After failing to lead the Philadelphia Eagles to beat the lowly Cincinnati Bengals and had to settle for a 13-13 tie, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb made a startling revelation.
He had no idea that a regular season NFL game can end in a tie.
"I've never been a part of a tie. I never even knew that was in the rule book," McNabb said after the game. "It's part of the rules, and we have to go with it. I was looking forward to getting the opportunity to get out there and try to drive to win the game. But unfortunately, with the rules, we settled with a tie."
Now prepare for an even more stunning revelation.
"In college, there are multiple overtimes, and in high school and Pop Warner. I never knew in the professional ranks it would end that way. I hate to see what would happen in the Super Bowl and in the playoffs."
Are you kidding?
For the record, playoff games and the Super Bowl never end in ties. The game will go on until one of the team wins.
I don't expect players to know every rule in the game, especially some obscure ones like the tuck rule. But when your quarterback is not aware of such a widely-understood rule, that could be a huge problem.
The current OT rule has been in place since 1974, and 17 regular season games have ended in a tie, the last one coming in 2002. There is no way anyone can say that it is an obscure rule.
Imagine the Eagles have the ball late in OT. If the quarterback thinks that there will be a second OT, do you really believe that his decision-making will be unaffected?
To his credit, Eagles coach Andy Reid firmly stood behind McNabb. Some other veterans of the team also claimed that they had no idea of the OT rule either, in a blatant attempt to diffuse media attention.
Yet McNabb will forever be remembered as the quarterback who does not know the rules.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Faulty-Niners
The way how the San Francisco 49ers ran their two-minute offense against the Arizona Cardinals was simply mind-boggling.
And an apparent miscommunication between the officials and the 49ers' coaches in the final seconds didn't help them either.
Down 24-29 in the final minutes in their Monday Night game, the 49ers were marching down the field and with 30 seconds to go, they got a first down inside the 5-yard line.
Out of time-out, they had to spike the ball the stop the clock. All they had to do was to spike the ball and the clock would stop running.
But for some reason, they decided to have not one, but numerous substitutions for that single play. The result: at least 20 seconds were lost.
Then on second down, Frank Gore ran left and was down just short of the goal line. The officials marked the ball at the 1-yard line, and the 49ers had to spike it again.
But just as they spiked the ball, the officials decided to review the play to see if Gore was indeed down by contact. When the replay showed that Gore's knee touched the ground after a Cardinals defender tapped his back, albeit slightly, the officials put two seconds back on the clock and it was now third-down with four seconds to go. The play clock would start at the referee's signal.
Only for one problem: The officials moved the ball back to the two-and-a-half yard line, apparently without informing the 49ers' coaches.
That's why we got to see a goal line offense at the 3-yard line and the play call was a typical one for goal line play: A plunge by the running back over the offensive linemen.
Michael Robinson simply didn't have a chance. Game over, and the Cardinals won.
After the game, Mike Martz, the offensive co-ordinator of the 49ers, claimed that he never realized that the ball was not on the 1-yard line for the final play. He also added that once the play call had been sent in, there was no way to change it.
In other words, Martz's mind was frozen in the final seconds.
To me, his mind was already frozen way before that.
After spiking the ball on first-down inside the 5-yard line, there was enough time for them to run three pass plays. All they had to do was to avoid throwing the ball in the middle of the field, and the clock would stop soon enough to give them three shots a the game-winning touchdown.
Instead, they ran on second-down and had to burn third-down on a spike play. And they didn't get to fourth-down as the clock ran out.
Meanwhile, if there was no way for them to change the call on the final play, shouldn't Shaun Hill have done something?
Hill, the 49ers' quarterback, should have noticed that something was wrong when he got the play call. Instead of questioning the call or changing the play by audible, he did nothing and allowed Robinson, the back-up running back, to become the culprit.
I hate to be blunt, but perhaps that is exactly the reason why he had been limited to only two kneel-down plays during his first six seasons in the league.
And an apparent miscommunication between the officials and the 49ers' coaches in the final seconds didn't help them either.
Down 24-29 in the final minutes in their Monday Night game, the 49ers were marching down the field and with 30 seconds to go, they got a first down inside the 5-yard line.
Out of time-out, they had to spike the ball the stop the clock. All they had to do was to spike the ball and the clock would stop running.
But for some reason, they decided to have not one, but numerous substitutions for that single play. The result: at least 20 seconds were lost.
Then on second down, Frank Gore ran left and was down just short of the goal line. The officials marked the ball at the 1-yard line, and the 49ers had to spike it again.
But just as they spiked the ball, the officials decided to review the play to see if Gore was indeed down by contact. When the replay showed that Gore's knee touched the ground after a Cardinals defender tapped his back, albeit slightly, the officials put two seconds back on the clock and it was now third-down with four seconds to go. The play clock would start at the referee's signal.
Only for one problem: The officials moved the ball back to the two-and-a-half yard line, apparently without informing the 49ers' coaches.
That's why we got to see a goal line offense at the 3-yard line and the play call was a typical one for goal line play: A plunge by the running back over the offensive linemen.
Michael Robinson simply didn't have a chance. Game over, and the Cardinals won.
After the game, Mike Martz, the offensive co-ordinator of the 49ers, claimed that he never realized that the ball was not on the 1-yard line for the final play. He also added that once the play call had been sent in, there was no way to change it.
In other words, Martz's mind was frozen in the final seconds.
To me, his mind was already frozen way before that.
