Stoney's He-Man Steeler Haters NFL Playoff Thread ... No Yinzers allowed

There was very little discussion on part of officials prior to picking up flag and no explanation.

 

Strahan had a good point in the postgame show, that if it's a non-call it's not an issue. But once you make that call, especially after you announce the penalty, it's insane to wave it off.

Also, just saw another replay that showed Dez Bryant sprinting off the sideline immediately after the play, to where Hitchens was still getting up off the turf, to argue the call. Shouldn't THAT have been some sort of unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on top of all this nonsense?
At the very least, can we chuckle at the irony of a Cowboys receiver wearing No. 88 arguing against a pass interference call?

 

It was enough contact to keep the receiver from coming back to the ball. It is absolutely pass interference.

Batman, I saw that same video as well. I do not understand how that wasn't a penalty against Bryant, either.

 

Good lord. There was 8:38 left in the 4th quarter. Lions up 3.

Bad call to pick up the flag and wave off the penalty? Sure.

8:38 left in the game.

Detroit proceeded to:
- Not go for it on 4th/1 against a weak Dallas defense.
- Give up an 11 play drive, including a 3rd/8, 4th/6, 3rd/7 (defensive holding) and a TD on 3rd/8.
- Get the ball back, only to fumble it with 2:10 left and only a bone-headed play by Dallas kept it from at the very least being 27-20 Cowboys after Detroit burns all their timeouts.
- Get a first down with 1:18 left at Dallas 49 and call a puzzling timeout, allowing Dallas to catch a minute of rest on defense.
- Get a false start to make it 2nd/15.
- Never throw the ball past the first down line on the last three plays.

Detroit has an immense amount of opportunities after 8:38 left in the 4th quarter to close it out.

If Coach Comatose had some onions, they probably get the damn first down on 4th and 1 and get some points.

 

I don't think the founding fathers wanted

He's on the field without a helmet. Add that to the potential flags.

 

None of that justifies a horrible officiating error that heavily favored the Cowboys.

 

Any official of any experience, which was all of them, knows how that call tilts the game. And they did it anyway. Watch next year's assignments to see how/if they are rewarded.

 

They're also in field goal range and have a first down, the lead and momentum. Maybe they go three and out from there, miss a field goal and Dallas drives down for the TD anyway, but that's beside the point.
And no doubt Caldwell screwed up by punting (which is easier to say, of course, after the shank instead of one that would have pinned Dallas deep), but there's also no doubt that the PI call changed the game on every level.

 

Only thing I can figure is that, since it was a dead ball situation at that point, it's a non-issue. He'd be like a substitute running onto the field in the eyes of the rules. Same logic with him not having a helmet. The helmet rule only applies to live-ball situations.
The official still could have thrown an unsportsmanlike flag if he'd wanted to, and it certainly doesn't look good to have a random Cowboys player running off the bench arguing for a game-swinging call that they then got.

 

Fair points. In the end, it really just makes the horrible decision by the officials look even worse.

 

I would completely agree with you if the receiver had actually tried to come back to the ball. Had he done that, Hitchens would have ended up running through him. But that didn't happen. The receiver's movement was still going down the field, not coming back to the ball. The only contact between the two was coincidental arm contact that to me wasn't enough to be defensive PI.

As for Bryant, there is free substitution in football between plays, so him coming onto the field is not an issue. And as long as he didn't abuse or show up the official, I'm OK with no call on that.