Ask the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers take home-field advantage a bit too far.
The Panthers took a one-point loss on the road against the Buccaneers to close the season and came away with two key complaints about Tampa Bay’s video boards.
Kicker Graham Gano, who missed three of his four attempts, talked about how the video board showed a live shot of himself, while Tampa Bay’s kicker had a blank video board, according to Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer:
“You look out there, there’s two (sets of) uprights you’re looking at,” he said. “I know the league talked to them about it before when we played here a couple years ago. So it’s a bit bush-league. But once again, it’s not a reason why I performed poorly. It just adds another element.”
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera wasn’t too pleased with a different situation. He questioned why the video boards went out of their way to show a hit by Thomas Davis on a wide receiver away from the actual play itself:
“Well, first of all I think that’s bush-league, to show that play up on the screen,” he said. “What are we trying to incite here? Let’s don’t do that. That’s got no place in the NFL, as far as I’m concerned.
“TD did something that, the guy scrambles around and he saw Jameis break through. So at that point you can eliminate receivers. I wish it didn’t happen, but that’s a part of the game. But I really do mean that. I don’t think you put that type of play up on the screen. I don’t think that’s right.”
For the Panthers, this won’t be much of a sticking point. The loss was a disappointing way to cap off the season, if not a fitting way.
The Buccaneers, though, might have some problems with the league office for the kicking situation, as video-board etiquette is something the rule book defines in a strict manner. Expect to hear more about home-field advantage tactics after league meetings this year.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
