K.J. Wright didn’t know the rule. Neither did Pete Carroll. Even back judge Greg Wilson seemed to have it slip his mind.
The day after the Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions 13-10, the hot topic was still the controversial non-call toward the end of the game when Wright wasn’t penalized for tapping the ball out of the end zone. It’s the play that likely determined the outcome.
But Carroll, Seattle’s head coach, expressed his full support for Wright during his Tuesday morning radio show on 710 AM, even though his player got away with running afoul of the rules.
“That was a smart play,” Carroll said of Wright’s tap. “He wasn’t aware of the rule. I would have done the exact same thing, I didn’t know that rule either.”
The game’s flash point came with 1 minute, 45 seconds remaining in regulation. Seattle led 13-10, but Detroit was driving, having reached the Seahawks 11-yard line. Lions quarterback Matt Stafford completed a pass to wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who looked like he was going to score the go-ahead touchdown.
But just before Johnson crossed the goal line, Seattle’s Kam Chancellor punched the ball out of his arms, sending the ball bounding into the end zone. The ball was on the verge of bouncing out the back when Wright eased it on its way. The play was called a touchback and Seattle was awarded the ball on the 20-yard line.
However, according to the NFL rule book Wright should have been flagged for a penalty. Rule 12, Section 4, Article 1b states a play is an illegal bat if “any player bats or punches a loose ball (that has touched the ground) in any direction, if it is in either end zone.” Wilson, in one television camera angle, appeared to reach for the flag in his pocket, but then chose not to pull it out.
After the game, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told the NFL Network that a penalty should have been called on Wright for an illegal bat and Detroit should have retained the ball inside the 1-yard line. So the Seahawks caught a break.
“That’s a very unique situation,” Carroll said. “I’ve been coaching a long time and played for years, and I’d never seen that happen before. I didn’t know to tell him otherwise. We coach batting the ball because there’s so many opportunities when the ball is on the ground. When you can’t control it, the best decision is to knock it out of bounds when it’s your possession.
“That was a very poised moment for K.J.,” Carroll added. “He knew exactly what was going on, he knew the ball was going out, he just assisted to go out of bounds where it was going, and I think he was in control. That’s not a rule I ever coached him not to do. He made a smart football play just to help the ball be out of bounds so we would maintain control. It just has never come up.”
Carroll acknowledged that the call easily could have gone against the Seahawks.
“It could have gone the other way,” Carroll admitted. “But look at it in normal speed and how the play actually happened. Anyone sitting in their couch at home can say, ‘Well, I would have done it.’ It happened so gracefully, he just did a little tap on the ball and it’s over, in the direction it was going — it was going out anyway. You can see why maybe (Wilson) didn’t see the thing.”
Ultimately, Carroll was disappointed the controversy surrounding the non-call deflected attention away from Chancellor’s amazing play to punch the ball out of Johnson’s arm, a play that may have saved Seattle’s season.
“I just think it’s unfortunate because it was such an incredible play,” Carroll said. “An incredibly poised, disciplined, fully-in-the-moment play by Kam, and also K.J. It was the perfect play to end the game in a dramatic fashion, when you think all is lost, and you never, ever assume it’s over. … You always finish everything, you always believe something good could still happen.”
Injury update
The most significant piece of injury news to come out of Carroll’s radio show was that he is hopeful No. 1 running back Marshawn Lynch, who missed just his second game in six seasons with the Seahawks because of a hamstring injury, will recover in time to play Sunday when Seattle travels to undefeated Cincinnati. Lynch went through some exercises on the field prior to Monday’s game, suggesting he’s not far away from returning.
The Seahawks had three players leave Monday’s game with injuries and not return. Cornerback Marcus Burley suffered a broken thumb, receiver Ricardo Lockette had shortness of breath, and running back Fred Jackson sprained his ankle. Carroll said he hadn’t received a report on any of those players by the time his radio show aired, but he thought Lockette should be fine and said Jackson was walking around “pretty good” after the game.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
