Redskins Coordinator Kyle Shanahan Chases Down and Abuses Replacement Ref after Loss

If there’s one thing that teams on the losing end of games love to do, it’s blame their ineptitude to win games on the general, more broader ineptitude of replacement referees.

But we’re experiencing a mind numbingly irritating trend and that’s coaches and coordinators with too much testosterone riding these replacements into the turf. Bill Belichick was a prime example of that after he grabbed a ref following the Patriots Sunday night loss in Baltimore, but Kyle Shanahan’s antics would make even the stone faced genius in New England blush.

The incident in question followed a slew of confusion that aided the Redskins losing their home opener. With seconds left in the game, Robert Griffin III spiked the ball to stop the clock but the Redskins were called for a false start on the following play, for which the replacement refs ran off ten seconds thus ending the game. Washington convinced the refs that you can’t do that if the ball was spiked, and the refs awarded the Redskins one last play.

All is good, right? I mean, the Redskins were put in a winning position thanks to a 15-yard personal foul call against the Bengals.

Well the ball was moved back 25 yards form the Bengals 34-yard line to the Redskins 41-yard line: 5 for the false start and 15 for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Redskins sideline was flagged for excessive whining and bullying of the refs. But even with the penalty (which was justly called) that only explains 20 of the ultimate 25 yards the ball was moved back.

Now, mind you, the five yards wasn’t the difference between a field goal and having to throw a Hail Mary, Washington needed a touchdown to tie. The Hail Mary was the only play and it was ultimately batted down and the Bengals ended up winning a wild one, however Kyle Shanahan wasn’t done.

He didn’t grab a ref, ala Belichick, instead he chased the officials into the tunnel and proceeded to shout (according to ESPN Radio 980): “You’ve got no f—ing balls! You are a f—-ing pu–y!”

In case you’re wondering, he didn’t call the ref a flunking puppy.

I’ve had little respect for the Shanahan’s for quite sometime, not out of any personal he beat my team place, rather the Shanahan’s tend to be under the impression that football is the equivalent of a death penalty court case and if they lose, people will die. That and Mike Shanahan has repeatedly shown me he’s a mediocre coach who is only good if a guy named Elway is under center and he’ll sell out anyone and everyone if he fails.

But from a strictly objective point of view, this whole hating on replacements thing is getting excessive and it needs to stop. Did the refs move the ball back five yards to much, yes. Did that make a difference, no. Five yards back or not, that Hail Mary is getting knocked down and the chances that it gets deflected to a Redskins player is the same regardless of where the ball is placed prior.