That "illegal snap penalty" being called this preseason needs adjustment. If the ball is snapped before the umpire is in position, they blow a whistle and there's a 5yd penalty on the offense. I'm all for safety but it's not working the way they're doing it now. It's interfering with the game. Someone suggested that the QB look to the line judge for a signal that the umpire is in position. Some have suggested there be a whistle to signal that it's OK for play to begin. Any kind of signal to the quarterback that it's now OK to snap the ball is going to benefit the defense too much.
I think it safe to say we didn't learn much from the Chargers-Saints game Friday night. The Saints won. Big deal. The offenses alternated between going on long drives and punting. The defenses alternated between giving up those long drives and forcing punts. The Saints were deeper. Their reserves did a better job and are most responsible for the win. The Saints travel to Nashville to take on the Titans Thursday night and the preseason will come to a close. Good riddance. Brees, Vilma, Greer, Porter, Bush, Will Smith, and Pierre Thomas need not even make the trip as far as I'm concerned.
10 days until football season ...
5 song iTune shuffle from the CrabAppleLane Five Star playlist:
- Temptation Eyes - The Grass Roots - 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of The Grass Roots
- The Jean Genie - David Bowie - Aladdin Sane
- Mississippi Queen - Mountain - Hard N' Heavy: 70's Greatest Rock Hits, Vol. 1
- Classical Gas - Mason Williams - Am Gold 1968
- Megalomania - Black Sabbath - Sabotage (Remaster)
Quote of the Day
But even if, as Ettlinger writes, many of the Twinkie’s ingredients are “more closely linked to rocks and petroleum than any of the four food groups,” they still technically come from the Earth, right?
Laura T. Coffey
Blog of the day is here.
Quote from said blog: "Wow. That was one of the worst games I've ever watched. The good news is that NFL.com has gotten back to regular-season form as far as the quantity of videos. Unfortunately, the Titans didn't really do anything worth putting up. Only 1 more week of this silliness, though!"
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I'm not sure how they can tweak that. That change caught me by surprise and I'm not sure what to make of it yet. I guess I need to see it in more situations, but it won't surprise me if it generates some controversy this season.
My guess is the Vikes will sit their starters also this week. Childress is making noise like that's not a done deal though. Could the first team offense use a bit more work? Yes. Is it worth the risk? Nope.
If it continues to be called the way they're calling it now, it is going to be a problem and will generate a ton of controversy. There are just entirely too many instances where a team might want to get to the line quickly and get off a play. I find it interesting that the referees are going to have a conference call with the league on September 10 ... the day AFTER the Vikes-Saints game. From SI's Peter King this morning:
"On Sept. 10, two days before the first Sunday of the regular season, the league's 17 umpires and 17 referees will meet in Dallas with Johnson to discuss the new system and whether there might be some little tweaks the rank-and-file can suggest to make it a cleaner adjustment. (It'll be interesting to see if Saints coach Sean Payton pushes the envelope in the first game of the season, the night before this officiating summit in Texas. I hope Johnson assigns the most physically fit ump to that Thursday night game.)"
Not sure what to make of his Sean Payton remark. The rest:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/08/29/mmqb/index.html
I think he just means that if either coach will be looking and able to test things that first game it will be Payton and not Childress. If that's the case, I think he's right.
Maybe so but I don't want them taking silly penalties in that game just to prove a point. If linemen weighing in at 300+ pounds can be in position to take a quick snap, I don't see why the officials can't be.