Rams coach Scott Linehan said Monday the NFL should reconsider the “integrity of the 10-second runoff” after the bizarre ending in St. Louis’ 30-28 loss to Seattle.
The Seahawks, down 28-27, used a running play to reach the St. Louis 31 in the final seconds Sunday and hurried to the line.
Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck spiked the ball with four seconds left to set up a winning field goal.
A yellow flag flew, and many of the Rams began to celebrate in anticipation of an offensive penalty that would require a 10-second runoff, which would have meant the game was over and the Rams won.
But the Seahawks were whistled for an illegal formation, not a false start. The false-start penalty would have required the runoff. The illegal-formation call simply moved the ball back 5 yards.
Josh Brown made a 54-yard field goal to win it for Seattle.
“The integrity of the 10-second runoff is in question here because the whole idea is you can’t have an illegal play of any kind without any timeouts while the clock is running to ensure that you get a chance to get a kick,” Linehan said.
Teams could use the loophole to their advantage, Linehan said.
“If you have a long play now, what I would say is I think [receivers] Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce should run up and snap the ball to each other,” Linehan said. “Everybody stand still. It’s an illegal formation–there’s only one guy on the ball and an ineligible taking the snap. Snap the ball and clock it. It’s only a 5-yard penalty, right?
“I promise you they’re going to have to figure out a way [to look at the rule] because that’s what we’re going to do.”
Bad decision
The Dolphins pursued free-agent quarterback Drew Brees last March but decided the risk of a surgically repaired shoulder was not worth a $10 million bonus. The Saints took the gamble.
The next day, the Dolphins traded a second-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for Daunte Culpepper, assumed a $6 million signing bonus and added $2 million.
Culpepper was coming off knee surgery, which seemed like less of a risk than the shoulder, not to mention $2 million cheaper.
But because he desperately wanted to open the regular season as Miami’s starter, Culpepper admitted last week that he stopped some of the preseason rehabilitation drills that were designed to help him return from the major injury.
Culpepper achieved his goal of playing in the opener against Pittsburgh but now finds himself replaced indefinitely by Joey Harrington. The Dolphins are 1-5, one of the season’s major disappointments.
Dolphins coach Nick Saban said the team’s medical and training staff have constructed a program designed to improve Culpepper’s “explosive movement.”
“When I got here, I was doing my rehab and going through the proper steps,” Culpepper said. “But when we started practicing as a team, I was feeling so good and everybody saw I was doing good, we didn’t take the proper steps. That’s my fault as much as anybody because of my eagerness to be out there. It didn’t turn out the way we wanted, so now we’re taking the proper steps to get it right.”
Joining the club
By beating the Texans, Cowboys coach Bill Parcells joined the Colts’ Tony Dungy and the Broncos’ Mike Shanahan as the only coaches to beat all 32 current NFL franchises.
Not Big Easy
As nice a story as it is, it remains hard to believe the 5-1 Saints. Since their schedule gets no easier after being off this week, it will remain hard to take them seriously until after Thanksgiving.
More Top Picks Best Curved Monitors For Eye Strain
After this week off, they come back to the Superdome on Oct. 29 against Baltimore, then go to Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh before playing host to Cincinnati. After that, the Saints are at Atlanta, home against San Francisco, at Dallas, home against Washington, at the New York Giants and home against Carolina.
Familiar scene
Carolina receiver Steve Smith was nursing a hamstring injury while the Panthers started 0-2. He returned in Game 3 and Carolina hasn’t lost since, although it was apparent Smith wasn’t in top form. His breakaway speed wasn’t there, and he had three drops in a win over Cleveland.
The old Smith returned Sunday as the Panthers won their fourth straight, 23-21 in Baltimore.
Smith had eight catches for 189 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown that best displayed Smith is back. He had to retreat to grab Jake Delhomme’s underthrown ball over the middle, then took off. He beat speedy Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle to the right corner of the end zone for the decisive touchdown.
“You’ve got to remember Steve went through two hamstring pulls, missed most of camp as well as the preseason games and two regular-season games,” coach John Fox said. “No matter how good you are, in this game you have to get into condition to play it. I’m not just talking about weightlifting and cardiovascular work, I’m talking about playing the game.
“At this level it’s a certain speed. Until you’re out there doing it, you don’t get into that condition. Steve was a guy who was on the shelf for a while. He’s gotten better each week.”
———-