Silverman: Bush-League Maneuver Will Put Schiano's Bucs At Risk
By Steve Silverman
» More Columns
This Greg Schiano has a lot to learn about coaching in the NFL.
He may try to come off all high-and-mighty about his team competing until "they tell us the game is over," but when you try to rock the offensive line and put a lick on the quarterback when the opponent is taking a knee, you are crossing the line of dirty play.
But even though Tom Coughlin went nose-to-nose with Schiano at the end-of-the-game handshake, the Tampa Bay coach didn't get the message.
Nobody's going to tell Schiano what to do. His team is going to play tough football for 60 minutes and anyone who doesn't like it can kiss him where the sun doesn't shine.
He's a real man.
Schiano even cited his Rutgers days. "If they watch Rutgers, they would know that's what we do at the end of the game," Schiano told the New York Post. "We're not going to quit. That's just the way I coach and teach our players.
"Some people were upset about it. I guess that's the way it goes. There's nothing dirty about it. There's nothing illegal about it.''
There's everything dirty about it. The game is over and the battle is lost.
The game is violent enough that when there are no more timeouts and the team that is leading has the ball, it's a standard practice that the quarterback is allowed to take a knee without incident.
It has been nearly 34 years since the Joe Pisarcik-Larry Csonka end-of-game fumble that resulted in a Herman Edwards recovery and a run for an impossible Eagles' touchdown and victory.
As every Giants fan knows – those who were too young have heard the story and seen the lowlight many times – the Giants brought that on themselves. They attempted to hand the ball off and they chose not to take a knee.
Coughlin's players were also upset by the end of the game maneuver by the Bucs, who appear to be a much-improved team under Schiano's leadership.
Sean Locklear of the Giants called it a dirty play and so did Justin Tuck.
This play will resonate around the NFL and every team the Bucs face from this point forward will try to protect themselves from Tampa Bay cheap shots.
If you look at that last statement, the only way to protect against the cheap shot is to do it to them before they do it to you.
Schiano won't have to worry because he's not the one in the line of fire. His players will find that they are on the receiving end of that extra forearm on the bottom of the pile or they will get hit with that errant knee or elbow.
Since the NFL continues to lock out officials, it will only make things easier for players who want to give the Bucs some street justice. These backups are much easier to fool than the veteran officials.
It will only get worse until Schiano acknowledges that he was at fault and he broke the NFL's unwritten code by having his defensive front pile into the Giants' offensive line.
They don't do that at any other level, including youth, high school or college football.
The Tampa Bay players are going to regret the words and actions of their coach. Schiano went over-the-line and it's not going to be forgotten.
Did Schiano and the Bucs go too far "over-the-line?" Sound off below...
