Same Song, Different Verse
Charliy Nash
Monday March 14, 2005
The Kats were in it
With a chance to win it
Then a flag on the play
Made points go away
Okay, so I’ll leave the lyrics writing to the pros, but once again the Kats stayed with their opponent all night, but came up just short. The Colorado Crush came into Nashville leading the league in scoring. The Kats’ defense was able to hold them to only 42 points. For much of the night it looked like the difference in the game would be a missed extra point by Crush kicker Clay Rush. At halftime the Kats led by a score of 21-20.
Penalties have been a problem for the Kats all season. They were able to cut down on the number of offensive penalties on Saturday, but the game turned on two key calls that were highly questionable.
On Colorado’s first possession, quarterback John Dutton threw a pass that DeRon Jenkins intercepted and returned for an apparent touchdown giving the Kats a 13-0 lead. Unfortunately there was a yellow flag on the field. The Crush were called for an illegal formation, and the Kats for an illegal defense. The penalties offset and the Crush got to play the down again.
Let’s try a simple lesson in cause and effect, shall we? If an offense is in an illegal formation, then any adjustment the defense makes is caused by the offense and should not be subject to penalty. Seems fairly obvious doesn’t it? Well, this was an officiating crew that couldn’t even keep track of what down it was, which team had called a time out, and how many time outs each team had left.
They saved their worst call for late in the game.
In the fourth quarter Kats’ quarterback Tony Zimmerman threw a perfect pass to Darryl Hammond in the corner of the end zone. Instead of raising their hands to signal a touchdown, the officials threw their flags, ruling that Hammond had pushed off against defender Willis Marshall. "The DB [Marshall] was trying to jam me and I’m trying to get off of him so I can go up and catch to ball," Hammond explained, "I don’t understand that one. I’ve got to see it on film. I thought it was a really bad call."
The video definitely supports Hammond’s description of the play; his arm sweeps Marshall’s hands away from his body, but he does not push off. The penalty backed the Kats up and they were not able to score on that drive.
Frustrations continue to build as the losing streak keeps growing. The bye week will allow players like Leon Murray, Dan Alexander, Jarrick Hillery, and Fred Coleman a chance to get healthy. In the mean time, this may be the home of country music, but Kats fans are singing the blues.
Charliy Nash has covered both incarnations of the Nashville Kats, and now has make the 2 hour drive to Huntsville for an Arena Football fix. He also covers the Tennessee Titans as a blogger for nfl.com and still hopes this will eventually lead to a paying gig.
