Down ... set ... FAKE! Giants’ flopping slows Rams no-huddle

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No-huddle offense, meet the no-shame defense.

In Monday night’s 28-16 victory over St. Louis, the New York Giants effectively slowed quarterback Sam Bradford and the Rams offense by blatantly faking injuries so officials would stop the action.

Late in the first quarter, after an eight-yard run moved the Rams inside New York’s 10 yard line, safety Deon Grant and linebacker Jacquian Williams flopped to the ground -- almost simultaneously -- and the game was stopped.

The Rams were carving through the defense on that drive, moving 57 yards in eight plays to get to the Giants’ 7. St. Louis only huddled on two of those plays.

So obvious was the acting that ESPN’s Jon Gruden reacted immediately in the broadcast booth: ‘Hate to see that. He’s not really hurt. That’s a tactic defenses have used in the past against no-huddle offenses to slow them down.’

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told ProFootballTalk.com that a franchise could be fined if ‘it could be proven’ it was faking injuries to gain a strategic advantage.

The league doesn’t ask officials to make medical judgments, so they’re compelled to blow the whistle in those cases.

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