Sunday night, Bears at Packers. Illegal contact is called by the referee. NBC’s cameras replay the source of the action, which was a near-interception by a Green Bay cornerback.
Al Michaels asks, with a bit of indigence, “Where was the illegal contact?”
Probable John Madden (or pretty much any other “analyst,” especially one who played offense) response: “I don’t know, Al, *I* certainly don’t see any illegal contact. I can’t imagine what the officials were thinking.”
Chris Collinsworth response: “It was downfield.”
Mr. Collinsworth, seemingly alone among announcing booth denizens, knows that illegal contact is ANY contact that occurs more than 5 yards downfield before the ball is thrown, even away from the eventual focal point of the play. I appreciated how Collinsworth’s quick, concise response refocused the broadcast on the game rather than on the purported incompetence of the officials.
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