The Great Virginia Tech Field Goal Debate | Hour 3
40m 17s
The Don Levittar Show highlights the Atlanta Falcons’ dominant prime-time performance and the growing scrutiny over officiating in the NFL, citing a sharp rise in penalties—271 in Week 4 alone—with 17 touchdowns reversed. This reflects broader issues of precision and pressure on officials, especially with highly athletic offenses and defenses making plays so fast that infractions are used defensively. The show examines Tyree Killegrew’s career trajectory, noting his injury and potential return to Kansas City, a fit due to its familiar playbook and use of play-action. It also contrasts the NFL’s technical precision—like flawless snap execution—with the controversy over field goals, where accuracy has soared, making misses rare and impactful. The discussion concludes with a call for technological innovation, such as motion sensors, to eliminate subjective calls. The show underscores the paradox of an elite, high-precision sport where errors are nearly invisible, yet the stakes of controversy remain high.
You are listening to the Don Levittar Show in partnership with the DraftKin Sports app now live in all 50 states. Saints fans booed their team last night. They left early. The Atlanta Saints rivalry is a nasty one and Saints fans were embarrassed last night. You do have something funny if there is. Do you believe there's anybody in the world who has only seen the Falcon? The Falcon fans in prime time and has watched no other football. Because if that fan exists, if there is a fan that exists that hasn't seen the two games where the Falcons scored a total of 16 points in the two games that weren't in prime time. But they're the first team ever to win consecutive prime time games by 20 plus points. And I remember before the first one we were like woof three weeks in a row and look at them. They looked the last two games as if they've got the best offense in the sport. I read the reports here that Tyree Kill who last we heard from him didn't have the kind of power in his legs. He said he had no strength in his legs. The chiefs and Tyree Kill are talking Andrew Rosenhouse is saying that there are multiple teams interested in Tyree Kill. The reason that Drew is saying that is because he's trying to get an established market. The smartest place in the world for Tyree Kill to go is back to Kansas City. Like that is an easy move to make. It's just that I would assume that he's going to want to get the most money wherever it is that he goes. Everything that you've read about his life off the field feels reckless. His earning power, the moment that he got hurt was decimated and Tyree Kill just given his general irresponsibility. I would assume that he might be thinking he could get more money elsewhere, but that's a perfect spot for him to try to rehabilitate himself. This is likely someone who does not get endorsement deals and likely someone who is not going to get those type of deals after his career is over as well. It makes sense that it will be Kansas City. You go to a place where the coach knows you, the fan base knows you, the quarterback knows you. They could probably use you. They're awesome, but he's going to go whoever offers them. I would offer the Rams as the next spot. I don't know. I'm not talking about the money there. I don't think they could do the most money, but just like the McVeigh factor. Like Odell did a few years ago. I feel like if they're in terms of a place where you're like, okay, maybe this could work. I could see the Rams. It's just so easy with the chiefs. He doesn't have to actually learn a playbook. Like I imagine everything the Rams are doing, they also demand a lot of blocking from their wide receivers. And chiefs are first. Well, Kansas City makes all the sense in the world. And partly because with Kenneth Walker, the third now, as they're running back and he's really good, they're not as reliant on the passing game anymore. Just look at my home's stats. But that was a devastating injury he had at age 32. There was already a belief that he had maybe lost a step because quickness has always been his forte. I hope he does make a comeback, but I have extreme doubts. I think Drew is playing up the multiple teams and trying to generate a market for him. But I really have my doubts that he's going to come back in any meaningful way. I hope I'm wrong. The perfect thing for him is the fact that they have an actual running game that is a legit threat because what they've been so successful at is the play action pass. That's a facet and a wrinkle to their offense that they haven't really had in the last couple of years. And the fact that my homes could take it, go play action, and all Tyree Kessah do a street down the field like Tykwan Thornton does, it's the perfect place. It's not a couple of years that they haven't had the play action. The reason everything looks different in Kansas City offensively is because of what Patrick Mahomes is able to do out of play action, the way that Daniel Jones started last season, doing out of play action with Jonathan Taylor. I'm going to say again as I have a couple of times already this season, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have never had a thousand yard Russia. It's the longest streak in the