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After a Slew of Penalties, Redskins May Need a Timeout
Antwaan Randle El high-steps his way past the Colts' Mike Doss after getting blocking from Vernon Fox, left, and Ade Jimoh on the way to an 87-yard kickoff return that gave the Redskins a 14-10 lead.
(By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
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On a drive on which they had moved inside the Colts 10, the Redskins sent in place kicker Nick Novak to try a 49-yard field goal. The ball clanked off the left upright, and the Redskins got no points.
"A lot of the penalties were guys out there flying around, busting their behinds," Moss said. "Some of them were unsportsmanlike because something happened and the guys retaliated."
Asked if he felt he'd been hit late before his penalty, Moss said, "It was evident."
The Redskins' defense then forced a punt, and Randle El provided the sort of electric play that the team was seeking when it signed him as a free agent in the offseason. Randle El fielded the punt and sprinted straight up the middle, breaking through the initial wave of would-be tacklers. He cut toward the left sideline and badly outmaneuvered punter Hunter Smith en route to the end zone.
But Randle El jumped into the goal post as part of his touchdown celebration and was assessed a 15-yard penalty. One of the guidelines put in place by the league last offseason, when it approved a rule cracking down on excessive celebrations, was that the goal post couldn't be used as a prop.
"It's an emotional thing and he hits the goal post and goes on his back," Gibbs said, "and the rule is you're not allowed to do that. . . . The guy makes a fantastic play and he's all excited about things. . . . Really, right now we're at a point where we ought to say what you can do on a celebration instead of what you can't do."
That cost the Redskins 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff, and they moved back another five yards because of an offside penalty on their first kickoff try. Backed up to their 10-yard line, the Redskins sent in Frost for the free kick. Frost got off a booming punt, but did so before the officials had signaled play to restart. The play quickly was whistled dead but Frost reacted with an angry outburst, yelling at the officials and ripping off his helmet as he was restrained by teammate Mike Sellers.
That unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed the Redskins back another five yards -- half the distance to the goal line -- and Novak reentered to kick off from the 5.
"He hit the ball very well there," Redskins special teams coach Danny Smith said of Frost. "I think that's what frustrated him. [But] you can't lose your cool in that situation."
