Victory formation

A bunch has been said about a play at the end of the Giants-Bucs game where the Giants were in Victory formation with 5 seconds left in the game. At the snap the Bucs defense in 4-point stance dove for the ball knocking Eli Manning to the ground. As the two coaches went to shake hands, you can see Coughlin chewing out Bucs coach Greg Schiano. In postgame press conferences Coughlin said it was not something that’s done in the NFL and Schiano said his team plays hard every down (more on this later). Look at his resume at Rutgers and you’ll see that it’s not unprecedented for him to call such a play and that he did nothing wrong.

Some say it’s Bush League, some say it’s football, quit complaining, and some say there’s unwritten rules. The NFL itself says there’s no illegal stuff happening in that play. Here’s what I say and it’s augmented with points brought up by Giants’ radio color commentator and ex-Giant linebacker, Carl Banks.

• There’s a rule in the NFL rulebook (Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1e) that says when a player with the ball in his hands gives himself up on the field of play, the play is dead. He can’t get up and run once he’s done this. Nor can a defender hit him once he goes down. We see this when a running back kneels down with the ball in his hands at the one yard line to kill the clock and maybe set up a field goal. In the Super Bowl last season Ahmad Bradshaw of the GMen tried to do this as the Patriots were letting him run in for the final score to save time on the clock for their offense. He couldn’t manage it, thus, the Tush-down was created. Classic play for another post. The rule is sometimes called the “Victor Cruz Rule” after a controversial play against Arizona last year where it looked like Cruz fumbled, but really he “gave himself up”, let go of the ball and can be seen looking toward Eli and the offense and trying to get back to the line in a hurry-up mode as the game was in its last minute or so. When the last pass by the Bucs QB Josh Freeman was intercepted by Giants LB Michael Boley yesterday, you can see Boley “give himself up.” Play over. Happens all the time. Now, apparently, O-lines tell D-lines when they’re going into Victory formation and that they’re just gonna kneel down. The Giants' O-line did this yesterday according to the NJ Star Ledger and still the Bucs’ D-line got into a 4-point stance, anyway. Obviously, the NFL see’s this action to be different than the Victor Cruz Rule. I don't know about anyone else, but I can see where they’re similar.

• The Bucs play hard every down except when they’re letting Giants’ RB Andre Brown run in for the game winning score, apparently.

• Are potential injuries to both sides of the line worth a Miracle at the Meadowlands Part II?

• In a time of concussion law suits and Bountygate, is that the best decision to make?

• As I understand it from listening to players talk about Bountygate there are livelihoods on the line. Unnecessary injuries, in this way, compromise the integrity of the game. Moreover, there’s money on the line the teams are paying the players. Jerry Jones is so invested in Dez Bryant being productive (bang = buck) that Dez has all these rules about what he can and can't do with himself off the field--legal documents are signed! No longer are these people playing for school pride or for the satisfaction of winning. There’s no room for libertarians in a socialist business. That’s just how it is.

Perception and the reality of law suits and livelihoods in the NFL takes precedent over sore-loser, boneheaded calls by rookie coaches. Yer in the Big Leagues now, Schiano.

...