NFL without a thousand yard Russia. A thousand yards isn't even that much. That's amazing. You're just asking for 60 or 70 yards a game and he's never had one. And so that's what's changed there in their offense. I don't think of Thornton. Before these last couple of games did you guys think of Thornton as this kind of deep play threat? Like he's broken his ankle. But I was not used to the last couple of years. The Chiefs throwing anything down field to receivers open deep down the field. He's a speedster and that's kind of why they brought him in. Kind of the mold of MVS. Marquez Valdez Scanley where it's like, all right, you can run really fast. Run a nine route and just go. Another story from the NFL yesterday. You don't see this that often. And Trey McBride has to be pretty pleased with himself. He got that linesman Jeff Seaman. Just a really unfortunate name. He should change his name to Bill Seaman. He got him suspended for a couple of games by snitching on him, by pointing to a camera, by telling everybody that the referee was yelling at him and yelling FU at him and it is a great punishment to see the referee, the look at me, referee put in his place because they shouldn't be behaving that way. In that moment when Trey McBride pointed to the camera and was smiling, the referee like it, like does it wash over him? Does the referee realize in that moment, oh shit. The referee knows he's got a problem now, right? Like immediately. Everything is caught on camera. There's so many camera angles, everybody reads lips. And a second referee got suspended from the dolphin game when he was trucked by accidentally presumably twice by a player. That guy's actually crazy. He went crazy and here's my theory on why two referees are being suspended on the same day in the NFL. It's because referees and umpires and baseball and all officials feel totally disrespected. They hate their jobs now because everything is being second-guessed. All of their calls are being second-guessed and overturned and reviews and red flags. I would hate to be an official now. I feel the complete opposite. They have help now. Now if they screw up a game, it can get fixed for them and they don't have to live with it. It's like I couldn't agree with you more. I know but they're now on national TV. It's like oh that guy got it wrong. Yeah and let's fix it. Look at that guy got it wrong. And then it's fixed. I think you're right. It's better than the bad call lasts and it affects the game and then fans hate you. I know but the referee used to live with the delusion that okay I know I got the call wrong but it was officially the right call because nobody was overturning it and now that's not the case. You have to be perfect or else you're publicly humiliated. I would hate being a referee. No I do agree that it's probably a different mindset for them now. They're looking over their shoulder of like holy shit. If I miss another call this game, I miss one last game with their being graded now. So like from that aspect I understand where it's more pressure for like their bosses. But I actually from pressure from media like they're it's way easier. I think you could you now have the security if you're an official to make a call. You think it might be quite I think I think I'm gonna make this I think it's a good call. But you know in the back of your head it was a bad call then we'll fix it. Well not on pass interference. Right we're not everything. Well no but pass interference can decide just about any game in the NFL. I don't know if you guys have noticed this. This is from ESPN Insights. The NFL has seen the most accepted penalties through week four since play by play data became available in 1978. Week four alone had 271 accepted penalties the second most in any week over that span. I saw a stat as well to that in week four there were 17 touchdowns called back because of penalty. That's an outrageous number. And as I think I saw the same stat I think it was worn sharp that put it out last year that was four. So now we're talking about yeah it's an insane number that we're called back. The game seems like it would be pretty hard to officiate. It seems like a pretty thankless job. We're still doing this right in the most lucrative sports league that has ever existed on earth. All of these referees have second jobs correct. These are these continued to be part-time jobs. I think they're very lucrative paying part-time jobs that people that have the ability to not work half the year do. Right like you don't you don't have, they're not gonna pay scraps. You don't have to have a second job. No but they are they have a union and I do believe that many referees have second jobs and it seems to me just let's let's consider this for a second because complaining about the officiating is as old as sports. Do you guys think that any of the people criticizing the officiating think that it's an easy job that we could or anybody could do well? No, no, no. It just it seems like if you've got those kinds of athletes at that rate of speed trying to get away with everything, trying to hide at every turn all of the places they're cheating. I feel like I could call pass interference just about all the time based on the amount of hand-fighting there is, jersey grabbing there is. I don't know how you play defensive back in that league even when it's just the precision of Baker Mayfield throwing to Cade. I'm not even talking about like 17 throws to CD-LAM and how
