NOT-SO-INSTANT REPLAY

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Dec 6, 2005 | by FRANK SCHWAB THE GAZETTE

ENGLEWOOD - Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan admitted he was skeptical, but he finally found proof that safety John Lynch didn't deserve the unnecessary roughness penalty he was given in Sunday's game.

Lynch was upset about a fourthquarter penalty for a helmet-to- helmet hit on Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison. Shanahan said Lynch was adamant he didn't hit Kennison with his helmet. Shanahan said he watched six replays without clearly seeing Lynch legally hit Kennison. But when he looked at a replay of CBS' endzone angle he saw Lynch hit Kennison with his shoulder, not his helmet.

"All of a sudden I got the seventh angle and I said 'Wait a minute, you can clearly see the shoulder is on the helmet and his head is on the side before there is contact made,'" Shanahan said.

Lynch refused comment Monday.

A television was brought into the media room before Shanahan's Monday news conference, and he showed a freeze frame of the replay that showed Lynch did not hit Kennison with his helmet. Shanahan decided that television wasn't clear enough, so he took reporters to his office to show the re- play on a large high-definition screen. The shot showed Lynch's left shoulder hitting Kennison in the facemask and Lynch's helmet hitting Kennison in the shoulder.

Shanahan said the call was very difficult to make, and even he initially thought it was a helmet-to-helmet hit. He reconsidered when Lynch argued so strongly that he hit Kennison with his shoulder.

"I said 'Do I believe John, or do I believe my eyes?'" Shanahan said.

The play was important in the game's outcome. Lynch's hit came at the end of an incompletion on a second-and-7 play at the Broncos' 9- yard line. The penalty gave the Chiefs a first down at the 4-yard line and they scored a touchdown on the next play to take a 31-27 lead.

Shanahan was careful to point out that he was not showing the video to criticize the officials for the call, and he did not think it was the reason Denver lost to Kansas City. He said he just wanted to save Lynch from a fine by the NFL.

"When the game's over, it's over," Shanahan said when asked if the call cost the Broncos the game. "That's not why I'm putting this up there. The reason I'm putting this up there is I have to speak in John's defense. No. 1, I don't think he should be fined."

Lynch has been fined four times since the start of the 2001 season for illegal hits with his helmet. The NFL fined him $75,000 last season for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts tight end Dallas Clark in a regular-season game Jan. 2.

NFL spokesman Steve Alic said the NFL reviews all plays and Lynch's hit would be reviewed to see if he deserved a fine. Alic said a decision wouldn't be made until later in the week.

The Broncos were upset that it took officials a couple of seconds after the play to throw the penalty flag. Cornerback Champ Bailey said he thought Lynch's history was one reason he was penalized.

"You better believe they know it's him," Bailey said. "It seemed like that's what happened. The guy looked at him and then threw the flag."

Alic said he did not think Shanahan showing a video of Lynch's hit would be considered by the NFL as criticizing the officials. Shanahan was fined $20,000 by the NFL earlier this season for criticizing a call during a Sept. 18 game against San Diego.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 476-4891 or fschwab@gazette.com

HARD HIT

Broncos safety John Lynch is awaiting word on whether he'll be fined by the NFL for his hit on Chiefs wide receiver Eddie Kennison. It would be the fifth time he's been fined since 2001, the third time since he joined the Broncos. Here's the first two:

Jan. 9, 2005 The hit: Lynch delivers a "helmetto-helmet" hit to Indianapolis tight end Dallas Clark, making Clark drop a pass.

The fine: $75,000

Sept. 12, 2004 The hit: Lynch buries his helmet in Chiefs wide receiver Dante Hall's chest, not his helmet, on an incomplete pass, but the NFL rules it's a illegal hit since Hall was essentially defenseless.

The fine: $7,500