The Footage the NFL Won’t Show You

Without the expanded frame, fans often have no idea why many plays turn out the way they do, or if the TV analysts are giving them correct information. On a recent Sunday, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith threw a deep pass to tight end Delanie Walker for a 26-yard touchdown. Daryl Johnston, the Fox color man working the game, said Smith’s throw was “placed perfectly” and that Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Corey Lynch was “a little bit late getting there.”

Greg Cosell, producer of the ESPN program “NFL Matchup,” who is one of the few people with access to All-22 footage, said the 49ers had purposely overloaded the right side of the field so each receiver would only be covered by one defender. Lynch, the safety, wasn’t late getting there, Cosell says. He was doing his job and covering somebody else. Johnston could not be reached for comment.

I don’t need All-22 to know that announcers are talking crap. Just hearing them say, “Let’s see if they were drawn offsides” is enough to do that — false start penalties kill the play. If there’s no whistle, there’s no false start, and they should know this. What I suspect is that one would immediately know the slew of “He ran the pattern too short” comments, heard when a player runs an underneath route (e.g. 8 yard pattern on 3rd-and-10) would be shown to be crap as well. The film would likely show that a deeper route would have been covered, and the only way to be open was to run underneath. Sometimes you have to break a tackle or make a man miss.

As for the possibility of more criticism of coaches and players, I don’t care. Rumor has it that they’re adults. Maybe the fans will understand that part of the plan is to fake the other side out and appreciate the nuances of trying to dictate your opponent’s response tactics.