It is perplexing to see NFL players commit the same mistake repeatedly when there are numerous highlights documenting the miscue for the football world to see.
That is why I am baffled by two examples of recent players dropping the ball before crossing the goal line, especially when seeing it cost their teams points and wins by attempting to showboat on a potential touchdown, as Colts wide receiver Adonai Mitchell and Cardinals running back Emari Demercado have already done this season.
As a former NFL player who loved celebrating big plays as a youth, high school and collegiate player, I understand the adrenaline rush of crossing the goal line and the cultural reaction to cool celebratory acts that follow a score.
After watching Billy “White Shoes” Johnson perform the “funky chicken” as his touchdown celebration in the 1970s, I could not wait to score touchdowns as a youth and high school football player so I could show off my own celebratory dance in the end zone. Though flamboyant celebrations were banned at the time, the potential “cool points” gained from a creative celebration prompted my youth and high school teammates to spend countless hours choreographing our touchdown dances.
Considering how art imitates life, I understand why young players mimic what they see on Sundays. However, some boundaries should be respected, and an individual celebration should never negatively impact the team. Those sentiments are frequently uttered by coaches at every level, particularly in the NFL, where points are coveted at a premium. Despite the NFL’s loosening of the celebration rules, head coaches will discuss the parameters throughout training camp to ensure every player understands what he is allowed to do following a big play or touchdown.
“Every time it happens, you bring it up [to the team],” Titans coach Brian Callahan informed reporters, by way of ESPN.com “We now have a saying: ‘Letters and logos.’ You by no means, by no means, by no means, by no means — beneath any circumstances — let go of the ball till you see the letters and logos in the long run zone. And that is one thing that I do know each group within the league preaches.
“It is wild to me that that continues to occur. I do know it is getting coached in every single place within the league. And it pops up three or 4 instances a yr, which is loopy to me.”
Given the frequent discussions and highlights dedicated to celebrations and egregious errors, I’m stunned Mitchell and Demercado produced game-changing touchbacks on botched untimely celebrations in back-to-back weeks. Whereas their miscues went viral for the world to see, the attract of the “cool” issue continues to guide younger gamers to stay the ball out whereas crossing the purpose line.
Maybe the pattern will fade after watching these pair of blunders, however DeSean Jackson didn’t be taught his lesson when he fumbled the ball on the finish of a somersault heading into the top zone on the 2005 U.S. Military All-American Bowl. Regardless of the criticism he obtained for the botched sizzling dogging, the massive play specialist dedicated one other egregious error as a rookie in 2008 when he prematurely dropped the ball strolling into the top zone in opposition to the Dallas Cowboys on a possible 61-yard rating.
Though the Eagles ultimately scored on the drive, the repeated error speaks to the robust attract of showmanship for playmakers who love placing factors on the board with aptitude.
Wanting on the present NFL panorama, it’s exhausting to think about extra landing miscues on the horizon. The tough criticism and viral clips have caught the eye of younger playmakers across the league. The children don’t wish to be the topic of sizzling take debates nor the rationale for his or her group’s demise because of an avoidable error.
Whereas 7-on-7 tradition is partially in charge for a number of the outlandish celebrations which have leaked in highschool, faculty, {and professional} soccer, the current spate of egregious goal-line errors ought to curb a number of the untimely showboating that’s costing groups factors and video games in 2025.
Bucky Brooks is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports activities. He additionally breaks down the sport for NFL Community and as a cohost of the “Transferring the Sticks” podcast. Observe him on Twitter @BuckyBrooks.
