DROPPED CALL
“ARE YOU inquisitive?” I asked. “What’s it to you?’ he answered.
Show me media folks who don’t ask good questions and I’ll show you folks in the wrong business. Used to be that a live telecast of a game was driven to answer our questions. Thus, the promise of the best seat in the house was often met.
But, like everything else that used to make sense, that has been lost to a modern impossibility: preposterous excesses, and obstructionist verbal and visual clutter and dismissive assumptions/hopes that we’re too stupid to ask why.
Sunday, when Rams-Giants was still close, the Rams successfully faked a punt, kicker Johnny Hekker throwing to the unguarded near sideline for a first down.
But the play was wiped out by offsetting penalties, both for unsportsmanlike conduct. What was that all about? The ref gave no details on his field microphone nor did he identify the offenders.
Your guess was as good as mine as Fox’s otherwise chatty due of Adam Amin and Mark Schlereth made no attempt to explain and, presumably, Fox’s tape machines didn’t provide a clue.
The first thing I’d have done is what Fox has conditioned us to expect: Bring in NFL rules expert Mike Pereira to answer, “What the heck just happened?”
If Pereira was lost to explain, Amin, as a matter of good faith and good TV, might’ve said, “We’ll look into that and let you know.”
Sideline reporter Shannon Spake apparently didn’t seem interested. Even had she explained it in place of her obligatory early third quarter, “I spoke with Coach X ... ” a late explanation would have been welcomed as opposed to none.
Where was the producer to firmly suggest that Spake learn what it was all about? Why not ask L.A.’s special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, seen raging on the sidelines after the play was wiped out?
Instead, don’t just do something, stand there!
What was clear was that the Rams, with an extensive recent history of faking punts, were punting from the Giants’ 40. The situation, as a diligent special teams coach might deduce, called for the return team to be on high alert. It was a matter of applied geography.
Amin instead played “This Is Your Life, Johnny Hekker,” rattling off a bunch of stats, including, “13for-22 passing the football in his career” until he reached, “12 of his 13 completions have gone for first downs!”
Really? No fooling? Why did he think a punter would throw if not for a first down on fourth down?
Aw, the heck with it. We don’t want to stand in the way of progress, do we?