Bell: NFL should throw book at Steelers' Mike Tomlin for sideline incident
There was no final decision coming out of NFL headquarters on Monday regarding the discipline that will be imposed on Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin for making a mockery of the game -- and himself -- on Thanksgiving night.
It will come soon enough.
And they should throw the book at Tomlin -- one of three coaches on the NFL's nine-member competition committee -- for daring to step onto the field of play to even provide a hint that he interfered with Jacoby Jones electric kickoff return.
WATCH: Did Tomlin do it intentionally?
'I do it quite often, like everybody else in the National Football League,' Tomlin told reporters. 'I was wrong, I accept responsibility for it.'
Given his status on the NFL's rules-making committee, Tomlin must be held to a higher standard.... as if being a head coach doesn't raise the bar enough.
VIDEO: NFL whiparound Week 13
The NBA moved so swiftly last week in levying a $50,000 fine on Brooklyn Nets rookie coach Jason Kidd after he purposely spilled a drink on the court to buy an extra timeout.
Kidd spilled, and was docked the next day.
What's taking the NFL so long?
Well, for one thing, there are a few other items to sort through at 345 Park Avenue.
Although the blunder at FedEx Field near the end of Sunday night's game didn't ultimately cost Washington a victory that was ripped out of Pierre Garcon's hands, it's inexcusable that referee Jeff Triplette's crew bungled such a basic procedure as ensuring whether or not the chains needed to be moved for a first down.
Not funny, that Triplette is again in the midst of controversy.
PHOTOS: Best of NFL Week 13
If the officials needed to measure, so be it. Triplette's explanation that he didn't want to provide an advantage for Washington by stopping the play was so weak.
Measurements are a natural part of the flow. Like injuries.
There's much less debate about Tomlin.
His explanation didn't hold up, either. After Thursday night's loss, he maintained that he lost track of his sideline location -- as he stared at a Jumbotron showing the return in real time -- and accidentally put himself in the way.
Yeah, right.
And he also grumbled something about how players and coaches routinely cross onto the 6-foot wide border along the sidelines -- which is true, to an extent -- as if that excused his actions.
I never thought I'd see the day when Tomlin -- sharp, edgy and cool -- would make himself look so foolish.
He's human. Tomlin lost the game, maybe a playoff slot and probably for a brief moment, lost his mind, too.
But temporary insanity is not a defense in this matter.
Tomlin's stunt was reminiscent of something to be expected when watching the WWF, not the NFL. It's professional football, not professional wrestling.
As more video surfaced on Monday, from KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, showing another angle of Tomlin's gaffe, it further weakened his position.
Yet that video also underscored what Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs maintained after the game. The officials should have at least flagged Tomlin.
The crew headed by Clete Blakeman -- at the center of controversy the previous week for picking up a flag at the end of Panthers-Patriots, then running off the field without serving up an explanation -- has another demerit.
The video clearly shows that as an official ran down the sideline, there was no chance of missing the coach hanging on the border.
Coincidentally, that's the same visiting sideline at M&T Bank Stadium where four days earlier a New York Jets staffer got in the way of an official. It cost the Jets 15 yards.
Tomlin can now only wish that 15 yards was the cost of his infraction.
Post a Comment for "Bell: NFL should throw book at Steelers' Mike Tomlin for sideline incident"