Originally Posted by
doobs_05
Succop makes the kick......
You seem to be missing the point, Doobs, and there are several:
1) It was most likely the illegal formation that caused Succup to miss the FG in the first place. How many others has he missed from 41 yds or less?
2) Of course we wouldn't care about the call if he had made the kick because we would have declined the penalty and won the game, but because the kick was missed (because the formation was illegal) a penalty should have been called that would have set up another try from 36 yds. How many FGs has Succup missed from that distance?
3) The timing and nature of the call directly changed the outcome of the game letting a team into the playoffs that didn't earn the right to be there and keeping out a team that (thanks to league parity/mediocrity) did.
4) This wasn't a judgment call. It wasn't a "did the ball touch the ground," "did he have both feet inbounds," or "where was the ball when his knee touched the ground" type of call. (All of those are review-able, by the way; why isn't this?) On every play an official counts the number of players on the line of scrimmage and the number of players each team has on the field. This was "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, ... blow the whistle and throw the flag."
5) The Chargers broke the rules. Calling a penalty was the right thing to do.
I know the concept of moral absolutes and black and white, right or wrong is outdated. (C'mon, it's just a game, right?) But contrary to what today's young people, especially the "legalize pot" subculture, would have you believe, rules are not made to be broken. They are made to be followed. (or changed if you disagree with them). That is why, in football and in real life, breaking the rules result in a penalty, a fine, or a sentence. This allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and reap the rewards of their hard work. The Chiefs worked hard to put themselves in a position to win the game and they had a right according to the rules to rekick that field goal. the chance to earn that win outright was denied them because the rule wasn't enforced. If rules are not enforced consistently and uniformly then it becomes difficult for teams to follow them because they don't know what is allowed and what isn't. It also undermines the integrity of the game because, rightly or wrongly, it gives the impression that officials are intentionally enforcing or not enforcing the rules at their discretion in order to give one team an unfair competitive advantage over another. This in turn undermines the credibility of the game.
Then again, look how popular professional wrestling is. Maybe you don't care about the credibility of the game ...
***Official Chiefs Crowd Game Thread Starter***
This space is reserved for something that has nothing whatsoever to do with MatthewsChiefs. (Whoever THAT is!)
Bookmarks