FanHouse NickHarper

The Titans unloaded "Adam" Pacman Jones just before last April's draft, and got a fourth-round pick from the Cowboys for their troubles. Tennessee used the selection on California wide receiver Lavelle Hawkins, and through five weeks, he's yet to do, well, much of anything.

But expectations are low; as long as he stays out of trouble, it's a moral victory, if nothing else. Even though the Titans are now Pacman-less and happily atop the AFC with a 5-0 record, there's still a pretty good chance their 2005 first-round pick comes back to bite them in the bum.

There was another facet to the trade. If Jones isn't suspended by the NFL and is available or on injured reserve for all 16 games this season, the Titans get a sixth-round pick from the Cowboys in the 2009 draft. If Jones is suspended again, the Cowboys get a fifth-rounder from the Titans.

Let's be honest, the laws of probability suggest that the Titans end up shipping that 2009 fifth-rounder to Dallas, because, frankly, there's no way Pacman makes it through the entire season without breaking some law. Which means that Tennessee views Dallas' 2008 fourth-round pick worth more than Jones AND, say, a 95 percent chance of losing their '09 fifth-rounder.

For the nerds in the audience, that looks something like this:

In Sunday's Boston Globe, Mike Reiss takes a look at the Colts' off-season to date. Basically, the team has lost more players than it has been able to sign during free agency. Gone are running back Dominic Rhodes, linebacker Cato June, cornerback Nick Harper, defensive lineman Montae Reagor and wideout Brandon Stokley.

Usually, losing three to four starters could be detrimental for a team's playoff hopes, but Indianapolis has been very proficient in recent seasons when it comes to player personnel matters. "So," Reiss asks, "why so little activity?" Team president Bill Polian provides some insight:

"Mainly because we've made some big mistakes in the past, Corey Simon being the most obvious one," he said. "We've had a modicum of success in it, but not a lot. We just feel the odds are very much against you. It's not a criticism of anyone who does it, but just the way we do things. We're not good at it, so we stay away from things we're not good at."

Unlike, say, the Redskins, the Colts look to restock the roster through the draft. Last year, their first-round pick, running back Joseph Addai, filled in nicely for Edgerrin James, who went on to make his fortune in Arizona. This year, Indy should have little trouble replacing Rhodes (who was a backup until last season); June (who basically signed a one-year "show me" deal with the Bucs) was a capable starter, but is replaceable; Harper is more suited to the nickel-back role; Stokley, while valuable, benefited more from Peyton Manning than vice versa. Reagor only played in five games last season and obviously didn't do enough to deem worthy of re-signing.

As long as Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark are on the roster, the passing game should be fine, and Addai solidifies the running game. Of course, the front office has to have a pretty successful draft to replace the lost production on the other side of the ball. And as has been the case the past few seasons, improving the run defense is at the top of the To Do list. Still, barring a catastrophic collapse, Indy should be a playoff team next season, and probably an early-season Super Bowl favorite.

A disturbing trend arose in the NFL in Week 1. Perhaps a memo was passed around internally that the NFL didn't notify the press or fans of. But for some reason, the referees last week were obsessed with throwing flags for offensive pass interference.

That's right, offensive pass interference. Some of you may have forgotten what that is, because it is a fairly rare penalty. But I assure you, it does exist. Larry Nemmers' and Gerry Austin's crews made sure you knew about it.

Nemmers presided over the Bengals-Chiefs game, while Austin covered the Cowboys-Jaguars game. In both games, not one, but two offensive pass interference flags were thrown. In both games, both flags were thrown against the same team (the Chiefs and the Cowboys, respectively), and both were thrown within a few plays of each other. I didn't get to catch the Cowboys' flags, but the Chiefs had two flags thrown against Samie Parker, both of which were questionable. Certainly, I've seen far worse that haven't been penalized.

The most egregious flag, however, was one almost everyone saw. With 4:14 left to go in the Manning Bowl, Tim Carter was flagged with what some have generously labeled a "questionable call." There was nothing questionable about it. Nick Harper fell, and Carter paid the price. A terrible call at a crucial part of the game.

This week, the Chiefs may have suffered from a non-call, or at least Clark Judge and I thought so. In overtime, Javon Walker's 24-yard reception, after what seemed to be a push-off on Ty Law, was probably the deflating blow to a Chiefs defense that fought so hard to that point. Granted, Denver may well have been on their way to victory anyway, given the way their offense was finally clicking, but it was a crucial blow nonetheless.

What's the point of detailing all this? For me, it's wondering why offensive and defensive pass interference flags can't be challenged. Play has already stopped, so there is no continuity problem. And far too often, pass interference plays are crucial in either extending or deflating drives. They can result in big gains, or negate first downs or even touchdowns. I simply cannot think of a reason why coaches shouldn't be able to challenge a crucial pass interference flag, or why replay officials can't buzz in a challenge late in a game. As Tom Coughlin can probably tell you, that blown call can completely derail a team's drive.

The NFL has always been overprotective about their referees. The NFL does a lot of things right, but their overprotection of the referees is sometimes mind-boggling. They should be concerned about doing things right, not about protecting the referees. After all, if people doubt the outcome of games, it doesn't matter a lick that the referees are still considered untouchable.