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Some NFL Coaches Still Know How to Coach with Class |
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The new trend for coaches calling time outs at the snap of a field goal attempt has to go. It is a cheap and unsportsmanlike practice |
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| Author: Donna Cavanagh |
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Okay, this drama happens a lot in professional football, but in recent weeks, it has been the last-second field goal attempts that have garnered so much attention. It all started when Denver’s Coach Mike Shanahan took icing the kicker to a new psycho warfare level. No longer was it enough to call a time out right before a field goal hoping the delay would cause all kinds of mental turmoil on the kicker. Now, the goal was to ice a kicker after he made the kick. How did he do this? Shanahan summoned an official over to his side so he could call a time out right at the snap during a winning field goal attempt by the Oakland Raiders.
The result of this type of time out is that the kicker usually has no time to react and kicks a ball that doesn’t count. If he makes that field goal, the kicker knows the score is no good, and he has to do it all over again. In many cases, not all, the mean-spirited icing takes hold and a second attempt is not successful. This is what happened to Oakland’s kicker. He made the first field goal and then missed the second attempt. This might not have been so much a psychological victory by Shanahan but a physiological one in that many kickers can’t successfully repeat two long field goals in a matter of seconds. Denver’s victory that day was not about sportsmanship and the talents of the athletes. That kind of victory was nothing more than a cheap shot that worked.
Apparently, other coaches liked the cheap shot method of coaching. When the game highlights came out, many of them took notice of Denver’s success. The very next week, Oakland Raiders Coach, Lane Kiffin, who was the victim of Shanahan’s cheap strategy, turned the tables and had the official blow the whistle right at the snap of a field goal attempt by the Cleveland Browns. The result: Cleveland lost. Every week, there seems to be someone out there pulling the same stunt.
Some coaches have verbally come out against the practice but conveniently altered their opinion when their team needed an extra edge. The beleaguered coach of the New Orleans Saints, Sean Payton, told reporters he would never stoop to the level of some of his other colleagues, but when faced with a dire situation, he caved and in the Monday night game against the Seahawks, he had the official blow the whistle at the snap of a Seahawks attempt.
Then, there are the class coaches who win and lose because of team performances. Washington Redskins’ Coach and icon, Joe Gibbs, had the opportunity to pull the same stunt that Shanahan and his followers pulled. In the game against the Cardinals this week, as the Cardinals’ kicker was preparing to kick his field goal, broadcasters and fans alike were wondering if Gibbs would call a timeout at the snap. Joe Gibbs didn’t. He allowed the kicker to do his job. Fortunately, for Gibbs and Washington, the 55-yard field goal attempt was unsuccessful and Washington walked away with the 21-19 victory. Joe Gibbs coached the game as he always coaches -- with finesse and class.
The same is true for NFL coaching newcomer Kevin Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers. In another close, close contest, Pittsburgh was holding on to a small lead when Denver made its way down the field in the last minute of the game. As Denver set up for the field goal, the official went over to Tomlin to get into position so that the Steelers’ coach could call the timeout at the snap. Instead, Tomlin called the time out before the snap – the traditional strategy for icing the kicker. Denver made the field goal and won.
Many fans hoped Tomlin would use the same bad sportsman strategy that Shanahan started on his team. That would have been poetic justice. But Tomlin showed more class than Mike Shanahan so congratulations to Pittsburgh who could have won - maybe. Denver may have walked away with the victory, but for many football fans it was the Steelers who restored class to the NFL. Hopefully, more coaches will follow the example of Gibbs and Tomlin and leave the Mike Shanahans of this world to do their own thing.
About Author
Donna Cavanagh is CEO of PossessionPoints.com -- a revolutionary new NFL stat that accurately shows how a team's offense and defense perform. PossessionPoints can be used in all types of football activity from picking winners to picking fantasy players. Visit www.possessionpoints.com for details
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