Patterico's Pontifications

11/17/2008

Donovan McNabb Didn’t Know NFL Games Can End in a Tie

Filed under: Sports — DRJ @ 11:30 am



[Guest post by DRJ]

Philadephia quarterback and 10-year NFL veteran Donovan McNabb admits he didn’t know NFL games could end in a tie. (Yesterday’s Eagles-Bengals game ended in a tie.)

At least one Philly sports columnist says this is the end of the Eagles’ season and for McNabb. I think some enterprising sports reporter should ask Rush Limbaugh to comment.

— DRJ

45 Responses to “Donovan McNabb Didn’t Know NFL Games Can End in a Tie”

  1. I wondered about that myself. I thought they kept playing overtimes until the game was settled, but I guess not.

    Steven Den Beste (99cfa1)

  2. Nah, they should ask genius political analyst and sports expert Keith Olberdouche for his opinion.
    Great how El Rushbo was vilified while others of a darker pigmentation pretty much get a pass on racially tinted comments, sports or otherwise. But then super talented Don Imus is back after his own “racist” expressions on air. I suppose he did enough groveling to the politically correct cretins Jackson and Sharpton.

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  3. Steven Den Beste,

    Like you, I didn’t trust my memory regarding the NFL Sudden Death system of determining winners when games are tied at the end of regulation play (as opposed to the playoffs, when the game continues until there is a winner). Fans like us may not know the rules but it’s hard to fathom that a player – especially a quarterback – didn’t know the rule.

    DRJ (a50047)

  4. That makes him utterly unqualified to hold any position of authority, and I question his judgement. Didn’t he and Biden both go to Syracuse?

    JD (b96a9e)

  5. It happens so rarely that I don’t mind McNabb not konwing that during regulation, but if he went into overtime still not knowing it, and even finished the game not knowing it (ok coach, ready for the 6th quarter…WHAT?!?) somebody on the Philadelphia sideline should be fired.

    tim maguire (72f509)

  6. I guess we should be content with the World Series.

    Not.

    Amphipolis (fdbc48)

  7. Comment by JD — 11/17/2008 @ 12:12 pm

    Perhaps a little “language-school” rivalry bubbling up there JD?

    Another Drew (a9bf4b)

  8. What this reflects to me is that McNabb doesn’t know the history of his own sport…such as the “Greatest Game of All Time,” the 1958 NFL Championship game, Colts vs. Giants in Yankee Stadium, or the 1982? playoff game Dolphins vs. Chargers, where Kellen Winslow had the great game for the Chargers, including blocking a field goal in overtime…Colts/Giants went till a winner….Dolphins/Chargers went two OT, as did a Chiefs playoff game in the 80’s….

    reff (b996d9)

  9. AD – ???

    Now, everyone imagine the outrage if Gov. Palin would not have know what happened in the event of a tie.

    JD (b96a9e)

  10. The longest Game in NFL history…a playoff game Chiefs vs. Dolphins, in 1971….not the 80’s, as I said earlier…

    82 minutes….more than one overtime….

    http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1970s/longest_day.jsp

    reff (b996d9)

  11. Comment by JD — 11/17/2008 @ 12:37 pm

    Monterey v Syracuse (something from my time perhaps). Just being snarky.

    Another Drew (a9bf4b)

  12. NOOOOOOO! This is where I go to ESCAPE reading about the wretched Eagles. No more Eagles posts, please!

    Kev (c70f43)

  13. If McNabb lacks knowledge of the rules of his sport, he will have an outstanding career ahead of him as a color commentator (JD, go ahead and denounce my use of the word “color”). I am always amazed at how people who played — and even coached like John Madden — have no idea of the rules. I remember Joe Theismann braying on about how some team really needed to challenge an on-field call where the referee ruled that a receiver had caught a pass and been carried out of bounds by the defender. He went on and on being absolutely incredulous at the lack of a challenge, while everyone with me at the sports bar kept saying “Joe, that’s not a call that can be challenged.” Finally some producer set Joe straight, but not until he had made an utter ass of himself.