How are you supposed to stop any of that if you've got Brock Purdy saying a high percentage of the time I'm dropping back to pass and I don't see who it is I'm throwing to. I'm just based on the defense and the read I'm throwing it to the spot that I've practiced 10,000 times throwing it to and I'm just expecting my guy to be there. You guys have seen the number of times a defensive back is grabbing at the jersey at the shoulder pad because it's basically if the receiver gets his body in front of you, you can't do anything about it. If he simply, it's not just all of the shallow crosses and all of the interference that's made to create some separation between you and colliding into another person. It seems to me that the most difficult job in sports outside of hitting a baseball and being a quarterback would be being a cornerback in that league. I don't know that I can give you a more difficult job than successfully covering CD-LAM when he knows where he's going, Dak Prescott knows where he's going and he's also bigger and more athletic than the defensive back who is trying to guard him. I don't know what you're supposed to do. You just saw Texans game where they have three portfolios in the secondary and that pass rush and couldn't do anything against CD-LAM. How often do you see 17 catches in a game without an adjustment? Maybe they didn't make it a adjustment. He would have 30 if they didn't. Down lebatar. I want to address Tony and all men who would wear that shirt in public. Greg Cory. Don't do it. This is the down lebatar show. What was the adjustment? I mean, there was just no way to cover him. If he runs in front of your defensive back, your defensive back cannot get to the football without having to go through his body to get to it. So what are you supposed to do? They said the stat was, the stat on CD-LAM was, this is the best game we've seen since Jason went. Jason went right now in a suit. Could go out there, do a five-yard button hook and just put his ass in your chest and you're not going to be able to do anything because he's just turning around and you've got to go through his body to get to the ball and you cannot do it without interfering with it. It's like going around a fridge. How do I? Because you have padding under the suit. It would need a really big suit, you know, with all that. But to your point, actually, I don't know if you made this point or not. You just wanted to get your padding. Yeah, he is right. Do you put it on top of the pads? In the shoulders. I put it in the shoulders. I put Jason Witten, you know, his suit needed a little bit of padding in the shoulder. But it's underneath the suit though the pads. Yes, for sure. That's why you need an extra large suit. Triple XL. You were saying, at least, it's the only thing I don't like about the NFL. I can live with the violence. The only thing I don't like about the NFL is the penalties. It seems like an epidemic because I'm not the one getting concussed. Okay. The players know what they're getting early with the violence, but you can live with that. I can live with it because they know what they're getting into. It's a voluntary sport. You don't have to play pro football. Okay. Anyway, penalties are an epidemic. It seems like there's more than ever. I was saying to my wife watching the game last night. It seems like every third play, there's a flag. Greg, it's not seems like I just gave you the numbers. Okay. It is. And Tony just gave you the number. Seventeen called a touchdowns called back is looted. Right. And the problem is for every play that there's a penalty, there were probably three or four other infractions that weren't called. If you slow mode and put a replay on every position on the field on any one play, there would be a half a dozen penalties happening, but the refs only you can only see one. You can only call one. It's the only thing I hate about the NFL. I think that one of the things that is happening here, though, that does make this really hard. Okay. I know we enjoy our weekends. And you've heard the famous Ray Lewis quote of, you pay me for Monday through Saturday, Sundays you get for free. What these people are doing over the entire off season, the entire season, the entire week before a game is practicing a precision that is truly extraordinary in terms of when I drop back, you're going to be seven yards down the field, and you're going to be in that spot. And I know you're going to be in that spot so much that Brock bird. He tells you that almost half the time he's not seeing where he's throwing the ball. He's just throwing the ball to a location where he knows the receiver is. If it's gotten to that level of precision in some instances, the only way to stop it says is to cheat is to is to create the infraction that gets penalized at a record rate. I'm going to read the numbers again so that you all absorb it. Your eyes aren't lying to you. The Jacksonville Jags in the first half of a game they won had 10 penalties for a hundred yards in the first half against the Bengals. The theories for that do you guys have a better one than the one I'm offering