Watch Deon Grant and another Giants teammate clearly fake injuries to slow down the hard-charging Rams on Monday night:
Gamesmanship, you say? No way. This take, from ESPN.com's Mike Sando, makes valid points but it starts out all wrong:
Complaints about the New York Giants using injuries to slow the St. Louis Rams' no-huddle offense Monday night appeared valid -- and irrelevant. Faking injuries has long allowed NFL players to buy time without using timeouts.
Sando goes on to the rules are set up so officials don't need to make judgments about the validity of injuries, which makes sense. But to us, something as egregious, obvious and game-altering as what the Giants did -- clearly slowing the Rams' no-huddle momentum and taking away a fairly obtained advantage -- should be penalized. It's akin to taking a dive in soccer or hockey and getting penalized for it. Flag the offending player 15 yards (or half the distance) for unsportsmanlike conduct on the first offense. If it happens again in the same game, eject the offending defensive player or the head coach. Seriously, it's not gamesmanship. It's obvious cheating and it should be regulated.
