Calvin Johnson's Already Getting the Calls
Calvin Johnson went catchless in his second preseason game as a Lion, a 23-20 win over the Browns, but one play is making some noise.
He didn't catch one pass, but it's obvious that officials are buying into the hype that the rookie wide receiver is indeed from another world. Toward the end of the first half, Jon Kitna heaved a high pass to the corner of the end zone that even Superman's hops couldn't have corralled. But Cleveland defensive back Jereme Perry was flagged for interfering with Calvin Johnson. It was a bad call. The rule states that the pass must be catchable for warranting a flag. It's intended to reward the quarterback for making a good throw, but this was a case of the officials wrongly rewarding Calvin Johnson for nothing more than making a good first impression.
I watched a replay of the call, and, no, it wasn't exactly catchable. The interference shouldn't have been called. But the preseason is practice time for the referees, too. Certain players "get the call" in every sport, whether it's during a drive down the lane, a pitch on the corner, a pass in the end zone, or a hook in the defensive zone. Whether Calvin Johnson becomes one of those players (Bill Simmons might snarkily refer to these guys as "The Dwyane Wade All-Stars") remains to be seen.
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