Over the Line?

I know this a little late, and these situations have been a little worn out, but I want to touch on the Week 2 controversies. No, I am not talking about the refs (which are still terrible), but rather the last play of the Giants-Bucs game and the “Windy City Shove”. Before moving on to week 3, we ask the question twice, who was “over the line” in week 2?

Controversy 1: Coughlin v Schiano - Dirty play or just playing till the clock hits 0:00?

Look, in a fight, I am taking Greg Schiano. And, when it comes to this play, I am taking Schiano. If you didn’t see the play, the Giants were up 7 points with the ball on their own 29 yard line with 4 seconds left. The Giants came to the line and made it very apparent they were kneeling the ball to run out the clock. However, Tampa wanted nothing to do with it and came after the Giants trying to force a fumble, knocking over several Giants lineman and Eli Manning in the process. Coughlin got his panties in a bunch because someone “could have been hurt” and said that’s not how you do things “at this level” (a clear shot at Schiano who is coming from college). While I understand Coughlin’s points, I believe in playing to the end of the game and believe Tampa had every right to come after the ball. Maybe Coughlin should talk to his lineman about playing the full 60 minutes and protecting his QB on every play. Sure, Tampa had a one in a million chance of scoring to tie the game on that play, but it is still a chance. Had it been a two score game, I would side with Coughlin, but, it wasn’t. It was a one score game and we have seen crazier things happen in football. I will never fault a team for playing hard the whole game. If that were my team, I would have wanted the same thing. What I do have a problem with is Coughlin whining about it and calling Schiano unprofessional. What was unprofessional was the Giants OL not recognizing that the Tampa defense was not giving up on the play (it was pretty clear they were coming after the ball prior to the snap) and not protecting their QB.

Schiano = Not Over the Line

 Controversy 2: “The Windy City Shove” – Cutler shoving JeMarcus Russell

This one is easy. I believe the QB should be the leader. I believe he needs to get on guys when they are not playing to their potential.I have no problem with a QB (or anyone for that matter) getting in a teammates face when the teammate is underperforming, especially when Russell’s underperformance was getting Cutler killed. But, you cross the line when you put your hands on a teammate in an aggressive manner or in a fit of anger. I don’t know Jay Cutler, but he his attitude and demeanor have always struck me as a whiny, arrogant prick who does not protect the ball and is not endeared by his teammates. I don’t believe Cutler has ever had the total respect of his teammates in Chicago and I believe he lost even more of the locker room on last Thursday night and could have damaging effects going forward. Worse yet, he doesn’t seem to have a full grasp of what he did wrong. In an interview on his weekly Chicago show, Cutler state “I guess I shouldn’t have pushed him.” You guess Jay? With your leadership qualities, I guess you won’t ever win a Super Bowl.

Cutler = Over the Line