Two days, two coaches bending — or, what the heck — breaking the rules.
Nets coach Jason Kidd was the one drumming up a creative way to get himself an extra timeout on Wednesday night. On Thursday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin found himself in a fortuitous spot as the Ravens’ Jacoby Jones ran a kickoff back for what looked to be a sure touchdown until Tomlin got in the way.
Both coaches didn’t so much defy the rules as they did pull out their best acting abilities, and that left both with very interesting explanations afterward. Men who are known to respect the game suddenly had to explain why they went all bush league for games they didn’t even end up winning.
Kidd said he had sweaty hands. And Tomlin says he was distracted by the Jumbotron.
“I always watch the returns on the Jumbotron,” Tomlin told reporters, according to Pro Football Talk. “It provides a better perspective for me. Obviously, I lost my placement as he broke free. I started at the last second and saw how close I was to the field of play.”
Tomlin also said he realized he wasn’t supposed to be over the white line, and he did take the fall.
“I do it quite often like everyone else in the National Football League,” Tomlin said of where he was standing. “I was wrong. I accept responsibility for it.”
Ironically, Tomlin ended up pulling off a move that Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco had joked about during Baltimore’s Super Bowl win last winter. Flacco noted the similarity Thursday night.
“I took some flak I think for kind of joking around in the Super Bowl and saying that maybe you should run on the field and tackle somebody if this guy breaks it,” Flacco said. “I kind of took flak for that. That’s exactly what he just did. He was looking at the big screen the whole entire time. He knew where he was. He knew where Jacoby was. He did. He pulled my move. He did what I thought we should do.”
The play will likely blow over, considering the Ravens pulled out the win despite not scoring on the interrupted kickoff return. But at least some Baltimore players aren’t going to let this newest hiccup in the rivalry go away too soon.
Ravens receiver Torrey Smith used his Instagram skills to offer his own commentary.
Photo of the Day
As we said, New York loves its tabloid-worthy coaches.
Photo via Twitter/@BaxterHolmes
Tweet of the Day
Got it. We’ll report back.
[tweet https://twitter.com/Proteautype/status/406413601415499776 align=’center’]
Video of the Day
Wait — did someone try to arrest Matthew Stafford?
