The Rocky Block is easily the most controversial moment of the 2009 season but the one name I haven't seen mentioned anywhere, that should be mentioned, is Leon Lett, who committed a famous blocked kick blunder on Thanksgiving Day 1993.  As for Cody, well, the other day I stated that I didn't believe Cody should be flagged because his helmet came off simultaneously with the expiration of the clock.  This comment caused some people to question my knowledge of the rules (and to tell me how much of a moron I am and how I change my story repeatedly, et cetera) but this comment, before the vitriol, was predicated on the idea that possession had changed and time had expired, thereby ending the game, which made Cody's penalty a post-game penalty (if there is such a thing...they might as well have flagged the Alabama sideline for running onto the field after the game also and they might as well flag coaches for being jerks and players for excessive celebration when they sing with the band). 

First off, let's talk about Leon Lett.  Like Alabama against Tennessee in 2009, the Leon Lett and the Cowboys blocked a Pete Stoyanovich field goal attempt on Thanksgiving Day in 1993.  The blocked kick traveled past the neutral zone onto Dallas's side of the field, changing possession.  Dallas did not have to recover the blocked kick, but Leon Lett, being ignorant of the rule, ran down field, slipped on the ice (freak storm in Dallas that day) and kicked the ball down to the one yard line.  The Dolphins then recovered the ball and kicked the game winning field goal as time expired.  If Lett had done nothing the officials would have blown the whistle a second or two later and Dallas could have taken a knee.

Now, I stated that I didn't think Cody should have been flagged because his helmet came simultaneously with the expiration of the clock.  Again, I had people telling me how much of a dumbass I am, et cetera, et cetera because a quarter doesn't end at 0:00.  But my thinking behind this was sound whether anyone recognized it or not.

First, the kick was blocked by Alabama.  It traveled across the neutral zone onto Alabama's side of the field meaning Tennessee could not recover it and meaning that Alabama did not have to down it.  Players are taught to play to the whistle and because of Leon Lett, many know not to touch a blocked kick that travels onto their side of the field.  Because the clock expired and the ball was on Alabama's side of the field, my thinking was that no one from Alabama needed to do anything.  The ball was dead unless touched by Alabama and there was no time remaining on the clock.  The similar situation would be if a team punted at the end of a game and the receiving team just let it roll.  If no player on the punting team made a move to down the ball and quarter ended, the official could simply end the quarter without the ball being touched.  This is why I mentioned in one comment that the official behind Tennessee waves his arms to indicate a block and obvious change of possession.

Thinking along these lines, I didn't think Cody should be flagged.  Again, we're talking about a play occurring at game speed in the waning moments.  But once the ball went across the line of scrimmage and the clock was at zero the official doesn't have to wait two seconds for a Tennessee player to down the ball.  The play and game were over as soon as the ball fell dead on Bama's side.  In fact, when Julio grabbed the ball, Alabama's sideline had emptied and only one official did much of anything because the game was already technically over.  And in my opinion, the game should have been officially over as soon as the ball crossed onto Alabama's side of the field and it lay untouched, with 0:00 on the clock.  Yes, Cody removed his helmet at this very second, but what I tried to communicate was that the game was over at this point, not because there was 0:00 on the clock, but because possession had changed with 0:00 and Alabama did not need to recover the ball (and UT didn't need to down it),  Thinking along these lines, I didn't believe Cody's removal of his helmet after possession had changed, simultaneous with the expiration of the clock was a penalty.

That was the logic behind my thinking and the reason I didn't appreciate being called a moron and conspiracy theorist.

When Dwayne Rudd removed his helmet against the Kansas City Chiefs, possession had not changed because the ball had not passed the neutral zone and Rudd's penalty was a defensive penalty, something with which no quarter can end.  When Leon Lett muffed the blocked kick against the Dolphins in 1993 possession had changed and there was time remaining on the clock.  That is the biggest difference between those two plays and what happened to Alabama with Terrence Cody the other day.  Call my theory wild or different, but don't call it homerishly stupid.