LINEMAN DIDN"T GIVE REFEREE A HAND, NFL SAYS

 Surprise! Surprise! The NFL issued a video defending referee Brad Allen’s call that deprived the Lions of an apparent last-minute upset of Dallas. O-lineman Taylor Decker, who caught the two-point conversion pass for a 21-20 lead with :23 remaining, did not report to Allen with significant hand gestures as well as verbal notification … as required by the rule book, the league said. Ergo, penalty for illegal touching of the ball. You will have to try again. 

So what were these missed hand gestures because, thanks to 

Fox replay, there was considerable evidence Allen should have 

known Decker was the designated receiver? According to the 

video, it was the player’s responsibility to notify the referee 

“… by a physical signal of moving his hands up and down in 

front of his chest” in addition to telling the referee of his 

intention to be an eligible receiver.”

Raise your hand if you were aware of that? ESPN’s crack crew 

of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck apparently never heard of 

hands across the chest either … or surely they would have 

mentioned it.

Also, we didn’t know the referee was obliged – by rule – to 

tell the defense about the potential subterfuge. Hey, guys, I 

must warn you that No. 58 is eligible to catch a pass, if the 

offense so choses. In other words, why bother? Trick play, 

indeed.

There is considerable reason to believe teams set up tackle-

eligible stuff more often than we will ever know … without 

planning to use it.

Hey, here’s an idea: Eliminate the rule (which obviously was 

made to help the officials cut down on their responsibilities to 

(a) get things right, and (b) not take too long -- or look too 

foolish -- doing it. Let tackle-eligible be a real trick play. 

There’s always instant replay to sort it out, if necessary.

By the way, Allen and his crack crew were assigned Saturday 

afternoon’s Pittsburgh at Baltimore game to be a stand-alone 

and seen on ABC and ESPN. To make the playoffs the Steelers 

must win and get help elsewhere.

LAST WORDS:

Don’t you just love it when a couple of slugs like Aaron 

Rodgers and Jimmy Kimmel attempt to bash each other to 

oblivion? A tie would be too much to ask. Kimmel is host of a 

late-night TV show … in case you were wondering.

Washington 49; Michigan 30. Huskies have been our choice to 

win it all since they beat favored – yes, FAVORED – Oregon 

for the second time … Better final four would have included 

Ducks and Georgia instead of Texas and Alabama.

While we’re at it … Carolina Hurricanes to win Stanley Cup. 

They were our choice prior to season’s start, beating 

Minnesota Wild in finals. Oh, well, one out of two isn’t bad. 

Until next time …