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Cowboys Make me Drink
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Sunday, April 2, 2006
By VINNY DiTRANI
You see Steve Smith diapering the football, or Chad Johnson proposing to a cheerleader, and you have to laugh. It's funny, and creative, and while it certainly is self-serving, on the surface it appears harmless.
Then again, you are not the defensive back Smith or Johnson just burned to score the touchdown that led to the type of celebration the NFL has outlawed for the 2006 season.
Nothing is funny to a defender just beaten for a score. And watching a wideout rub it in with some premeditated skit might just cause that defensive player to retaliate -- remember George Teague's reaction to Terrell Owens defacing the star at Texas Stadium -- and starting the type of ruckus the league wants to avoid.
That's one reason the owners voted 29-3 last week to curtail those end zone celebrations, which have gotten a little bit out of hand in recent years. Group celebrations and props already had been banished, but now the focus will be on the antics of those zany guys who entertain both when and after they score.
But the crackdown isn't just aimed at preventing retaliatory actions by the defense.
"I think it's needed," said veteran San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer. "The game is about the team, not the individual."
The NFL always has prided itself in being the ultimate team game. And while it has learned to trumpet its individual stars more than it had in the past, the idea of winning the Super Bowl, getting that ring is a constant theme among the players.
But when you think about it, there's no surprise the big actors almost always are the wide receivers on offense, and the cornerbacks on defense. Those are the two positions most detached from the team muck that occurs between the tackles, the spots where one-on-one confrontations most often occur. That kind of matchup breeds individualism, thus the proliferation of attention-seeking actions at those two positions.
What's interesting about the latest attempt to curtail the nonsense is the exemption the famed "Lambeau Leap" has received from the legislation. The Green Bay celebration flies in the face of the new guidelines in several areas: it is premeditated; the player involved does not remain on his feet; and other people are included in the act -- the fans in the stands who catch the leaper.
Yet it appears the "Leap" has been grandfathered into the game as an acceptable action, and the celebrating Packers won't be subject to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag.
More importantly
While the crackdown on celebrations received the most attention, the most important rule change approved at last week's meetings in Orlando Fla., may well be the removal of the down-by-contact disclaimer from the instant replay system. No longer will a fumble challenge be dismissed by the on-the-field ruling of down by contact, even when a whistle is blown.
The measure was voted down a year ago but revived by the Competition Committee and resubmitted for approval. On paper it sounds good: How often have you seen an obvious fumble wiped out by a quick whistle? But a problem could arise determining just when the on-the-field action was affected by that whistle.
For instance, a ball is loose from, as the replay will determine, a legitimate fumble. It rolls away, however, and the pursuers stop when they hear the whistle. Eventually the head linesman picks up the ball. So what is it? Officials' ball, first-and-10?
This could be a little trickier than it appears, and could lead to injuries if some players hold up while others ignore the whistle whenever a ball pops free.
Delayed vacation
Looks as if commissioner Paul Tagliabue's hopes of riding off into the July sunset may be pushed back since the naming of a committee to search for his successor probably will not be completed until this week. Tags still is hoping for the July retirement, however.
The one thing he would like to do before he leaves is to return a franchise to big-market Los Angeles, and he has instituted a committee including the Giants' Steve Tisch and the Cowboys' Jerry Jones to hasten the procedure. Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver said his club will not be the one to fill the void in L.A., leaving Buffalo, New Orleans and Minnesota as the leading candidates.
E-mail: ditrani@northjersey.com
By VINNY DiTRANI
You see Steve Smith diapering the football, or Chad Johnson proposing to a cheerleader, and you have to laugh. It's funny, and creative, and while it certainly is self-serving, on the surface it appears harmless.
Then again, you are not the defensive back Smith or Johnson just burned to score the touchdown that led to the type of celebration the NFL has outlawed for the 2006 season.
Nothing is funny to a defender just beaten for a score. And watching a wideout rub it in with some premeditated skit might just cause that defensive player to retaliate -- remember George Teague's reaction to Terrell Owens defacing the star at Texas Stadium -- and starting the type of ruckus the league wants to avoid.
That's one reason the owners voted 29-3 last week to curtail those end zone celebrations, which have gotten a little bit out of hand in recent years. Group celebrations and props already had been banished, but now the focus will be on the antics of those zany guys who entertain both when and after they score.
But the crackdown isn't just aimed at preventing retaliatory actions by the defense.
"I think it's needed," said veteran San Diego coach Marty Schottenheimer. "The game is about the team, not the individual."
The NFL always has prided itself in being the ultimate team game. And while it has learned to trumpet its individual stars more than it had in the past, the idea of winning the Super Bowl, getting that ring is a constant theme among the players.
But when you think about it, there's no surprise the big actors almost always are the wide receivers on offense, and the cornerbacks on defense. Those are the two positions most detached from the team muck that occurs between the tackles, the spots where one-on-one confrontations most often occur. That kind of matchup breeds individualism, thus the proliferation of attention-seeking actions at those two positions.
What's interesting about the latest attempt to curtail the nonsense is the exemption the famed "Lambeau Leap" has received from the legislation. The Green Bay celebration flies in the face of the new guidelines in several areas: it is premeditated; the player involved does not remain on his feet; and other people are included in the act -- the fans in the stands who catch the leaper.
Yet it appears the "Leap" has been grandfathered into the game as an acceptable action, and the celebrating Packers won't be subject to a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag.
More importantly
While the crackdown on celebrations received the most attention, the most important rule change approved at last week's meetings in Orlando Fla., may well be the removal of the down-by-contact disclaimer from the instant replay system. No longer will a fumble challenge be dismissed by the on-the-field ruling of down by contact, even when a whistle is blown.
The measure was voted down a year ago but revived by the Competition Committee and resubmitted for approval. On paper it sounds good: How often have you seen an obvious fumble wiped out by a quick whistle? But a problem could arise determining just when the on-the-field action was affected by that whistle.
For instance, a ball is loose from, as the replay will determine, a legitimate fumble. It rolls away, however, and the pursuers stop when they hear the whistle. Eventually the head linesman picks up the ball. So what is it? Officials' ball, first-and-10?
This could be a little trickier than it appears, and could lead to injuries if some players hold up while others ignore the whistle whenever a ball pops free.
Delayed vacation
Looks as if commissioner Paul Tagliabue's hopes of riding off into the July sunset may be pushed back since the naming of a committee to search for his successor probably will not be completed until this week. Tags still is hoping for the July retirement, however.
The one thing he would like to do before he leaves is to return a franchise to big-market Los Angeles, and he has instituted a committee including the Giants' Steve Tisch and the Cowboys' Jerry Jones to hasten the procedure. Jacksonville owner Wayne Weaver said his club will not be the one to fill the void in L.A., leaving Buffalo, New Orleans and Minnesota as the leading candidates.
E-mail: ditrani@northjersey.com
