudspeakers.) Conversely, the NFL seems to have difficulty with the concept of protecting the safety of its players. A few recent events and NFL office rulings highlight their paradoxical approach.

On Sunday, the Eagles Donovan McNabb scrambled for a 3-yard touchdown run to extend the team's lead to 38-10, but his rib was broken when the Panthers 301 pound lineman Damione Lewis drilled him in the back at the end of the play. Not only was he already on the ground at the time, but he was also 3 yards into the end zone. Anyone familiar with NFL rules, including extra large sized 9-year veteran defensive tackles, knows that the nanosecond that a player crosses the goal line with the ball it is a touchdown.

A penalty was not assessed and the NFL office (relying specifically on head of officiating Merton Hanks) ruled that the hit was legal, no penalty should have been charged and no fines were in order. Perhaps Mr. Hanks needs to familiarize himself with the rule book as the play was dead on two counts with McNabb on the ground and well into the end zone. It also contradicts the league's longstanding desire to protect its signal callers. To add insult to injury, this same Panthers' team used a similar play to put McNabb out of the NFC Championship game a few years ago and help them advance to the Super Bowl- and did not get penalized or fined then, either.

While the NFL saw nothing wrong with a defender gratuitously breaking a marquee quarterback's ribs, they took strong objection to the Eagles touchdown celebration that took place an hour earlier in ironically the same spot. It was deemed to be a particularly heinous display of joy apparently due to the players' circular formation that smacked of premeditation. For their deeds, Eagles players were levied fines up to $10,000 apiece and $60,000 in total.

Speaking of fines and injuries, the NFL has just announced that it is fining the New York Jets, their GM and last year's since departed coach a total of $125,000 for not properly divulging Brett Favre's torn bicep injury last season. Of course, if they had, wouldn't that have put a large bulls-eye on Favre's arm for opposing team's 301 pound linemen?

A Weekend of Questionable Officiating and Rules Ambiguity

This weekend provided some questionable officiating that should provoke a closer examination of some rules ambiguity. Saturday night, a US Open semi-final match between the two women's favorites ended in controversy. On Sunday, the same end zone location in the Eagles-Panthers game highlighted some paradox in NFL officiating.

Serena Williams, who has been playing great tennis and seemingly headed towards the #1 ranking in the world, was defeated by Kim Clijsters when she lost a point to a foot fault violation and then another for protesting with the line judge. It was a hard fought match with Williams, trying to hang on to force a third set, serving at 5-6, 15-30. After missing her first serve, play was halted by a line judge foot fault call as her second serve landed safely in the service box. When Williams angrily admonished the line judge, waving her racquet at her and suggesting that she should shove the ball down her throat, the chair umpire awarded a penalty point to Clijsters, ending the match.

Serena was surely wrong in the way she handled the situation and her verbal assault was totally inappropriate. What has gotten somewhat lost, though, is that the call probably should not have occurred in the first place, especially at such a crucial time in the match. This was obviously not lost on Williams as it evoked her violent response.

The only replay that CBS could come up with did not indicate a violation. This does not suggest that the tip of Williams' toe could not have touched the line, but it seems totally unnecessary to make a very questionable call such as that at such a big moment in the match. It falls into the same category that football and basketball officials use when they "let the players play" during close finishes, rather than make subjective calls that influence the outcome.

The situation also spurred discussion about changing the rules to enable relying on the same replay system used to challenge line calls to review foot fault violations. This evokes an even bigger question in my mind. Should that "Hawk Eye" technology be used at all? It makes for a nice cartoon animation with a definitive "in or out" result, but there has been indication that it may only be 99% accurate. An analogous situation in baseball would be reversing a home run and awarding an out when an animation shows a ball landing in the glove of a leaping outfielder, even though a real person is holding the actual ball five rows up in the bleachers.

