NFL Weighs In On Weaver-Brooks Jawing Match
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
NFL Weighs In On Weaver-Brooks Jawing Match
Paul Domowitch, Daily News NFL Columnist
I’ve received quite a few e-mails from readers regarding that little jawing match between Eagles fullback Leonard Weaver and 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks near the end of the first half when the Eagles were trying to line up and spike the ball to stop the clock.
Most people wanted to know what would have happened if Donovan McNabb had just taken the snap and spiked the ball rather than wait for Weaver to line up.
The general assumption of most of the e-mailers was that both teams would have been called for offsetting penalties – Weaver for a false start and Brooks for being offsides – the clock would have stopped and they would have replayed the down, leaving the Eagles with enough time to take one more shot at the end zone before having to settle for a David Akers field goal.
Some of you, who really, really don’t like McNabb to the point that you’re convinced he was on a grassy knoll in Dallas in November of ’63 when JFK was killed, put the blame on him rather than Weaver and suggested that both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady would have been smart enough to have run the play.
Well, guess what, boys and girls? Manning and Brady would have been wrong.
I checked with Mike Pereira, the NFL’s vice president of officiating, this morning to find out what would have happened if the Eagles had run the play with Weaver and Brooks still jawing. His answer:
"If the ball would have been snapped, we would have penalized the Eagles for a false start since all offensive players did not get set before the snap. That would have taken precedent over the defense being offside. There would not have been a play and there would be a 10-second run-off."
That last sentence is very important, because there were only 11 seconds left in the half when McNabb lined up to take the snap from center Jamaal Jackson. By the time he would’ve spiked the ball, it would’ve been down to 10. Which means the penalty and the runoff would have ended the half and the Eagles wouldn’t even have come away with a field goal.
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McLow was on the grassy knoll....he missed JFK, but he hit the right front tire......— Mark1npt- PD, I've enjoyed a great run with both Andy Ried and DMac. Thanks for showing us once again - how bless we are to have them running the show.— floridajohn
- McLow was on the grassy knoll....he missed JFK, but he hit the right front tire......and....he fired 3 seconds too late......time had expired along with the target.— Mark1npt
- No question, McNabb is the best Eagle QB ever. The numbers prove it. Would Cunningham have been better with the same caliber of team around him as Donovan? We will never know. Would I rather have Peyton Manning or Drew Brees? Sure but how many quarterbacks with that kind of accuracy come along in a generation? Or would you rather have Alex Smith, Dante Cupepper, Joe Flacco, Jake Dehlone, or any number of other decent quarterbacks that are not as good as McNabb?— Midwest FA
- McNabb was part of the JFK assassination; did initiate the current economic depression; and has never thrown a complete pass in his life. I've learned this from Eagles "fans."— tacklinjoe
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- The true measure of a QB is his completion percentage combined with yards per attempt. Donovan has one of the lowest among any starting QB. Even his subs have done better than himself at those stats and winning percentage. Playing for Andy would inflate any QB's counting stats like yards and TD's but the true measure of the QB comes out in the skill stats like completion percentage and yards per attempt.— rds260
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McNabb shouldn't even be in this conversation. Weaver is the bonehead.— John621- Weaver is smarter than that, must say though I got a laugh out of Brown throwing his tape at Weaver to get his attention. None the less McNabb made a made play that got us an extra 3 points...which we didnt really need since we won by 14, but hey couldve made a difference in the end. Go Birds !!!— Will.i.Am
- Weaver was just standing there, how is not set? There is nothing there about a player's jaw moving, offensive lineman make blocking calls every play. I think the head official is wrong about this, and just looking for an out.— Bazalite
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- Domo, I have it from a good source that Donovan's exact where abouts on that day in November in 1963 can not exactly be pinpointed. So, it is quite possible he was in Dallas at the time.— Pat c
- I had not noticed the 10 second runoff being imposed in other false-start situations. Is it always assessed, or only in certain situations?— Dickie34
