The Colombo Penalty

Let me start off by saying that although the celebration penalty by Marc Colombo was a turning point in the game it is not the reason or even an excuse for why they lost this game. Rather than delve any further into that, however, I would like to address the call.

The rule is that a player cannot use the ground as a prop to enhance his celebration after a touchdown. The fact that this is a rule in the first place is ludicrous but it is even more utterly ridiculous that the game officials would even think that Colombo was trying to use the ground as a prop after Jason Witten handed him the ball to spike after his 4th quarter touchdown. Colombo is a giant. He is a right tackle and naturally does not have the nimblest of feet. In his excitement, it is so blatant, so eye-gougingly obvious that he lost his balance and fell and did not intend to use the ground to celebrate that it makes me sick.

Shame on the NFL for wasting its off-season time by making rules that are meant to curb the entertainment that these playmakers can provide. More shame on the officiating crew for not adhering to common sense and understanding that Colombo merely fell. It did not cost the Cowboys the game but it certainly factored into the loss. It would have been interesting to see if the Titans would have scored so easily if the Cowboys did not have to kickoff so close to their own endzone.

The NFL is reviewing its rule that affected the Calvin Johnson TD reception that was not, from week one and they should do the same for this.