rookies will take part in a four-team rookie tournament starting

SAN DIEGO -- The NFL acknowledged that referees erred in not penalizing the San Diego Chargers for an illegal formation on a missed 41-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Succop of the Kansas City Chiefs with 4 seconds left in regulation on Sunday. Succop was wide right on the kick, and the Chargers went on to win 27-24 in overtime to claim the AFCs final playoff spot. The Pittsburgh Steelers would have been in the post-season had Kansas City won the game. San Diego lined up with seven men on one side of the snapper, and NFL rules state no more than six players can be on the line of scrimmage on either side of the snapper. The NFL said in a statement Monday that the penalty should have been called by referee Bill Leavys crew, moving the ball 5 yards closer to the end zone and giving Succop another attempt at the game-winning field goal. Succop was 15 of 16 this season from within 40 yards. The NFL did not say whether Leavys crew would be disciplined. "We misaligned on it. Im not going to deny it," Chargers rookie coach Mike McCoy said Monday. "But hey, those calls all balance themselves out over the year. Theyre part of the game. Were all human. ... Things happen for a reason. We didnt do it on purpose, I can tell you that." Chiefs coach Andy Reid actually called his final timeout after the missed field goal and tried to convince the officiating crew of the illegal formation. But because illegal formations are not reviewable, Reid had no other recourse and the play stood. "I called a timeout right there. That was for a reason," Reid said. "I couldnt challenge, all I had was a timeout, so maybe theyd take a peek and read through the timeout and see what took place, but listen, human error. ... Theres not much more you can say." The outcome of the game didnt have any bearing on the Chiefs, who rested most of their starters. Kansas City was already assured of the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and will head to Indianapolis on Saturday for a rematch of a game won two weeks ago by the Colts. The result had significant repercussions for the Chargers and Steelers, though. San Diego (9-7) earned the final AFC playoff spot when Nick Novak kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime to win the game. The Chargers will visit Cincinnati in the wild-card round Sunday. The Steelers (8-8), meanwhile, would have claimed the playoff spot through a series of tiebreakers had Kansas City won, and Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin even said Monday he knew the Chargers were lined up illegally before the field goal attempt. "What transpired yesterday was unfortunate for our hopes moving forward. Well have to find a way to accept that and move forward," Tomlin said. "Im not going to lose any sleep over something that happened in a stadium that we werent even in." Wholesale Jerseys Authentic . For the first time all night, as the Raptors were on the clock to make the 20th overall selection, no one had the slightest idea what was about to happen. No leaks, no whispers, nothing. Wholesale MLB Jerseys 2018 .Then came December.Three straight losses, including a crushing 27-24 defeat to Washington (4-11) on Saturday, has the Eagles (9-6) on the brink of playoff elimination. http://www.cheapnfljerseysdeals.com/ .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. Cheap MLB Jerseys China . - Tom Brady and the Patriots routed the Bengals and quieted the doubters. NFL Jerseys Deals . - The Oakland Athletics have finalized an agreement on a 10-year extension to play at the Coliseum through the 2024 season.OTTAWA -- Like everyone else Paul MacLean was surprised by Daniel Alfredssons decision to sign with the Detroit Red Wings, but the Ottawa Senators head coach says its time to move forward. "I was disappointed like everybody," MacLean said Friday afternoon. "At the same time Daniels earned the right to make that decision and hes made it and moved on and were moving on. Were going to progress without him." MacLean believes the Senators have enough leadership within its current group of players to fill any void left behind by Alfredssons absence. "Its a great opportunity for a number of our players to step into that leadership void and show they can be a bigger part of the team than maybe theyve been in the past," MacLean said. "Its not just one guy thats going to step up, one guy will represent as Daniel did with the captaincy, but leadership isnt just a one person thing or a three person thing its an everybody thing. With me its everybody and thats still going to be the expectation." MacLean says he wants a captain that "does it right every day and is a good representative of the team." "But the most important thing is you have to be here every day and you have to do it right," he added. The two most likely candidates are Jason Spezza and Chris Phillips. Both have been alternate captains and are well respected by their peers and the coaching staff. There is no set timeline as to when a new captain will be selected as MacLean plans on conducting some due diligence. Players in consideration will be spoken to, management and coaching staff will be asked for input. Players will not be given a vote as to who they feel should be the next captain. "The process that (general manager Bryan Murray) and I and my coaching staff have to go through is sifting through it and finding whos going to be the best guy to represent the whole group," MacLean said. In addition to Alfredsson, the Senators made a number of other changes to its roster, most notably the addition of Bobby Ryan. &qquot;He brings to us someone thats a bona fide guy thats scored 35 goals in the league," MacLean said.dddddddddddd "He shoots the puck in the net and thats something we havent had here since Ive been here. "Having someone with that ability certainly should help our confidence as a team as far as it comes to scoring goals." The Senators struggled offensively last year averaging 2.33 goals-per-game to finish 27th in the league. Ryan will be counted on to boost those numbers. While its anticipated that Ryan will play alongside Spezza, MacLean says chemistry will have a lot to do with how lines are made. Ryan could play with Spezza, Kyle Turris or even Mika Zibanejad. Heading into camp it doesnt appear that the Senators have a lot of room for change, but MacLean has always been an ardent believer that the best players play. The Senators rookies will take part in a four-team rookie tournament starting next week and MacLean says close consideration will be given to anyone who manages to excel when given the opportunity. Following the rookie camp a number of players will be invited to take part in the main camp and things will sort themselves out through performance. "Were going to play eight exhibition games and were going to sort out who the best players are or theyre going to sort it out themselves actually and the best 23 guys are going to stay here and play," said MacLean. "If youre not one of those 23 guys then well have to make arrangements for them to play wherever that has to be, no matter what the circumstances are. The best players are going to be here and play." Despite a rash of devastating injuries last season the Senators advanced to the second round of the playoffs last season ,where they eventually lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. MacLean knows fans will be looking for much the same. "Consistency is the hardest thing to do and the best way to success is to be consistent and if were consistent then I think the (fans) are going to like where we are," he said. ' ' '