Let me ask you this

[playmakers]

I hate the NFL's endzone celebrations rules. At first I did not like the rule when the league didnt allow a player to take off their helmet. If you watch an older game and watching all the times players took off their helmets I would say that was a good rule. Every time Keyshawn Johnson caught a pass he would flip his helmet off and look to the crowd. Even watching an old game and seeing Emmitt do it just seems too childish.

Ok, back to my orginal question. When Arizona ran that kick back on the opening kickoff did anyone notice what was taking place in the end zone. Adrian Wilson and Anquan Boldin(I think it was him) ran out to the field with Wilson having no helmet wearing a hat and Boldin in street clothes, Karlos Dansby didnt have a helmet on, ARolle the same, and everyone piled up on Arrignton. I thought players couldnt come past the 30 yard line.

Anyways, I dont mind that celebration and wish the NFL allowed it but I want to know where the pentaly was? Or, was a pentaly deserved? Im not big on complaining about officating but I think this one was obvious. Officating evens out over the season imo. We had alot of good calls go our way this year and missed out on a few biut did anyone else think this was an obvious call.

That is why the NFL should outlaw the celebration rule. The refs knew they were playing Dallas and that Arizona never usually has much to cheer about. They did not want to rain on their parade. If I were a ref I would feel the same way. If we did that in say Washington flags would be all over the place. I dont think you can officate this rule evenly amongst all 32 teams. Say the Bengals run a kick back on the Colts at home do you think it would get flagged? No. But if the Chargers run one back against KC they would get called for it imo because of the records dispeargy(sp). Just some food for thought.

 

[StevenOtero]

I agree. It happens all the time at the high school level in my town. Our rival Mayfield celebrates like crazy and never gets flagged. Yet two years ago our star FB scored the go-ahead TD and spiked the ball.

The game was such a defensive struggle that spiking that ball was just getting some frustration out. Long story short: We were flagged for it and missed the XP. Losing 7 to 6...

Bottom line: There should't be this extreme clamp down on celebrations. Judgement can be used if it goes overboard. But.. all this "Only 1 player can leap into the stands...if you drop to the ground your flagged...crap" needs to stop

 

[Nav22]

The celebration rules need to be canned because of the bias involved, some of which have been mentioned in this thread.

For the life of me I'll never understand why T.O. can't put his hands and knees down on the ground to do his Usain Bolt routine, but a Green Bay Packer can jump into the stands in celebration.

The "explanation" given for such a disparity is bull. They say T.O. is drawing attention to himself... well, that's exactly what the Packer jumping into the stands is doing, too.

But since the league is Green Bay friendly and because the Lambeau Leap is a beloved tradition, it's not illegal. But it's still a double-standard.

It has EVERYTHING to do with public perception. The average NFL fan has been trained to scoff when he sees T.O. or Chad Ocho Cinco drop to the turf to do something after a TD. But that same fan will probably smile when he sees a Lambeau Leap.

Why is that the case? I don't want to get into my theory.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

I like a little excitement, if it is not making fun of the other team

 

[MONT17]

Well if the Cowboys didn't let half the kickoff team run into the endzone with the guy maybe the refs could tell who was who! I say let em do what they want but then u may have someone pull out a cell phone and pretend to call someone! I think it should be like Balls n strikes in baseball leave it up to the ref and enforce it on the xtrapoint not the kickoff! But we will never see that!

 

[TellerMorrow34]

On the TO thing I remember them showing on NFL network that he was flagged cause he went to a knee, saying that he let that one knee hit the ground which you can't do.

Except when you're doing the Plaxico prayer celebration cause they don't want to be banning prayer celebrations.

Oh and except when you're Braylon Edwards doing your air guitar celebration and go to one knee.

But, yeah, other than that you can't go to a knee. That is my only real problem with any of the celebration penalities is that they're not enforced the same.

 

[DallasEast]

Was there a penalty on Arizona's opening kickoff touchdown? I don't remember it. I'll have to go back and look at the game again.

Taunting is taunting. If you're taking off your helmet to emphasize the conclusion of a play and the other team takes exception, it's taunting. I loved the passion which Emmitt Smith would exhibit by removing his helmet following a touchdown, but he did it way too often, other teams took offense and defined the act as taunting.

Players can enter the field anytime the ball is ruled dead. After a touchdown is scored, the ball is dead. If a player is already on the field and removes his helmet, it's a foul. If he's already on the sidelines, it is not.

As far as true touchdown celebrations are concerned, I believe that the league wants to discourage staged celebrations akin to those seen in "professional" wrestling. Those are frowned upon and I agree with that stance. The NFL is the quintessential embodiment of the sport of football and should set the example for all levels beneath it. Emotionally spontaneous and unorchestrated celebrations should and will still be allowed.

And no. Before someone asks for the umpteenth time, Michael Irvin's "1st down salute" was neither a staged celebration nor was it taunting. Each time he displayed that singular act of celebrating, it was an purely emotional reflex. He never conceived Broadway or commercial-style celebrations (plural) before a game to follow a play during a game. There is a fundamental difference.