you which is that offenses have gotten so precise and defenders have gotten so athletic along the defensive line that the only way to keep them out of your backfield is to cheat because they're too strong physically they're going to either knock you over or go around you because they know they can. That Texans past rushes crazy but but Dallas is playing so fast as they're all taking up the strategy of Tom Brady get rid of the ball in 2.5 seconds. Jadavian Clowny can't get back there that fast. Not even he is athletic enough to get back there faster than two seconds. I don't think I agree because the athleticism isn't anything new. You know, there's this it hasn't been and it hasn't been a gradual increase. We're seeing a massive increase this year. I don't understand the gap between this number and the number of being so inflated this year. I don't like what has caused that. It's not gradual. The players aren't all of a sudden. These incredible athletes. This is big. Well, this is the part I disagree with though. Okay. This is where I disagree with you. JJ Wat once upon a time was an elite pass rusher. Now he's not even the best pass rusher in his own family. I'm sitting there watching the Vikings and I'm like, there ain't anybody in this league who can block Dallas Turner. There's not a person in this league who could block what that person is doing and he's not the best at this. Like he miles Garrett is the best at this. What you just saw of the Philadelphia offense be more inept than it has been at any point in this century. That was against the Rams defense that didn't even have miles Garrett and Aaron Donald on it. Like these are players. You're saying it's not different and I'm saying, oh man, when I look at miles Garrett, I see Lawrence Taylor. Like I see the best I've ever seen at that consensus defensive player of the year without an argument from just about anybody, but you can't block you can't block Micah Parsons either. Right, but it's not all of a sudden. Like miles Garrett has been this guy for years now, Micah Parsons, but years. But the last 10 years, I would say that the athleticism that you're getting along the defensive line makes it so that not even Jadavian clownies, someone who who looks like the predator just looks like something that you can't block. There are four guys on his defense who are better pass rusher than him. Right. But again, like that's not new. So I don't understand why we're having such a huge jump from last year to this year in penalties. I think the biggest mismatch on a football field is the superb edge rusher versus the tackle or guard who is just overwhelmed. That's why I think you get more holding penalties than you do other penalties. And the consequence of that mismatch is that you're the most valuable player on your team is much more likely to be injured. I will tell you from an aesthetic viewpoint. Just from an aesthetic viewpoint, I'm really tired of a defense successfully stopping another team on third down and then seeing a flag thrown out there for defensive holding because somebody grabbed a jersey and all of a sudden you've made the stop that you've needed. There were so many plays at the goal line this weekend where it looked like somebody was going to have to settle for a field goal and you have a situation where you get a penalty that nullifies the stop. I will say one thing that has changed more as from even one year to the next is the amount that offenses are going for four downs to get the 10 yards. And so if I give a team four downs to get the 10 yards instead of three and you get in the first quarter last week you get nine of ten fourth down conversions. It's going to be harder to stop a team if it has four downs to get 10 yards and if it has three. Last night, I think it was maybe the first drive of the game for Atlanta second drive of the game. They went for fourth and seven like it was nothing. Well, no, but they got they got a delay of game or they got a procedure penalty that made them punt like they were going to go for it and then decided not to and then later on they also went for it on fourth and four because nobody cares about field goals anymore. It's just funny and it's it's not a shock like eight minutes saying they're going to go for fourth and seven. They're in no man zone right now and everyone's like, yeah, that's what you do. It wasn't that long ago. You come up short on third down to be third and one third and what you come up short is how far
Fourth of the one and you're like you're out in the coach go go for it go for it Like you're all hoping that the coach is gonna decide to go for it And then the offense stays on the field and the crowd goes crazy everybody's playing mad now right the coaches are just playing Madden where they'll go for it on four down instead of punting because nobody likes to I don't like this move though When it's fourth and short around like the 45 yard line and everyone knows not even for the short fourth and three fourth and fourth And four everyone knows they're not going for it. Let's just hey, we're gonna trick them here Yeah, then a lot of motion yeah, then I'm gonna go from under center to shotgun. I'm gonna keep moving around I got something for your back pocket here though. Kill, kill, kill somebody is