After spiking the ball on first-down inside the 5-yard line, there was enough time for them to run three pass plays. All they had to do was to avoid throwing the ball in the middle of the field, and the clock would stop soon enough to give them three shots a the game-winning touchdown.
Instead, they ran on second-down and had to burn third-down on a spike play. And they didn't get to fourth-down as the clock ran out.
Meanwhile, if there was no way for them to change the call on the final play, shouldn't Shaun Hill have done something?
Hill, the 49ers' quarterback, should have noticed that something was wrong when he got the play call. Instead of questioning the call or changing the play by audible, he did nothing and allowed Robinson, the back-up running back, to become the culprit.
I hate to be blunt, but perhaps that is exactly the reason why he had been limited to only two kneel-down plays during his first six seasons in the league.
Monday, November 03, 2008
An Epic Finale
I didn't sleep much last night for watching the Brazilian Grand Prix, the last race of this Formula One season. And I didn't regret it a bit, 'cos it was truly one heck of a race.
In a race affected by showers early and late in the race, Lewis Hamilton emerged as the World Champion by sneaking into the vital fifth place at the very last corner of the final lap, when it looked as though local hero Felipe Massa, who had won the race, had done enough to be crowned champion of the world.
I simply had no idea where to start.
With a seven-point lead, all Hamilton needed was a fifth-place finish. As for Massa, he had to win the race and hoped that someone somehow would get into Hamilton's way.
With less than ten laps to go, Massa was leading the race and Hamilton was running a comfortable fourth. But when the shower returned, most cars decided to duck into the pits to change into intermediate tyres, but not for the Toyota duo of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli.
When Hamilton emerged from the pits with just a handful of laps to go, he was in fifth place having been demoted by Glock and was now hotly pursued by Sebastian Vettel. And when Robert Kubica decided to unlap himself amidst the chaos, Vettel seized the moment and snatched fifth-place. Moments later, as Vettel gradually pulling away from Hamilton, Massa crossed the line for his sixth win of the season.
While Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finished second and third, all eyes were on Hamilton as he simply could not match Vettel's pace. And when Vettel crossed the line before Hamilton, the local fans erupted in a thunderous roar as they believed that Massa had pulled the unthinkable.
The joy didn't last long though.
A quick glance at the finishing order showed that Vettel was fourth and Hamilton fifth, which meant that Hamilton, not Massa, is the World Champion.
What exactly had happened?
TV replay showed that Glock, while nursing his dry weather tyres in deteriorating conditions, was overtaken by both Vettel and Hamilton just before the final corner of the last lap. No one noticed it because we all thought that the only way for Hamilton to win the title was to catch and overtake Vettel. In fact, Glock lost some 20 seconds on his last lap and had become a sitting duck, as he came home virtually limping in sixth just over six seconds behind Hamilton.
In a matter of 30 seconds, both drivers had the roller-coaster of their lives. Massa thought that he had won it, but was cruelly denied when the dust eventually settled. As for Hamilton, just when we thought that he had blown it for the second year in a row, he had pulled a Houdini of equally miraculous and stunning proportion.
It has been a fantastic season, with the title decided at the last possible moment. Seven drivers from five teams have won this season which has been one of the best in recent years. With the possible introduction of customer cars next season, let's hope that it is going to be a great as this season.
In a race affected by showers early and late in the race, Lewis Hamilton emerged as the World Champion by sneaking into the vital fifth place at the very last corner of the final lap, when it looked as though local hero Felipe Massa, who had won the race, had done enough to be crowned champion of the world.
I simply had no idea where to start.
With a seven-point lead, all Hamilton needed was a fifth-place finish. As for Massa, he had to win the race and hoped that someone somehow would get into Hamilton's way.
With less than ten laps to go, Massa was leading the race and Hamilton was running a comfortable fourth. But when the shower returned, most cars decided to duck into the pits to change into intermediate tyres, but not for the Toyota duo of Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli.
When Hamilton emerged from the pits with just a handful of laps to go, he was in fifth place having been demoted by Glock and was now hotly pursued by Sebastian Vettel. And when Robert Kubica decided to unlap himself amidst the chaos, Vettel seized the moment and snatched fifth-place. Moments later, as Vettel gradually pulling away from Hamilton, Massa crossed the line for his sixth win of the season.
While Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen finished second and third, all eyes were on Hamilton as he simply could not match Vettel's pace. And when Vettel crossed the line before Hamilton, the local fans erupted in a thunderous roar as they believed that Massa had pulled the unthinkable.
The joy didn't last long though.
A quick glance at the finishing order showed that Vettel was fourth and Hamilton fifth, which meant that Hamilton, not Massa, is the World Champion.
What exactly had happened?
TV replay showed that Glock, while nursing his dry weather tyres in deteriorating conditions, was overtaken by both Vettel and Hamilton just before the final corner of the last lap. No one noticed it because we all thought that the only way for Hamilton to win the title was to catch and overtake Vettel. In fact, Glock lost some 20 seconds on his last lap and had become a sitting duck, as he came home virtually limping in sixth just over six seconds behind Hamilton.
In a matter of 30 seconds, both drivers had the roller-coaster of their lives. Massa thought that he had won it, but was cruelly denied when the dust eventually settled. As for Hamilton, just when we thought that he had blown it for the second year in a row, he had pulled a Houdini of equally miraculous and stunning proportion.
It has been a fantastic season, with the title decided at the last possible moment. Seven drivers from five teams have won this season which has been one of the best in recent years. With the possible introduction of customer cars next season, let's hope that it is going to be a great as this season.
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