Anatomy Of A Red Flag

There was a fascinating game-within-the-game moment in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl. Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh made a real winning gamble and should be commended as such.

With under 8 minutes to play and the Ravens leading 31-29, Joe Flacco found Anquan Boldin on a 2nd & 8. Boldin put his head down and was tackled right around the line to gain. He got a favorable spot, and after the measurement Baltimore was awarded a 1st down.

CBS showed one high-angle, non-definitive replay, and Nantz & Simms went on to a human interest story on Flacco with a token hat tip to Boldin's effort on the play. They made no mention of the spot, and if the crowd was pensive about it we certainly didn't see it.

So what would make Jim Harbaugh, at ground level, challenge the call? He was sticking his neck out in a huge moment in the biggest game of his life, risking a time out he couldn't afford for a possible 3rd down & a half-yard.

Harbaugh obviously trusted his staff, the eyes in the sky. But how does that all work? CBS didn't really give them a definitive look, and they had to challenge before the next play.

Does the team receive access to all 30+ camera feeds that the network uses to broadcast the Super Bowl? If so, do they assign someone to watch each of them? Then how do they get the word to the head coach to pull the trigger on the red flag?

Fascinating stuff.

My guess is that there's a protocol in place. There's a specific assistant coach or quality control or operations guy who has to use the right verbiage (think "code red" or something like that). Then they have to get the word to a higher-up assistant who has direct access to the channel on Harbaugh's headset.

And most of all, Harbaugh has to know the risks and alert the officials that they're going to challenge the play. That triggers a TV timeout, and allows the production team to generate all the pertinent angles.

The call is ultimately overturned and Harbaugh's gambit is a winner. But again, the schematics of the decision is something that can't be underestimated. Leave it to a coach that thinks of everything.

Baltimore converted the 3rd & short, a back shoulder completion to Boldin. The drive resulted in a FG which made the game 34-29. San Francisco's would-be game-winning drive obviously came up short. And you can question Jim Harbaugh's temperament or play-calling. But not his guts, or his command of all phases his team.

Feeling Powerless?

The NFL is kind enough to give the Super Bowl participants an extra week off to prepare. Because of the intense focus and the hype, everything is heightened when the soup's on. 

Everything football related is scrutinized and over-analyzed. The teams live in the familiar structure of a 60-minute football game so that they're not distracted by all the extraneous nonsense that comes with being in the Super Bowl, and the supersized halftime. But nothing prepares you for a power delay.

Even with a 28-6 lead, playing defense on a 3rd & 13, John Harbaugh completely lost it on what looked to be an NFL rep in about the 26th minute of a 35 minute delay.

And you feel for him. Power surges and half-hour delays are forgettable tap-dances that happen at the Tad Smith Center in Oxford, Mississippi (I was there two weeks ago), not at the SuperDome during the SuperBowl. 

Meanwhile, the Niners were completely on their heels. The Jacoby Jones kick return let the air out of them coming out of halftime. But the second halftime (as it were) gave SF a chance to recharge their batteries. 

Bill Cowher on the CBS set even questioned whether they should go to Alex Smith. You wonder whether it crossed Jim Harbaugh's mind for a split-second (he seems to think about everything).

Harbaugh (Jim) didn't waver and Kaepernick was brilliant. What happened in the game's final three minutes was remarkably similar to the end of the NFC Championship game, but on the other side: wasted time on the clock, misspent timeouts, confusion right up until the end of the play clock, turnover on downs with no time left to do anything of substance. Does that about cover it?

It was also very similar, on the flip side, to San Fran's 41-34 win at New England when they blew a 28-point lead.

Congrats to the Ravens, but tomorrow on Backtime: The game's most fascinating moment, and why Jim Harbaugh is worth every cent.

Concussions And Football Double Talk

"Every time I call it a game, you call it a business. And every time I call it a business, you call it a game!"   

~ The late John Matuszak, North Dallas Forty

Some of that tension still exists in football, though not too many people think it's anything but a business. Still guys go out there and give it their all, they'll run through the proverbial wall for their teammates, their pride, and their next contract.

NFL players have always played hurt. You can't ever question the heart of an NFL player since they've taken hits and gotten up thousands of times since they put on their peewee shoulder pads.

Now the science has caught up. We know more about concussions than we ever have, and teams and players are far more cautious than they've ever been. A player with a head injury doesn't just go back in. He has to go through a battery of tests before he's cleared to re-enter, and team doctors now side with caution. Even if it means sitting their star quarterback for the rest of the game or even into the next week.

Players will ultimately try to prove how tough they are - it's their nature. If they come out, their teammates will be let down or they may lose their job.

Alex Smith was the starting QB for the 49ers when he sustained a concussion against the Rams. He went against every instinctive football principle and told his team personnel he wasn't quite right.

Alex Smith sat out the rest of the Rams game (the only tie of the season), and was replaced by Colin Kaepernick the next week against the Bears (a huge win).

The old adage is "you can't lose your job because of an injury." But Coach Jim Harbaugh decided to stay with Kaepernick, and Smith's concussion forced him out of the huddle and onto the sidelines. And barring an injury to Kaepernick, Smith will be holding a clipboard during the Super Bowl.

So Alex Smith made the right move as far as his overall health goes, but the health of his career - and possibly his finances - took a big hit.

Maybe Jim Harbaugh would have made the move anyway, Kaepernick has proven he belongs at the highest level. But for Smith, he has to make sense of it all. And I'm sure he understands as much as anyone that pro football is a business.

Jets Offense Could Use Some Pep

Attention New York Jets: hire this man. Reports are Pep Hamilton is already on the Jets' radar as a potential offensive coordinator. Of course, he may be interviewing at an empty desk since the Jets presently have no GM.

Pep (given name: Alfonza) currently is Stanford's OC, technically the "Andrew Luck Director of Offense." And having been around Jim Harbaugh, David Shaw, and Andrew Luck for the last 3 seasons, he has been part of a lot of victories and a big time offensive brain trust. He also has NFL assistant experience with the Jets, 49ers, and Bears. And this is the formula, get a 38-year old guy on the way up instead of some retread.

The other names thrown around have been Norv Turner (appears headed for Cleveland thank goodness), Cam Cameron (Ravens offense hasn't looked back without him), and Marty Mornhinweg. Hopefully Chan Gailey has hung up the headset at least until the Jets have found their man - then please somebody hire him - especially if you're in the AFC East.

This should be the trend right now, get an open-minded college tactician rather the stale NFL assistant/former head coach who's had some success by default and been fired 2-3 times already. So what if they've called plays in the NFL? So has Brian Schottenheimer.

Of course I could be wrong about this, I often am when it comes to the Jets. But not as often as they are.