gonna do that play and fake it and run like a deep pack No, they've been doing some of that they've been doing something the Ravens did it at like the four yard line where they had I want to take it out of your back pocket because it's happened already. Yeah This is something that should work every time you go up there and you're doing the fake hard count thing as if you're Going to just let the clock tick down. I think the chiefs did this the other day and then on one second You do end up snapping it when everyone was just fearing Offside and then the offensive line tramples you because they knew they were going on the second so not in the back pocket I've got some news breaking here that supports a position that Tony has had here for a while Spurses. I mean Ricky Davis. I thought I kicked you. That's good scored Max Truce Okay, you got me. He's loose Spurs reporter Michael Wright said on the hoop collective podcast that Victor Wembenyama Reportedly doesn't want to talk about the finals loss and we'll not speak to any American media outlets except 60 minutes 60 minutes Okay, buddy. I love That that was the response of tick Tim McMan. He said oh give me a break. Please. Please people come to my side Can we not see what's happening here? I don't want to talk to anybody except what's been in the news recently? 60 minutes. They'll be on my side. Oh please He sucks. Please back you up here. Can I get you guys to stop saying that people suck who don't suck damn fine with? I'm fine. He's a great basketball player. What about my POS earlier that one? I just like you guys. Well that guy actually is a POS to stop with the analysis of Somebody just sucks. I think we could do better in terms of language and Absolutely right Dan. He is the leader of the galactic fascist organization and we need to put a stop to him. How about that? Is that better? Yes, we're making a lot of rules today. You can't say suck. You can't say bad optics You know you're full of rules over here. I didn't say you cannot say those things I said that we can do better than those things. I'm not forbidding that for better. It is it is a law. It is weird that Victor Wemba Nyama says no American outlets except 60 minutes It must mean that he's got a future feature coming out on six minutes. Again, I question why we have these issues 60 minutes. Yes, so that's the only American outlet. He's gonna talk to about the finals. Not the only American outlet is gonna talk to you. No The way the report goes from Michael Wright Spurs reporter on Wind Horse hoop collective podcast is he reportedly doesn't want to talk about the finals loss and will not speak to any American media outlets except for 60 minutes. There's no way the Spurs PR department would allow that to be the case. Well What you're gonna see is 60 minutes now has to assign an NBA reporter to cover the Spurs You're gonna see the ghost of Mike the ghost of Mike Wallace is gonna be in the postgame interview With a hologram asking Wemba Nyama a question. That's what you're gonna see. I predict that Tony. You'll work for 60 minutes if they offer Yeah, but I grill them be like so Let's balance you guys. I'd start to get really good question. I'd start the interview there. So And then you just cross your arms grab your chin exactly right then they break to the next story They're like we got Tony with Victor Wemba Nyama. So let's start here. Boom. It cuts off Great Cody take the rest of the day off this is the damn laboratory show You guys realize that Chris Cody and Tony still when I walked in here today Everybody was still fighting about that Virginia Tech game. So matters clearly he's trolling. There's clearly over the he keeps Posing it when it's clearly out Chris dude. You have me positive 15 yards after it's gone through the goalpost 15 yards plum dumb on this one man plum dumb this guy I Know that years ago Adam Corolla made the saying he's trying to get off the ground. They're down what is that I like it plum dumb Is that yours Greg. It isn't Uncle Dix. You know, I'm gonna put it on my neck and bodies. No, I've never heard plum. I've never heard plum dumb before I love it Digging it well done son. Do you know the controversy that I'm talking about here? Do you know the Virginia Tech Pittsburgh game that I'm talking about? So there was a field goal at the end of the game It was 36 yards and the Virginia Tech kicker thought he had made the kick and in a bit of an optical illusion It can be confusing as to whether or not the kick was made and Zaz Tony and Chris have been arguing since last Friday About whether the kick was made or not. I will say again that the Virginia Tech kicker Thought that the kick was made. So let's go ahead and have Tony with the illustrator judge Greg Help judge Greg get tell us once and for all What is right and what is not right here because they've been arguing about this for three days But before you do that before they put it up. I just want to finish my point on Adam Corolla Adam Corolla said That's like a month years ago said years ago Just go to home depot Buy some more fiberglass and make the goal posts higher so that we don't have these problems anymore Let's see if Greg good two angles for Greg We got the front angle and then we've got the back angle from the fans perspective So this