Ok, may be I'm wrong. It seems to be very, very unsportsman like to Ice the kicker. Calling a time out for no reason other than to ice them is a poor excuse for a fair game. They should, on field goal attempts, not allow the defense to call time outs once the either the offense has set or the count starts or even once the play is whistled in. Allow the players make the play and keep the bench from interfering.
I wonder if it doesn't backfire more often than it helps.
Hey, if the team couldn't pull it together at the last second, that's their problem. You have 60 minutes to win the game and in a close match up, last possesion usually wins it so keep that in mind. Besides, it's the kickers fault for missing. If Serna would've kept a cool head and not let the pressure get to him, he could've gotten it. The first time, when he got it through but the time out was called, even then you could see on his face, "I made it?? Thank god! Oh crap EDM called a timeout choke" Good strategy by Richie Hall. Why is it good? Won him the game did it not?
It's poor sportsmanship to "ice" the kicker. I commonly see this in the NFL and I don't like it. I was surprised that the rookie Esk coach would stoop to this tactic. My opinion of him just dropped a notch or two. Winning is not so important as to discard your compassion for your fellow players and try to single one out for humiliation.
I completely agree. Coaches seem to be doing this more and more. They were players once too and this is just purely immature unsprtsmanlike conduct. There should be rule passed against this. I mean c'mon! during the course of a game players can be called for 'delay of game'. Well? why not these idiot coaches stopping the flow of a game. This needs to be done away with ASAP!
Interesting points...
But the kickers surely must expect that they are going to be 'iced', no? I mean, I KNEW they were gonna do that...
It's not like it was a 25 yarder he wiffed on...it was a 47 yarder on a wet grass field...it was a tough kick to make anyway.
Just sounds like sour grapes to me...
I'll quote the great Vince Lombardi on this one. "If winning is not important, why do they keep score?"
I hate the timeout called to ice the kicker. It just seems like such a bush league move to me. The problem is that it works sometime so its not likely to disappear. This morning on The Reports With Dave Hodge, Dave Hodge gave it his thumbs down for the move and suggested a way to make coaches think twice about is if the ball is snapped, its too late for the timeout and the kick stands.
I'll go a little further by suggesting that if a team calls a timeout to ice the kicker, that team gets called for delay of the game and the kicking team gets to move 5 yards closer. That will give coaches pause for thought about doing that strategy.
Thats definitely a good idea
Agreed
The defensive team should not be able to call a timeout once the play has been whistled in.
I understand why Richie Hall did it. It's within the game rules and it obviously won him the game. There is simply sportsmanship and then there is winning at all cost of integrity. It's like when Riders fans threw full cans of beer at the opposing bench. That was bad sportsmanship. Thankfully they have shown us that they aren't defined by that one instant. They are great fans, every one knows that.
Great fans, great players, and great coaches all fully know that without great sportsmanship we have a no reason to play the game. It's a mindset.
It's up to the league to change the rules if they see fit, and it's up to the coaches to play within those rules, Richie Hall did that. I wouldn't call it bad sportsmanship, I would call it a strategy that won him the game.
I thought the same thing. I just assumed he was a bitter Bombers fan.
I don't get why people are so against icing the kicker. It's all part of the game. You're trying to get into the kicker's head. It's just like hitting in hockey. You slam a guy into the boards hoping next time he'll hesitate. I mean, should the opposition give the kicker a pat on the back and wish him luck? This is sports. These guys are playing to win. It's not unsportsmanlike at all. What's unsportsmanlike is complaining about a team trying to win a game.
simple answer
its not illegal to do that so its fine, part of the game.
Dont blame Richie, his team has to do anything they can to win a few games.
But if I recall, he never even got his time out in
A bomber moved before stopping the play + moving back 5 yards
This is pro sports where winning isn't just everything, it's the ONLY thing. You get a chance to ice the kicker you take it. Your team expects you to make that call. To not make it because you're a nice guy and a good sport and you lose the game because of it means you have let your entire team down. Hall had to make that call. He had no choice. His team's confidence in his ability was riding on it.
I agree also on iceing the kicker of sorts. I remember one of the TSN commentators saying Edmonton had nobody in the endzone when the timeout was called prior to the snap. However, wasn't there a procedure penalty called on Winnipeg on that perticular play also?
Perhaps the next time the CFL asks its fans to write in with new rule changes, we bring this one up with the CFL.
i wonder what the media would have said if edmonton did not call a time out, the kicker made the kick, and then after the game when they ask the coach "why didnt you call a timeout to ice the kicker" and the coach replies "well, i wanted to be a goodsportsman and give the poor a kid a chance to win the game"