    The other one that amazed me is when Madden was utterly suprised that you could enforce a personal foul after a touchdown on the extra point attempt, and not have to wait until the kickoff.

    JVW (89c289)

  14. JVW – Nice pre-emptive denunciation. And you are right about how many former players are flat out ignorant about the rules.

    JD (b96a9e)

  15. Go Phillies!

    Jack Klompus (cf3660)

  16. Maybe so, but unlike most quarterbacks, McNabb knows which end of the football is the front end.

    Official Internet Data Office (777bfc)

  17. The guy who leads the league in “number of times puked thru his facemask on the field” (look it up, it’s on YouTube or NFL Films somewhere) doesn’t know the rules? The guy who has played in only one Super Bowl (and even then, ONLY because T.O. took them there) chokes again? The guy who took a delay of game penalty as time was ticking away in overtime is confused that he got it wrong?

    Shocka!

    Icy Truth (aedb2f)

  18. Well, one problem is that they keep changing the rules. There was a time when there were no ties.

    And don’t even start with the “you can’t challenge that call” stuff. We’ll be here all night.

    JayC (7c1245)

  19. reff, all those games you cited were playoff games. It makes sense that a playoff game can’t end in a tie. But regular season games have ended after one overtime quarter for as long as I can remember (at least since the 70s).

    Steverino (69d941)

  20. Being a football player does not necessarily make you a football fan. A football fan would have known that.

    JD (b96a9e)

  21. Speaking of football, I see that Baracky said he is going to throw his weight around trying to force a college football playoff system. Granted, I would love to see a playoff system, but the NCAA might be one of the few organizations that could not care less what Baracky thinks of them.

    JD (b96a9e)

  22. Is that before or after he demands Community Service from the alumni?

    Icy Truth (aedb2f)

  23. the NFL has always had “ties” since it’s inception in 1921. Overtime came about in the 1950’s

    http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1950s/overtime.jsp

    Have A Drink For Me…

    Beer Kid

    beerkid (2813eb)

  24. Hmm, for most memorable game of the season–or at last, most memorable last minute of the season–I give you the Steelers game.
    Which went from 11-10 to 16-11 in the last minute of the game and then back to 11-10 after time had actually run out, when the TD was negated because of an illegal forward pass call by the refs.
    The broadcast booth was somewhat astonished by the fact that had the TD remained legal, the kick for an extra point would have been carried out even though there was no time remaining on the clock and the final result would not have been changed, and the score would presumably have ended up 17-10. I suppose this raises the possibility that if a last second TD had resulted in the scoring team being one point behind, they would be faced with the decision to go for a kick and one point to tie and go on to OT, or go for a two point conversion and lose or win based on the success of the conversion.
    And I’m sure a whole bunch of people who don’t normally watch Steelers games saw this, because (like me), they were waiting for 60 Minutes to start its interview of His Messiahness.

    kishnevi (bd6c91)

  25. Well, pointing out Ashley Fox’s column in The Philadelphia Inquirer hardly strikes me as evidence; she never played the game — obviously — and she’s just a sniper, complaining about athletes not performing well when she never did squat.

    In another column in today’s Inquirer, the sportswriter went through the various series, and kept referring to the “Birds” and the “Bungles.” Referring to Cincinnati’s team as the Bungles is a long tradition, since they’ve been really bad most years, but it’s pretty stupid to refer to a team you couldn’t beat as the Bungles; maybe his editor wouldn’t let him use a slang term for feces that rhymes with Birds.

    That said, everyone around here is talking about the Eagles as though Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid are toast.

    Of course, considering my favorite team, everybody is better!

    The Oakland Raiders' fan Dana (556f76)

  26. kishnevi, actually the Broncos had the situation you mention regarding conversion / extra point to tie earlier this season. The difference was that a bad referee call gave the game to the Broncos when they should not have won.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  27. kishnevi: In the situation you mentioned, in sudden death there is no extra-point attempt, since the game ended with the score. At the end of regulation, the scoring team could simply decline to attempt the conversion if they had won the game without it.

    The big issue is that, without that touchdown counting, the Steelers didn’t cover the spread, where they would have covered with it.

