Giants deserved a second chance at victory
January 6, 2003 Print it
The instant replay rules must be changed. That was made clear on the final play of Sunday's NFC playoff game between the Giants and the 49ers. Because the current rules are restrictive, the Giants must live with the knowledge they deserved another chance to continue in the postseason.
We'll never know what they would have done with that opportunity. Perhaps long snapper Trey Junkin would have botched his assignment for the third time on the afternoon. But maybe he would have made a perfect snap and Matt Bryant would have kicked a field goal to win the game.
But this much is certain: Junkin, Bryant and the Giants should have been given another attempt.
Instead, what was obvious -- and I mean obvious -- pass interference following a botched field-goal attempt was not called. The officials were so focused on flagging an ineligible receiver downfield that they forgot to call the interference.
As a result, instead of having offsetting penalties -- ineligible receiver and pass interference -- that would have cancelled the play and allowed another field-goal try, the game was over, the 49ers moved on to Tampa and the Giants flew home crushed.
You remember what happened: The Giants lined up for a 41-yard attempt but Junkin's snap bounced on the ground. Holder Matt Allen picked up the ball and rolled to his right, then launched a pass downfield. Rich Seubert was open but was brought down prematurely by the 49ers' Chike Okeafor. Three flags were tossed; all for ineligible receiver downfield.
It was a chaotic and unexpected situation, but these officials are experienced pros, and they have been trained to respond correctly under such pressure.
On Monday, the league said it botched things. It is a difficult, but typically honest and open admission by Mike Pereira, the NFL's supervisor of officials. The league works hard to upgrade the standards of its officiating, and to have this happen in the playoffs, with a crew comprised of all-star officials chosen for their regular-season merit, is particularly devastating.
The problem is, under current instant replay rules, the missed pass interference call could not have been reviewed by the instant replay official. He is the one who determines what plays are reviewed in the final two minutes, but as blatant as this was, he had to ignore the mistake because it was a judgment call.
I want all questionable plays reviewed in those final two minutes, all of them. One of the mantras that Pereira preaches to his crews is to make "Super Bowl" calls. In other words, ignore the ticky-tack stuff but don't ever, ever miss the game-turning big-time plays. And who knows, this bungle could have cost the Giants a Super Bowl.
But if every questionable play in the final minutes -- whether it was a judgment call or not -- was open to review, the beauty of having instant replay would not be destroyed at the most telling moments. After all, it was instituted to make sure missed or incorrect calls did not determine the outcome of the game.
Now, unfortunately, one possibly has. But it should never happen again after this season if the instant replay rules are modified correctly.