is the front angle that we're gonna play let's roll this all right Greg I want you to be the field goal judge here. Give us the And the kick it's tough to see on the stage. Let's pause it right there. Let's pause right there All right, uh right there. How about a close-up. How's this going? Okay, so let's take a look here just a bad idea poorly. I think they took a look at the ball The ball is going in this direction right here, right? And if we were to do this If we were to extend the goal post this way That's what they have to do. It's just so simple But then how how how high do we do it? The sky or Guys you either extend the post or you put a camera on the ref's hat that's looking up No, because the ref is off center Chris the ref is off center I still want to see what this looks like But then the optical illusion remains because he's off center. He can't stand directly underneath the goal post Where are they stand? Let's exactly where they're standing look at where they're standing. They're right at the goal post Yeah, but for the angle he can't see it. That's my whole point. He has the best view Let's get the let's get the behind the back view here from from behind Hopefully this works out better. Here we go. All right better. Let's we're gonna need to play with this Here we go. All right, here we go. Here we go. Let's get it. All right. They're about to kick. Oh, we're going slow. Well perfect Okay, there's the ball that you're in the air. Okay, pause it right there right there go Oh, shit right there. Look at that damn talk to me how dummy it is clearly plumb dumb Before the party feet. I can see it here. What are you talking about keep rolling it going and No, keep going. Keep going. Keep going. Where are we past the field goal? No, we're not Does anyone think we are past the field goal post at this point Tony's plumb dumb totally This is also a bad angle. We need to be able to be a clearer view. See this what Tony does He paused it here and he thinks he's right. This is this is already gone to the goal post No, guys already celebrating right here. What are you doing? Look at all the people over on this side Can't see this whatsoever. Not even close. She's in a castle. Please back me up here. It's not no good It's obviously one. It's not even closest. What bread code is why left not even close to me? It is clearly Out the footballs used for field goal attempt should be fluorescent orange. Don't hate that take a lesson from golf Which went from a white ball to a fluorescent orange ball in the whole the whole sport exploded But that that's not a thing that happened. Talk to me dad. That kicked me clearly. Why thank clearly not wide left because the kicker kicks it You thought it is so obvious that it's not to the goal post there Let's run it one more time. It is fast. Oh guys You need you need the light from the seminal hotel to just go straight into the sky Also a good idea up into the sky where it makes it look like the Avengers are about to come down Go look up for me. Please what the Luxor used to spend in its prime to produce a light from that pyramid that could be seen from space And I do believe that football has the money to do this and I do believe the goal post should go Infinity into the sky the same way that the goal line extends around the earth I think I think or just buy some fiberglass as Adam Corolla said just go to homes for the long and just buy just buy a couple of pipes And in fact the rest of it doesn't need to be like the other parts of the goal the goal post PVC like what PVC pipe just get just get Just get 40 more yards of PVC pipe and then if you have a problem after that You blame the kicker for kicking the ball too high Greg. So you're making the ruling not even close The kick was clearly missed even though Virginia Tech's kicker thought he had made the kick. Oh imagine that a kicker who thinks it was good By the way the kicker's the less guy you want to ask by the way, what you just did not the signal for
a bad feel goal. It should be like this. That is not the signal. Yeah, you're doing why? It's an occulted fish kind of thing. Why? Right, why? Left. You're basically open a sliding glass door. You're not a mother. This was a good child. It doesn't do anybody any good for the ref to go like this because everybody wants to know this is this is the way it may. No, everyone's fine. They know that which side it missed. It would be the only side that it could miss from that referee's vantage point. Maybe they don't. What do you think about my fluorescent orange ball though? You're going to get that exploded after that and there's no proof of that. There is proof. They also don't use it on the tour. Well, they should though. Nobody uses. If you're using a ball that's not white, many golf. If I have a ball on the rough, I can find it easier if it's orange, you know, and that's a fact, Jack. 12 years ago, the NFL extended the goal post by five feet. So I'm the only to have to do it again. You know, this cannot not happen. I don't care. College or not? I'm saying, did college extend because at the NFL did the college didn't all of a sudden. It's like, oh, wait a second. We need to extend them. You can put laser beams. I like that. I like that right because tennis has it. You could see in tennis. It's