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Monday Night Double Header

Darth Biscuit

By Darth Biscuit,
in Carolina Panthers

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Kevin Greene Newbie

Kevin Greene

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ESPN "B" team justifies their assignment

Posted by Mike Florio on September 15, 2009 12:24 AM ET

Look, it would be easy to sit here and type (again) that the guys who work the second half of the season-opening Monday night twin bill on ESPN don't exude the same level of competence as the folks who handle the weekly MNF assignment.

But here's a tangible example of the gap between the folks who handled the early game and the trio who (as rumor has it) includes a radio tag-team that is being groomed to eventually move into two of the top slots on Monday nights.

Near the end of the first half of the nightcap between San Diego and Oakland, Raiders wideout Louis Murphy seemed to make a 19-yard touchdown pass. In real time, it looked to be a catch.

But then came news that the replay booth had called for a review, and every member of the broadcast team (and, presumably, the folks talking into their headsets) expressed a belief that the play would be upheld, even though after Murphy's feet hit the ground he fell to the turf, the ball hit the grass, and the ball moved.

While waiting for the ruling, they sounded like three guys sitting around someone's living room, reinforcing each other's inaccurate understanding of the rules while eating pretzels and drinking light beer.

"He's got two feet, he's gonna be OK," Steve Young said.

Though Mike Greenberg seemed to be focusing on the right thing -- whether the ball moved when it struck the ground -- the former NFL players in the booth apparently influenced him to agree.

"I'd be very surprised if they overturn this," Greenberg eventually said.

"I'd be stunned if they overturn it," Mike Golic added.

After more expressions of certainty, Young said that two feet down in the end zone with the ball ends the play.

But it gets better. They then accounted for the possibility that the rule requires possession to be maintained once the player hits the ground -- and they contended that possession was maintained even though multiple angles showed the ball clearly moving as it hit the ground.

So, of course, the call was overturned. And then they disagreed with the explanation from the guy who doesn't work only one NFL game per year, but 20 of them, possibly with playoffs.

"Look, I understand that it moved," Young said, "but he still controls it."

Golic then chimed in that Murphy's arm was still under the ball when it struck the ground and moved.

"When the ball moves, does it mean that you've lost control?" Young said. (Um, yes. It does.)

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