    The Oakland Raiders' fan Dana (556f76)

  28. Hey, Al Michaels and John Madden went on and on Sunday night without understanding the touchback rule during the second half of the Redskins-Cowboys game, and they’re supposed to have football experts talking to them through their headsets to make sure they know what’s going on.

    John (692c5c)

  29. #25 The old Raiders of an earlier era were awesome. Can’t recall them doing much since Plunkett left. Loved them with Lamonica, Blanda and Stabler. Blanda would be eighty one now. Google Stabler and check out the mug shot from his DUI last June. He may have been the heaviest boozer at Alabama.

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  30. When I heard Rush mention this as he ended his show today, I thought, “That CAN’T be right.” I found a wire story about it, and thought, “They’re no WAY that’s what he really said.” I went to YouTube and found the press conference. I could NOT believe it. I was stunned.

    Dude…when you read the football standings, you see three columns: “W”, “L”, and “T”.

    WHAT DID YOU THINK THE “T” STOOD FOR?

    L.N. Smithee (a0b21b)

  31. Steverino at #19….McNabb stated that “I hate to see what happens in the Super Bowl or I hate to see what happens in the playoffs. You have to settle with a tie.”

    So, your point about my examples being playoff games is????

    thanks for playing….

    reff (556669)

  32. madmax333 wrote: The old Raiders of an earlier era were awesome. Can’t recall them doing much since Plunkett left.

    In 2002, young Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden took the Raiders to within one game of the Super Bowl. In the AFC Championship Game, the only thing preventing the Raiders’ return to the Big Game for the first time since 1981 was the officials negating a game-cinching 4th Quarter recovery of a Tom Brady fumble by invoking the then-unknown “tuck rule.” I won’t go into it, it’s too ridiculous — go to Wikipedia for a description, and view the play on YouTube here. The Pats won the AFC title in OT, and went on to win their first of four Bowls.

    After the 2001-2002 season ended, Gruden, tiring of owner Ancient Al Davis’ meddling (a common complaint), announced that he would leave after his upcoming final contracted season. Davis, who hates being upstaged, said ‘Tellya what — you can go right now.’ Gruden latched on with the perpetually underachieving Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which had just dismissed Tony Dungy. Davis hired Bill Callahan to coach the Raiders. The Raiders made it to the Super Bowl in 2003, only to be defeated by … guess who?

    Thaaaat’s right. Gruden’s Tampa Bay Bucs.

    To make a long story short, the Raiders have sucked ever since. And suck they will until Davis hangs it up.

    L.N. Smithee (a0b21b)

  33. L.N. Smithee- don’t know if you were around back then, but recall that Raiders-Steelers Immaculate Reception game in ’72? Or being ticked off that Bambi movie took a great game finish between Jets and Raiders off the air in ’68?

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  34. Used to watch the Rams on Sundays as a kid in Vegas in the midfifties. Ok, LA does without the NFL, but how many know that the original name proposed for Oakland team was the SENORS?

    For you Ohio area fans, back in the twenties, the league had plenty of Ohio teams.

    Anyway Donovan is a fine quarterback, but from my Philly years, I’d take the NBA Sixers of 66-67 as arguably the best team of all time, with all due respect to the later Chamberlain time with the Lakers and that great championship year around 72.

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  35. Don’t blame Bambi–it was Heidi.

    Official Internet Data Office (777bfc)

  36. madmax333 wrote: L.N. Smithee- don’t know if you were around back then, but recall that Raiders-Steelers Immaculate Reception game in ‘72? Or being ticked off that Bambi movie took a great game finish between Jets and Raiders off the air in ‘68?

    I was too young for the Heidi game, but watched the Immaculate Reception game. I was a fan of both the Niners and the Raiders back then. December 23, 1972; what a horrendous day it was for a young fan. The Raiders lost on the Franco Harris ricochet; The 49ers blew a 28-13 lead going into the 4th to lose 30-28. SEVENTEEN UNANSWERED POINTS, with a fumbled onside kick setting up the winning TD. In retrospect, the only good thing about that game is that I didn’t watch it — it was blacked out in S.F.

