NFL: Giants would have been flagged if they spiked it

AP Via ESPN ^ | 1-6-03 | ANON

[Pharmboy]

NEW YORK -- Giants holder Matt Allen could not have spiked the botched snap on the final play of New York's loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

It's against the rules.

Mike Pereira, the NFL supervisor of officials, confirmed Monday that Allen would not have been allowed to immediately spike the ball because it was a long snap. The only time a player can spike the ball is when he takes the snap from under the center.

With six seconds left Sunday and the Giants trailing 39-38, Matt Bryant lined up to try a potential game-winning 41-yard field goal. The snap from newly signed Trey Junkin was in the dirt. Allen fumbled the ball, then made a desperation pass downfield to what turned out to be an ineligible receiver, guard Rich Seubert.

Fox commentator Cris Collinsworth said at the time that since it was third down, Allen could have spiked the ball, giving the Giants another chance at a kick. Afterward, on the Fox postgame show, other commentators agreed.

Pereira said the only other option would have been to throw to an eligible receiver.

[blackdog]

Costas was the little rich kid down the street with the killer sportscard collection. He just never put it down for 40 years! The tension between Costas, Marino, and Carter is so thick you can't cut it with Shockey and a chainsaw. It all seems to come from Costas's ego.

May an army of angry prostitutes soon give interviews with Fox Sports, involving the wearing of ladies underwear, exploration of confined entry sites with rodents, and a certain Cubscout troop who has an intimate relationship with A certain mentioned commentator.

[justshutupandtakeit]

You want to talk about a great Bears free agent receiver? HOw about Dennis McKinnon. Since he was in Bobby Bowden's doghouse at FSU nobody drafted him.

[Alberta's Child]

Suppose, however, that the Giants had gotten a legitimate second chance at that last field goal. At that point they were 0 for 2 on getting a clean snap from the center to the holder, and at that point there was absolutely no evidence that they'd get the third one right.

In fact, I'm hoping the officials had blown the call deliberately just as a matter of principle. A football team that can't even get a clean snap down on a field goal attempt doesn't even belong on a high school field, let alone in the NFL playoffs.

[amused]

I beleive there were no off-setting penalties on that play. I thought the flag for pass interference is picked up when the receiver being interfered with is ineligible.

Oh please just let it end.

This is not to Alberta's Child just Giant fans all over.

Don't whine, we come from a proud old guard tradition that laments our losses but never makes excuses or whines or bitches. We lost....period, end of story.

Let's not turn into Raider fans who dispute a correctly called play.

But I do have a question, is it against the rules to have the cheerleaders in the endzone during field goals? I can't remember seeing this before the game yesterday. Not that it mattered but I am curious just because I haven't see that before. My roommate has dropped his opposition to cheerleaders for this factor.

[Lee'sGhost]

I agree.

[Willie Green]

What would the penalty have been?
Probably intentional grounding

IMHO, that'd be a pretty crappy rule...
Oughta just call it a bonehead intentional fumble and let play continue with whoever pounces on the ball getting possession.

[walkingdead]

Ah, I've been waiting for a Raider flag pic, thanks. Oh, and all can now bow to the mighty Raider flag! :-)

[My2Cents]

and one of the biggest follies of the modern day NFL coach. Conservatism only works in politics, not in football.

Let us remember that it was Jon Gruden who engineered that defeat for the Raiders. As a Raider fan, I was glad to see him take his conservative play to Tampa. Now he will be victimized by the 49ers.

[Hatteras]

The moment the holder, Allen, yelled, "FAHR!" (in my best former H.S. coach voice), the game was over unless the holder could have navigated his way by foot to the endzone or, oddly enough, placed a perfectly executed dropkick between the uprights.

The offensive line started down field eliminating any chance of a forward pass which would result in an illegal man down field, offensive penalty, 10 second runoff on the clock, game over.

Any defensive penalty would have been offset by the illegal man down field, play dead, no time left on the clock, game over.

There was six seconds left on the clock at the snap. A muffed snap and a sprint to the sidelines would have taken too long and falling on the ball and calling timeout would have defintely put the kick out of Bryant's range. But then again, they could have had Shockey kick the fieldgoal right Mr. Collinsworth?

[Cabbages and Kings]

Not only will we take it, but love it! coming back from a sure loser, the 9'ers did a Montana bounce!! you got'a love the NFL!!!!!

[Alberta's Child]

I see -- I hadn't heard that.

Not that the Giants deserved another shot at it anyway. If I were the coach and my team had been given another chance on the play, then I would have punted the ball away just to make a point.

[discostu]

I don't liek to call that conservatism, I call it chickensh!t. As herm Edwards and Dan Reeves showed saturday, the conservative way to nurse a lead is to keep calling the stuff that got you a lead in the first place.

[LdSentinal]

Suppose, however, that the Giants had gotten a legitimate second chance at that last field goal. At that point they were 0 for 2 on getting a clean snap from the center to the holder, and at that point there was absolutely no evidence that they'd get the third one right.

You're right. There was no guarantee Byrant would have nailed the FG, but it's another wound for us Giants fans to take.

[Captain Beyond]

You got that right!!! The bottom line is the Giant's defense lost that game not the offense. Where was Mr. Quarterback Sack man Michael Strahan during the game?

[rs79bm]

Shockey could have used his super powers to taunt the clock, causing it to stop dead in fear. Shockey could have then lined up under center, thrown the ball into the outer atmosphere where in an earlier time warp his blazing speed opened up giving him an opportunity to catch his own pass in the end zone upon it's return to earth. As a matter of fact, next year the entire team and coaching staff of the Giants can stay at home and just let Shockey play. He can just put on a cape and fly to each venue, landing mid-field just in time for the coin toss.

Or he could have gotten in a fight with the game clock, mysteriously adding 10 seconds in the process.

[Physicist]

A poster above really hit was his best option was, throw it to the feet of the guy on the outside left of the line, he's an elligible receiver, and as long as there's a snowballs chance in hell a pass could be caught they'll never call it intentional grounding.

It should still be grounding, because the ball has to make it to the line of scrimmage. But that's also supposed to go for QB's outside of the pocket, and it isn't always called.

I say grounding, phooey. Spike the ball! Let it be grounding. At least the clock stops, and Collins gets a shot at the endzone.

But I prefer to credit Shockey for the loss. When he dropped those four points in the end zone, he dropped the game.

But what do I care: they had very little chance of making it to Philly in any case. My Iggles will just have to beat Tampa Bay again.

[walkingdead]

Yea, when your up one or two scores, you can't just sit back in a soft zone, any modern-day quarterback will eat you alive! You absolutely have to keep the pressure on, right up till the final gun. And hey, if you get beat deep, so be it, at least you were fighting till the bitter end.

[Hatteras]

If the guard lined up as an eligible receiver than he would have reported to the refs before the snap. The referee than must inform the defensive captain. I doubt that happened and Francesa is a fat whining toad.

[Alberta's Child]

If the information in Post #140 is correct, then the officials blew the call.

Of course, I've been saying for the last two weeks that this Giants team didn't even belong in the playoffs. So I've got nothing to complain about. They didn't deserve to win that game because they didn't make a single "winning" play all game.

[ThinkingMan]

"GO BRONCOS (Although I am a J-E-T-S fan this week!)"

"Your comment, tied with your screen name, looks like an oxymoron."

Your graphic looks like a urinal cake!

(Gotta love the Broncos-Raiders games!)