actually now finally someone's made a good point. If we can have that technology in tennis, there's not a reason that we can't have that technology in the NFL where if you don't do it with with pipe, you can just do it with technology and and know whether it is with motion detectors or however it is that you do this stuff. It seems like if this industry is spending this much money on everything and these kicks are worth so much that you have one score games being decided, you have to be 100% on this. You can't be 99% right on this. You can't. There's no reason for this controversy. We have the technology to eliminate this controversy. Like in baseball, they have the new pitch thing, right? It's like, all right, I challenged that pitch, but the question becomes not not only how accurate is it? Is it all right? The ball was on the line. Is that good? Or is that bad? That's right. What did it bounced in exactly or what it bounced out? Clearly, this one would have bounced out. You could make an argument that a ball that hits the upright should be called good. I can make the argument that a ball that hits the upright should be worth more. That's true. That kicker should be trying to hit the upright that we could create that look. Because in order to go for the more points, you're risking getting nine points. I am at this point. You guys realize that when yesterday, if you're watching Falcon Saints and a kicker comes out in a dome and misses a 46 yard kick, I'm stunned by it. I at this point am stunned when Meevis comes out and misses a 40 yard. When anybody misses a 40 yard and not in the college game, I don't trust those college kickers, but in the professional, in the NFL ranks, if I got to stop doing that with professional in college, college is also professional. In the NFL ranks, though, I'm at the point where if somebody misses a 49 yard or I'm stunned, it's weird. I feel that way about a 54 yarder. I expect them to make them. Let's keep going. That's where you feel it about. If they're kicking from 62, I'm like, this is a chip shot. Not a chip shot, but 62. 62 is where you are on this. You got to make that every time. It is wild, though, that you're like 58. All right, that's good. The whole thing's changed. It's 10 yards further than it was once upon a time. It used to be that I wasn't settling to get into position for a 48 yard field goal. But now Jacksonville's kicker and Dallas's kicker, both of them don't even have to get to the 50 yard line before they're trotting out there and try in a game when he kicks. It's ass and eye. Field goal kicking has gotten so much more accurate. When you look at some of the old field goal kickers, just use the name Garo Yapremian from the Miami Dolphins. He would have been like, in a season, he would have been like 18 for 29 or something. Sports Illustrated did an article 10 years ago about the fact that nothing in sports had improved more than the accuracy of field goal kickers in terms of what it used to be versus what it is. And since then, it's gotten a good deal better. That's right. Verifying what I just said. Thank you, SI. We were just talking about refereeing being a bad job. Kickers are a pretty great job. I'd feel bad if I missed the kick at the end of the game. But these guys have gotten so good that playing a sport where you're just wandering around and you never get hit. No one ever bothers you. You get to make a ton of money. Like it's a great job. You got a son. Kicker. But there's a lot of pressure on kickers though because there was a kick. I forget the game. There was a kicker who missed two extra points in one game. I think it might have been Detroit kickers. That was Fitzgerald. You can't miss anymore because that position is considered interchangeable. If you miss two extra points in a game, I'm like, give me another kicker. The thing to me that's weird when we talk about the precision in general of that sport and the places where people improve and the things that you are stunned by. Go ahead and put that photo of Garo Eupremium up because we can never do that. That's my man. That's right. He was 65 years old. He was 19 years old. That is a rookie Garo Eupremium. This is one of the things that I find wildly unusual about the fact that that sport can be so precise. Go ahead and give me all of the times recently at any level where you have seen either a bad feel goal or extra point snap or a bad hold. You never see it. How is it possible that you never see it? That you're sitting here watching game after game after game and no one screws up that snap. You're always watching a shotgun center. Go ahead and just dribble the ball right under, you know, right to the quarterback on the ground. You often see a snap on a punt. Go over the punters head. You never see a feel goal snap or a bad feel goal hold anymore. It's super weird. You think of a romo. It's weird, right? And even that romo one was a decent snap, right? He just dropped it. Yeah, he just dropped it. He just that's what that's what romo is remembered for in the playoffs is that he lost a playoff game. I know that was like a 28 yard feel goal.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The Atlanta Falcons have won consecutive prime-time games by 20+ points, marking a significant offensive breakthrough.