    I held on tight to that game until 1982, when “The Catch” exorcised the painful memory. Sleep tight, Everson Walls, wherever you are. Ha-haaa!

    L.N. Smithee (123231)

  37. Such is the case that people make mistakes, but in a team atmosphere where there are multiple levels of responsibility, one would expect communication to overcome one individuals lack of knowledge. I as a viewer of the game perceived McNabb to be much to relaxed and care free as time was running out. Now I know why, he was oblivious to the fact! And with no help from the dysfunctional team he plays with, because they do not communicate, they are all just going through the motions.

    PAK (9555eb)

  38. max – I remember Heidi!

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  39. Some of you guys are showing your age. How could I write Bambi when my s.o. is named Heidi. Anyway, Andy Reid defended McNabb being unaware of the tie rule; there have only been 17 ties since rule was instituted.

    L.N. Smithee- do you recall the Oakland-Miami playoff game in the early seventies where Oakland won on circus catches? Or the really big shootout between Colts and Jets wherein Namath ungunned Johnny U.? Back in ’72, the two combined for 872 yards passing, with Namath being 496 yards and 6 TDs and Jets winning 44-34. SI.com has the top 10 QB rivalries of all time. Offhand I can’t recall any particular rivalry that McNabb has had other than with T.O.
    Oakland had that safety yesterday. The NFL record holder for safeties is Fred Dryer with 2 in one game. I knew Reggie White was a great sacker, but didn’t realize that Dryer had 104 in his career. Seems he really holds his weight well too and that playboy centerfold he married was a looker too.

    madmax333 (0c6cfc)

  40. Anyone making excuses for McNabb needs to think twice . . . it’s his job to know the rules.

    Icy Truth (aedb2f)

  41. madmax333 wrote: The NFL record holder for safeties is Fred Dryer with 2 in one game. I knew Reggie White was a great sacker, but didn’t realize that Dryer had 104 in his career. Seems he really holds his weight well too and that playboy centerfold he married was a looker too.

    Most centerfolds are.

    Dryer went into acting, following the likes of Jim Brown, Alex Karras, Merlin Olsen, and other NFL stars. Despite being wooden as a sequoia in his first season of Hunter (Mmm…Stepfanie Kramer…), he became a passable TV actor, and the show lasted seven seasons.

    L.N. Smithee (0931d2)

  42. Thanks for breaking up my attempt to have all of the “recent comments”, L.N. 🙂

    [Oh, and I agree: Mmm…Stepfanie Kramer!]

    Icy Truth (aedb2f)

  43. Andy Reid defended McNabb being unaware of the tie rule; there have only been 17 ties since rule was instituted.

    I didn’t remember the last tie, but that thing every single analyst in the business does the last three weeks of every season–“The Chiefs can get a wild card with a win if the Broncos lose or tie and the Raiders lose or tie and the Colts win or tie”–was a serious clue.

    Does no one perform this task for the Eagles? Or do they just not tell the players?

    HeatherRadish (7b49ef)

  44. The point of the tie issue was well stated by PAK above. McNabb needed to know the rule and press more in OT. Limbaugh did mention it on his show this morning but was circumspect on his opinion. I find I’m listening more to Limbaugh now since the election. Obama will keep him in Maybachs for years now. Even if he has to go to satellite radio to escape the Fairness Doctrine.

    Mike K (531ff4)

  45. Icy Truth wrote: [Oh, and I agree: Mmm…Stepfanie Kramer!]

    The lovely Ms. Kramer has a bit part in one of my favorite movies, Carl Reiner’s The Man With Two Brains, starring Steve Martin. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it, but she is a pedestrian struck in traffic to the delight of Dr. Hfuhruhurr, who thinks she’ll die of her injuries. He identifies himself as a doctor, and intends to make off with her body as soon as she expires, but she comes to. The crowd gathered around her exults in relief, and Hfuhruhurr reacts by trying to strangle her!

    (Folks, don’t worry. It’s hilarious in context, and everything turns out OK.)

    Kramer is listed in the closing credits as “Beautiful Girl Hit by Car.”

    L.N. Smithee (0931d2)


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