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After the Oct. 12 Rams/Redskins game, which was decided on a last-second 49-yard field goal, I’d heard that the FedExField staff had tried to shake up Rams kicker Josh Brown with the scoreboard.
I hadn’t read any reports or heard complaints from the Rams about what happened, so I figured it was no big deal.
But, I watched the proof over the weekend. And I’m very surprised this never became a big deal.
Check out what’s going on with the scoreboard in the background of this video from 1:32 to 1:45: As Brown is lining up his kick, a stadium cameraman is zooming in and out at warp speed.
That’s a cinematographic technique not used much since the late-1960s, when directors of budget druggie movies or “Laugh-In” wanted to simulate an acid trip.
The tactic didn’t work. Perhaps because FedEx has the lamest video system in the NFL, Brown never got disoriented. He nailed the game-winner.
I don’t know if it’s standard policy at FedEx or even league-legal to use the scoreboard to rattle visitors.
I know Dan Snyder’s team has gotten in trouble before for ignoring NFL rules about not playing music on the house PA when the visitors have broken the huddle on offense.
I could understand management dusting off shaky or even blatantly illegal tactics when Dallas comes to town, given the history between the teams.
But, against the winless, out-of-division Rams? Doesn’t that make Snyder’s entire organization seem bush?