In the Eagles game yesterday, the Panthers were not assessed a penalty when a late hit on Donovan McNabb lying in the end zone resulted in a fractured rib. Those same officials, though, assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty an hour earlier when the Eagles formed a circle to celebrate Brent Celek's touchdown catch.

It would surely seem that the NFL has its priorities wrong and referees miss the forrest for the trees. They are so fixated on squelching any exuberance over big plays that they overlook protecting players, especially a marquee quarterback. Of course, that depends on the stadium, team or player. This was highlighted on the Sunday night game as Packer players are allowed to jump into the stands and celebrate in a protracted fashion to raucous music with the home town fans.

Both these situations seem highly ambiguous. The simple fix in the NFL would be to allow all players to exhibit their natural excitement after a score and to ask referees to turn their focus from policing socks and judging excessive giddiness in favor of protecting the players from getting needlessly injured. In tennis, taking a hard look at the review system and providing guidance to the line judges would be warranted. Serena crossed over the line in her reaction, but it was call that really did not need to made in the first place.

Eagles Overwhelm Panthers, But Suffer a Bad Break in the End

On a day that the Eagles defense looked like a throw back to the terrorizing Buddy Ryan units led by Reggie White, the buzz was dampened when Donovan McNabb writhed in pain with a cracked rib. The defense in midnight green collected turnovers like they were beads at Mardi Gras, turning an early deficit into a dominating 38-10 win by early in the second half.

McNabb was injured in the third quarter when he was speared in the back after he fell to the end zone turf at the end of a 3-yard touchdown scramble that stretched their lead to 28 points. Although no penalty was assessed, replays showed that the hit by Damione Lewis was late and could have been avoided. Ironically, the play occurred in the exact spot where the Eagles had been given a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for a moderate display of joy after a Brent Celek touchdown catch about an hour earlier. The NFL may need to re-examine its priorities.

The day started with a Panthers drive that lasted more than 8 minutes and culminated with an 11-yard DeAngelo Williams touchdown run. The stadium was rocking and it appeared that the Eagles were going to have a tough challenge in the season opener. For the Panthers, it quickly started to unravel from there and you could sense both the players and crowd going flat. Jake Delhomme was mercifully pulled in the third quarter after committing five turnovers, while being subjected to relentless pressure after the opening drive.

Conversely, on the Eagles side, the defense forced a flurry of turnovers, keyed by their fierce pass rush. On the day, they collected 5 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and a touchdown by Victor Abiamiri. Trent Cole (who forced the fumble that resulted in the touchdown) and Darren Howard led the pass rush, repeatedly disrupting Panther quarterbacks and setting up opportunities for the secondary.

Another game turning play occurred early in the second quarter when DeSean Jackson retreated to his own 15 yard line to field a punt, and then weaved through Panther defenders and raced up the left sideline for an 85-yard touchdown. This, along with Abiamiri's score, killed the buzz in the stadium and seemed to put the Panthers back on their heels the rest of the game. Many fans left at half time and throughout the third quarter as it seemed quite evident that the Eagles were not going to relinquish control of the game.

The dominating play of the defense and special teams allowed the Eagles offense to focus on ball control and taking time off the clock. They only accumulated 85 yards passing on the day, but tallied 185 yards on the ground. Brian Westbrook appeared healthy, showing elusiveness and quickness as he broke runs to the outside. LeSean McCoy also ran well in his rookie debut and should get even better as he watches Westbrook turn runs north and south. A less noticed, but important aspect of the game, was the strong play of Winston Justice, who handled Julius Peppers all day and provided strong lead blocking on running plays.

It remains to be seen what will happen with McNabb and the Eagles quarterback situation overall. With home games against the Saints and Chiefs, and then a week four bye, it is conceivable that the team will try to allow McNabb to heal over that time. Kevin Kolb will likely get the start next Sunday, but with Michael Vick eligible the following week, various scenarios could play out. It could be the beginning of quarterback controversies, or possibly the opposite, solidifying McNabb as the starter and leader.