o his Riverboat Ron persona on Sunday Greg Little Carolina Panthers Jersey , even though the whole go-for-two thing has become so commonplace that he could now be called Riverbot Ron. (And, yeah, I thought of that only after I accidentally said “Riverbot” instead of “Riverboat” during , which as on-air verbal accidents go could have been a lot worse.)But the classic, late-game, go-for-the-win-by-going-for-two move needs to consider a variety of factors unrelated to the proverbial numbers (a far less nerdy version of “analytics”). The biggest factor is and always will be the amount of chances the other team would have to win the game, if the late two-pointer puts the other team behind by a point.If the touchdown that pulled the margin to within one happens on the final play of regulation, it’s not an issue. If it happens with significant time on the clock, it’s definitely an issue.On Sunday, Rivera’s gamble Blue Greg Little Jersey , if it had paid off, would have given the Lions a chance to win the game (and to avoid losing it) with 1:07 to play and three time outs. If Rivera had simply opted to tie the game (assuming that kicker Graham Gano wouldn’t have missed his third kick of the day), the Lions would have found themselves in a tie game, and with a far different mindset.In a tie game, the Lions punt on fourth down. In a game that the Lions are trailing by a point, they go for it on fourth down.In a tie game, the Lions call plays more conservatively, hoping to avoid a turnover that would give the Panthers a short field and a game-winning field goal. In a game that the Lions are trailing by a point, they open the playbook and go for it.The fact that the Lions had three time outs would have allowed quarterback Matthew Stafford to spray the ball all over the field, not worrying about the clock running on a play that ends with a tackle in bounds. And with 67 ticks on the clock Greg Little Carolina Panthers Jersey , the Lions could have gotten in position for a long Matt Prater field goal.It still could have happened in a tie game, but the Lions necessarily would have had a different approach if the score were 20-20 than if it were 21-20.Ultimately, it didn’t matter, because the two-point try failed. But the decision in those situations always needs to take into account the consequences of failing (virtually certain loss), succeeding (likely win, but more work would be needed), and opting for one (likely overtime). Nobody likes to see the refs decide a game. Nobody likes to see the Saints win. There is a middle ground."The New Orleans Saints aren’t going to the Super Bowl. I love writing that sentence. While it would have been kind of nice to see Atlanta burned down by a horde of Southerners for once, nobody ultimately wanted to deal with another post-Super Bowl New Orleans fan-base again. Still, there is a huge asterisk next to this win by the Los Angeles Rams, as they benefited from one of the most blatant non-call fouls the League has ever seen.Nobody likes to see a game decided by a referee making “a judgment call.” The crime against the Saints here was worse even than the mistaken call made by the officials in Super Bowl 50. Even though Jerricho Cotchery caught that ball for the Carolina Panthers Cheap Greg Little Jersey , the team failed to capitalize on a multitude of future opportunities to win that game. A correct call for the Saints would have required one hell of a shank by kicker Will Lutz to keep the Rams alive. That kind of bad officiating —the kind that implies the teams aren’t competing on a level playing field— leaves a sour taste in the mouth regardless of who ultimately wins.On the other hand, I can’t stand watching the Saints win.There is absolutely no love lost between the Saints and the Panthers, from the players to the fans. Watching them come up just short of the Super Bowl for the second year in a row is hilarious. It is the next best thing to them just being bad.How, then, do you reconcile the excitement of watching the Saints in agonizing defeat with the disappointment of a game decided, once again, by bad rules? Quite simply, actually. The NFL has declined to make a public statement regarding the call at the end of the Rams-Saints game. There will be a lot of pressure, both from teams and the media, through this off season to change the nature of certain officiating judgment calls. Extra eyes on the field and the ability to challenge and/or review more penalties will probably all be discussed. It is obvious that the game could benefit from adjustments to officiating. Last night’s game was an incredible toe-to-toe match between two of the best teams in the NFL. We shouldn’t spend this much time talking about the refs afterwards. There is no guarantee that any changes will be made Terry Godwin Carolina Panthers Jersey , let alone made this year. When and if rules changes do occur, however, last night’s game will be one of the driving reasons behind them. For now, we can still hope that something will be done.That is an ideal picture of progress for Panthers fans: football being improved on the broken backs of a team we didn’t want to see whole in the first place. Plus, with the a victory by the Rams, we all have somebody to root for against the Patriots in the Super Bowl.