Tyree Killegrew’s career is in question due to a severe leg injury at age 32, with doubts about his ability to return, though Kansas City is seen as a logical fit for rehabilitation.
Kansas City is favored for Tyree Killegrew due to familiarity with the coach, quarterback, and a running game that complements his speed and play-action style.
Officiating in the NFL is under intense scrutiny, with a spike in penalties and penalty reversals—especially in Week 4—highlighting a systemic issue of second-guessing and pressure on officials.
The increase in penalties is attributed to offensive precision and defensive line athleticism, making it harder for defenses to stop plays without infraction-based tactics.
Field goal accuracy has dramatically improved, with modern kickers far surpassing historical success rates, making misses rare and controversial.
The lack of errors in key moments like snap execution or hold calls suggests a high level of professionalism and precision in execution.
There is growing consensus that technology—like laser beams or motion detection—could eliminate controversial calls, such as field goal outcomes, in future games.
Summary:
The Don Levittar Show highlights the Atlanta Falcons’ dominant prime-time performance and the growing scrutiny over officiating in the NFL, citing a sharp rise in penalties—271 in Week 4 alone—with 17 touchdowns reversed. This reflects broader issues of precision and pressure on officials, especially with highly athletic offenses and defenses making plays so fast that infractions are used defensively. The show examines Tyree Killegrew’s career trajectory, noting his injury and potential return to Kansas City, a fit due to its familiar playbook and use of play-action.
It also contrasts the NFL’s technical precision—like flawless snap execution—with the controversy over field goals, where accuracy has soared, making misses rare and impactful. The discussion concludes with a call for technological innovation, such as motion sensors, to eliminate subjective calls. The show underscores the paradox of an elite, high-precision sport where errors are nearly invisible, yet the stakes of controversy remain high.
FAQs
The transcript suggests that penalties are increasing due to the extreme precision of offenses and the athleticism of defenses, leading teams to cheat by creating infractions. Additionally, the high speed of plays and the difficulty of reading defensive movements make enforcement challenging.
The Chiefs have become dominant with their play-action offense, especially under Patrick Mahomes, who has mastered deep play-action passes. This has revitalized their offense, which had gone several seasons without a 1,000-yard passing season.
The transcript expresses doubt about Tyree Kilog's return, citing a serious injury and lack of strength, though it suggests Kansas City might be a good fit due to their running game and play-action schemes.
The Rams are seen as a possible fit due to their offensive schemes that value deep passing and wide receiver responsibilities, similar to Tyree Kilog’s skill set, though it's not expected to offer the highest financial return.
There is a debate over whether a 36-yard field goal was successful, with some believing the kick went through and others, including the host, arguing it was a miss due to an optical illusion and poor viewing angles.
Officials face heightened pressure because every call is subject to instant review and second-guessing, especially with national television exposure, making mistakes publicly visible and leading to reputational damage.
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