Lions robbed by horrible rule; future still looks bright
Sometimes common sense just isn’t good enough in sports. You can ask many football fans if they though Calvin Johnson indeed made the winning catch in the season opener last Sunday. The Detroit Lions were looking for their first win on the road in three years and appeared to have it when Johnson made a leaping grab in the end zone, came down with possession of the ball and touched two feet in bounds.
Down 19-14 with 40 seconds left, the Lions appeared to have made the go-ahead score to go up 20-19 but the referees changed their minds and ruled the catch an incompletion; their reasoning? Johnson rolled over and let go of the ball to begin his celebration. Apparently that meant he lost control of the ball and therefore it was an incomplete pass. According to the NFL rulebook as to what is a catch, the refs got it right. That’s the sad part. If this was not a catch though, then how much more do you have to do? If a player catches the ball runs a few steps and dunks the ball over the crossbar to celebrate, does that count? It’s just so ridiculous.
Lions’ coach Jim Schwartz treated the mater like a professional football coach, accepting the controversial call and looking at other reasons why his team lost. Coaches will never point to one particular play as a reason for losing, there are always plenty of plays that decide a game.
"The time I stand up here and start blaming officials for a loss is the time I don't need to be doing this anymore," Schwartz said.
Johnson, who made the great catch or non-catch, was obviously surprised by the call. He, along with football fans everywhere thought he had just gotten his team a huge opening victory against a division rival.
“I figure if I got two feet and a knee down, to me that is a catch. That's why I got up and took off," he said.
Johnson believed he caught the ball and any naked eye would say it was a catch. In terms of playing by the rules, it was the right call. The officials can’t be blamed for going by the rules, but you can blame the rules. This rule should be revisited in order to give the referees some discretion on what a catch is. You won’t hear many people argue that they saw a drop. Everyone saw a catch, so that’s exactly what should have been ruled in an ideal world.
The good news is, the Lions did make a good impression in the season opener. They showed that teams won’t just roll over them anymore and they are a competitive team. It’s not an automatic win anymore when facing Detroit.
The sad part is, out of all teams that this had to happen to, why the Lions? This team has struggled so much this decade but they came out to open the 2010 season with a gutsy performance in a hostile environment and deserved better. The Lions are obviously not the same sorry team that finished 0-16 two seasons ago. They’re a different team that looks promising, about to head into a new era filled with success. They have built a solid foundation, now they just need some experience and a few more pieces to be a winning team.
Win or lose, the Lions grabbed the attention of everyone around the league with their performance. They are showing that they’re no longer the league’s joke and they will be around for a while, challenging the league’s best and eventually will be among the best. While it may not happen this year, it will be sooner than people think. The Lions are getting there and teams better start getting ready to play a tough 60-minute game against this team. If you’re not ready to play, the hungry Lions will make you pay. With all that being said, chin up Detroit fans. Your team will be great soon and you won’t have to worry about one controversial call costing you a game.
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