Integrity of the 10-second Runoff in NFL Football
Hell, after that bizarre ending that saw the Seattle Seahawks beat the St. Louis Rams, 30-28, we knew this was coming.
St. Louis Rams head coach, Scott Linehan, ain’t happy about what transpired last Sunday. The Rams were up 28-27 and the Seahawks had the football. While the clock kept on ticking down to the final seconds of the football game, Seattle was able to reach the Rams’ own 31 yard line to get in field goal range.
Seahawks QB, Matt Hasselbeck spiked the football with four seconds left to set up the three-point FG attempt. Then there’s when it got weird. 
The referees threw the yellow flag and the Rams began to celebrate, anticipating an offensive penalty call that would require a 10-second runoff.
With four seconds left in the clock, the 10-second runoff would mean that this NFL Football game would be over and the St. Louis Rams will beat the Seattle Seahawks, 28-27 right? Um… Apparently, the officials thought otherwise.
Seattle was called for an illegal formation, NOT a false start. Obviously, the illegal formation was not the offensive penalty call the Rams were hoping for. If the Seattle Seahawks were called for the false start, it would’ve required the 10-second runoff that will end the game. Unfortunately for the Rams, the illegal formation penalty won’t move the clock. It will just move the football back five yards.
He he…
Seahawks kicker, Josh Brown, made a 54-yard field goal to give Seattle its fourth win of the NFL Football season. And yep, the win also made the opposing coach from St. Louis go out of his mind. Hell, after going four seconds away from a win against the defending NFC Conference champions, only to have officials take the game away from your team, you will too.
‘’I think the integrity of the 10-second runoff is in question here because the whole idea is you can’t have an illegal play of any kind without any timeouts while the clock is running to ensure that you get a chance to get a kick,'’ Rams coach, Scott Linehan said.
Linehan adds, ‘’If you have a long play now, what I would say is I think Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce should run up and snap the ball to each other. Everybody stand still. It’s an illegal formation, there’s only one guy on the ball and an ineligible taking the snap. Snap the ball and clock it. It’s only a five-yard penalty, right?'’
‘’I promise you they’re going to have to figure out a way to look at the rule because that’s what we’re going to do,'’ he said.
Can the St. Louis Rams bounce back from such a setback last Sunday? Bet and play WagerTalk’s NFL Football Handicapping Contest and decide for yourself. Make your picks now.
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