Dana Pennett O'Neil | Akers no fan of those FG-nullifying timeouts

He accepts the timeout before the critical kick as part of the gamesmanship of the NFL, a

last-ditch effort by an opponent to preserve or prevent a victory.

But the latest method to freeze kickers, Akers believes, has crossed the line from gamesmanship to bad sportsmanship.

"It's bad," Akers said. "I think it takes some of the integrity out of the game."

What Akers and a lot of other people are crowing about is a loophole in the timeout rule now being exploited to the point that three times this season, placekickers have gone through with field goals only to learn

a timeout had been called.

Denver's Mike Shanahan first figured out that the 3-year-old rule allowing coaches to call timeouts from the sideline meant he could turn the officials into his whisper-down-the-lane best friend.

In the Broncos' game against Oakland, Sebastian Janikowski booted a 52-yarder that appeared to seal an overtime win for the Raiders. Only Shanahan had mouthed a timeout nanoseconds before the play began, negating Jankowski's field goal. Janikowski missed the second

attempt and the Raiders went

on to lose.

Incredulous and indignant, Oakland coach Lane Kiffin did the only thing he could. He paid the sneaky tactic forward, pulling the exact same stunt against Cleveland a week later.

"In the Raiders-Browns game, it looked like maybe they knew what was coming," Akers said. "But in the Denver-Raiders game, I don't think anyone knew."

Akers is right.

The rule does stink.

It's the same problem college basketball has. A kid gets trapped in a corner during a press and instead of getting hit with a 5-second call and a turnover, his coach bails him out from clear across the court,

signaling for the timeout.

Control-freak coaches have enough input into a game.

At some point it needs to be about the 22 guys on the field.

If a player wants to wave for the timeout, clearly in view of the other guys out there, that's one thing.

But if a coach wants to whisper sweet nothings in an official's ear where no one but the extra TV camera can see him, that's another.

"I've had people call timeouts on us quite a bit," Akers said. "But now it's after the kick had been made, or at least theoretically after the kick has been made. That doesn't seem fair."

NFL execs have said they

expect the rule to be looked at,

but no one is expecting a change. The original intents of the rule - to help coaches maneuver out of too many men on the field, for example - are still worthy.

Or, as Akers properly assessed: "There are a lot of rules that need to be changed and they haven't changed any of them."

The good news is, the kickers might be exacting their revenge. In the Monday night game,

Dallas rookie Nick Folk booted

a game-winning 53-yarder as time seemingly expired. Replays showed Buffalo coach Dick Jauron making like Deep Throat, practically talking out the side

of his mouth as he called for the double-top-secret timeout.

Folk lined up again . . . and booted another 53-yarder.

Fittingly, T.O. summed up the botched T.O.

"He kicked the longest field goal in NFL history," Terrell Owens said. "That was 106 yards."

Good to see ya, mate

the world to play in the brightest lights of the American sports world, competing in a game that he has the skill set for but is

completely unfamiliar to him.

Ben Graham gets it.

Which is why the Eagles punter and the Jets punter eschewed the concept of fraternization on Wednesday night and chatted.

Two of the three Australian Rules Football players currently in the NFL, Rocca and Graham used to play against one another. Now the two have forged a friendship.

Graham made the jump in 2005 after a 12-year career with Geelong in the AFL, so when Rocca started toying with the idea of trying his luck in America, he reached out to Graham.

"He just pretty much let me know what's involved, how long the days are," Rocca said. "I didn't know what it was to come over here and get involved. He's got a family with two kids as well, so he helped me with the ins and outs, the logistics.

"It was certainly a big factor.

It would have been a lot harder coming over here without knowing the stuff that he told me.

Getting the insight he gave me was great."

Graham said: "A lot of people take it for granted that a player comes over, makes the team and goes to work. There is a lot that goes on."

The Eagles have to be hoping that next Graham will be offering Rocca some actual punting tips. As a rookie, Graham averaged 43.7 yards per punt with a net of 37.9. The Jets were

impressed enough that they

immediately rewarded him

with a 6-year extension, believed to be worth in the neighborhood of $5 million.

Rocca, whose booming leg beat out veteran Dirk Johnson this season, hasn't exactly crashed the gate with the same vengeance. He's averaging 41.9 yards per punt and 37.7 yards net. Those numbers put him a disappointing 23rd in the league.

The real problem has been

consistency. Rocca has been sort of all over. He booted three punts against Detroit for an average of 43.7 and an equally impressive 41.7 net. A week later he could only muster 41.6 yards on eight punts against the Giants and an abysmal 36.5 net.

"I'd thought I'd get the consistency part of it by now, but it hasn't been too bad," Rocca said. "My stats are a little bit on the low side, but I've only played four games. I'm sure they'll

improve as time goes on." *

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