I Believe the Commentators are Wrong

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UPDATE: 1:30 Monday. Look at this composite photo from Sportillustrated.cnn.com. As he runs parallel to the goal line, his eyes are above horizontal.  He's looking at, or for, the clock. Click to enlarge.

ORIGINAL POSTING:

Just watched "Today's" Matt Lauer accuse the Eagle's DeSean Jackson of "grandstanding" when he ran parallel to the goal line in the "miracle" punt return that won the game for the Eagles yesterday. I don't think that is what happened.

Take a look at the clock at the moment of the punt:

I believe Jackson is looking back at the scoreboard to make sure time has expired before crossing the goal line to prevent the Giants from having their own punt kick off to run back.
Courtesy: NFL.com
I've watched the tape several times and he seems to be trying to find something, which I think was the clock. Once he finds it and sees that it reads :00, he moves into the end zone.

If so, it was a very smart play.

UPDATE:  See comments. This is what Jackson would have seen, including the clock, as he looked back down the field before crossing into the end zone. Screen capture is from NFL Red Zone. The clock is behind the top of the left upright.

Comments

  1. Clay W. GinnDecember 20, 2010 at 9:33 AM

    I would agree, as K-State's own Terence Newman did something similar after an interception at the end of the Cowboys game. However, DeSean Jackson has a history of grandstanding like that, and it has cost his team before. Just last week he stopped just prior to the end zone to fall backwards into it against the Cowboys. He might have been looking for the clock, but he'll likely never get the benefit of the doubt.

    See this: http://www.faniq.com/blog/Video-DeSean-Jackson-Drops-Football-At-1Yard-Line-While-Celebrating-Touchdown-That-Never-Was-Blog-11902

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike SmithDecember 20, 2010 at 9:44 AM

    Ginn,

    Thanks, I wasn't aware of that history.

    Here is the tape of the return: www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-NC2w0cFEs You'll see that his head is back toward the opposite end of the field, moving back and forth, until it stops when he has seemingly spotted something. Then, he goes in. I'm posting an update to give readers an idea of Jackson would have seen (including the clock) looking back down the field.

    Thanks for commenting.
    Mike

    ReplyDelete

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