Real Headline
from
Lincolnreport
“OK, last part first … The paper thing is low-hanging fruit. Was it the most ridiculous thing we’ve seen on a field in some time? No freakin’ doubt. But if you looked closely at referee Gene Steratore as he bent down to measure the ball, the last grooves of the football did pass the final full chain link, which is by definition a first down. If you want to argue that that the spot was poor, I am more than willing to listen. The index card portion — and Steratore’s wry, little smile just before he signaled first down, Dallas Cowboys — is all about the optics. I will not engage you in a debate about the NFL favoring the Cowboys; not in a year in which Roger Goodell and the league engaged in a multimillion-dollar crusade to ensure one of their best players didn’t see the field for six games. And on that note, the Cowboys are somehow back in the playoff race with Ezekiel Elliott reporting to the team this morning. That’s another thing that should have been folded into the NFL’s bonanza of a Week 15. Instead, we’re talking about folded papers. Really, some of this is unavoidable. We’re in an era of slow motion and DVRs and Twitter and outrage, and every call, no matter how big or small, always seems to elicit conspiracy theories and calls for Goodell’s (or someone’s) head on a stick in the public square. We love to be angry. Every game ends in finger pointing and blame, regardless of the outcome. But that doesn’t meant the NFL doesn’t have a fixable issue here.”
