Was it a Fumble? The Actual Rule

[RonnieT24]

Ball CLEARLY moves before his helmet hits. Thanks for more proof.

And the reason it moves is because Tank pulls his left arm off the ball while he is struggling to stay in bounds.

 

[Hagman]

I did not say anything about a conspiracy. So don't even start that crap.

I mentioned that crowd, because we have a group on here that always...ALWAYS....sides with the refs, even on the most worse obvious horrible calls or non calls.
I was referring to them. And it is the TRUTH.
So just stop.

I posted in a thread yesterday, I could see why the ref call him down and blew the whistle. He could not see the ball coming out.
But my response is based on that view, it was a clear fumble, but yet the OP is trying to defend the ref, as usual.

again you imagine that there’s some group of fans on this board who believe that the referees are always right. There’s not. So you just stop. And was the ball out before his helmet hit the ground? Probably. But it was really close and I don’t know that a replay official would’ve said that there was convincing evidence to overturn the call

 

[Wezsh0T]

At first, I thought his knee or helmet were down before the ball came out, but now that I can play it back slowly, it's clear the ball was loose before knee or helmet hit the ground. That was the opportunity we were asking for. If we lose, that's one thing, but it just felt like EVERY TIME we had a chance to flip the game, there was some call that stopped us from doing so. We were almost perpetually in 3rd and long after converting a 3rd down. Add this blown call on top of it and it's just a rotten way to lose. Everyone keeps saying we had ample opportunity to keep the refs out of it, but what if the refs stopped you nearly every time you made a play?

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

again you imagine that there’s some group of fans on this board who believe that the referees are always right. There’s not. So you just stop. And was the ball out before his helmet hit the ground? Probably. But it was really close and I don’t know that a replay official would’ve said that there was convincing evidence to overturn the call

Just like he imagines the league-wide conspiracy.

 

[RonnieT24]

again you imagine that there’s some group of fans on this board who believe that the referees are always right. There’s not. So you just stop. And was the ball out before his helmet hit the ground? Probably. But it was really close and I don’t know that a replay official would’ve said that there was convincing evidence to overturn the call

The guy back in New York with Goodell sitting right beside him? Not a chance in hell.

 

[MyFairLady]

If only there could have been a miracle we would have won the game.

 

[glimmerman]

Let me simply put it this way. It was close enough to call a fumble and review it. The refs took it on itself to make a judgement call. Daks fumble while not that close was called a fumble and they looked at it. Look at the 2 games this season we had a opposing receiver catch the ball and make a football move and fumble and they call it incomplete. The refs can use judgement and it’s wrong sometimes. Sometimes its in games we lose.

 

[Bigdog]

I know that most of us upset that it was not called but it reminds me of a coach I had who would tell the team that like you the refs will make mistakes. Don’t put yourself in a situation where you are relying on them for the outcome of the game.

 

[jazzcat22]

again you imagine that there’s some group of fans on this board who believe that the referees are always right. There’s not. So you just stop. And was the ball out before his helmet hit the ground? Probably. But it was really close and I don’t know that a replay official would’ve said that there was convincing evidence to overturn the call

"Probably out, not enough to overturn"...wow, you are the exact type I meant.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

The guy back in New York with Goodell sitting right beside him? Not a chance in hell.

"We aren't saying there's a conspiracy!!!"

Pfffff.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

The NFL Rulebook states that any body part other than a hand or foot that touches the ground constitutes "down by contact." That means a helmet or head touching the ground would be considered down by contact.

Y'all can debate whether the ball was loose before his head touched the ground or not. I do agree with everyone that thinks that it should have been an official review by the NFL. Whether we had a remaining time-out or not should be inconsequential.

With all that said I wanted to put this here because with 99% of the "rigged" calls that go against us, a lot of the whining and consternation can be resolved with a simple understanding of the rules.

the ball was loose before any part of his body touched the ground.

 

[Hagman]

The guy back in New York with Goodell sitting right beside him? Not a chance in hell.

Well I didn’t know that the commissioner sits next to the replay official during games, lol.

 

[phildadon86]

The NFL Rulebook states that any body part other than a hand or foot that touches the ground constitutes "down by contact." That means a helmet or head touching the ground would be considered down by contact.

Y'all can debate whether the ball was loose before his head touched the ground or not. I do agree with everyone that thinks that it should have been an official review by the NFL. Whether we had a remaining time-out or not should be inconsequential.

With all that said I wanted to put this here because with 99% of the "rigged" calls that go against us, a lot of the whining and consternation can be resolved with a simple understanding of the rules.

OK. Now show video of Edmunds being taken out of bounds by parsons. Or. The hold on Dlaw that allowed the first TD for Zona. Or even better still. The delay of game. It was more than one play. I'm not saying conspiracy at all as calls are missed league wide. The officiating is horrible and something needs to change. The jets got hosed yesterday too. It's a joke

 

[Deep_South]

There is no rational reason for a team to have to have a timeout to get a correct ruling on the field. It makes no sense at all.

 

[Hagman]

"Probably out, not enough to overturn"...wow, you are the exact type I meant.

You mean the type that actually looks at a play neutrally and objectively instead of through angry homer glasses? Yeah I guess I’m that type

 

[RonnieT24]

At first, I thought his knee or helmet were down before the ball came out, but now that I can play it back slowly, it's clear the ball was loose before knee or helmet hit the ground. That was the opportunity we were asking for. If we lose, that's one thing, but it just felt like EVERY TIME we had a chance to flip the game, there was some call that stopped us from doing so. We were almost perpetually in 3rd and long after converting a 3rd down. Add this blown call on top of it and it's just a rotten way to lose. Everyone keeps saying we had ample opportunity to keep the refs out of it, but what if the refs stopped you nearly every time you made a play?

This is always my response to the "play better" crowd. The refs can screw you at any time.. no matter how good you are playing. We all know that they COULD call holding on every play.. but you ever notice how they almost never call it on a 2 yard run up the middle? Just a 20 yarder? How often do they flag us for holding on an incomplete pass? But have Dak zip one 15-20 yards down the field for a first down? Out come the flags.. AJ Green got a death grip on Diggs during the Edmunds run inside of 3 minutes where Parsons knocked him out of bounds. The ref #80 stood there the whole time not 10 feet away and just watched Green hold Diggs.. No call.. Then when Edmunds hand was the first thing that came down out of bounds he ruled somehow that the knee which came down a split second later was in .. and kept the clock running.. Or the no-call on Tank who was about to sack Murray in the end zone in the first quarter.. There were a DOZEN of these calls that screwed the Cowboys yesterday.. The Cowboys are good enough to overcome these calls against bad teams.. but they can't do it against good teams..

 

[jazzcat22]

You mean the type that actually looks at a play neutrally and objectively instead of through angry homer glasses? Yeah I guess I’m that type

No one has homer glasses on...but they do have hater glasses on.
You are proven wrong and bring out the homer crap because ...I AM CORRECT....

 

[Hagman]

No one has homer glasses on...but they do have hater glasses on.
You are proven wrong and bring out the homer crap because ...I AM CORRECT....

No you’re not correct. You’re just kind of sad and pathetic and you reach out with attacks and insults against people who see the world differently than you do.

 

[RonnieT24]

There is no rational reason for a team to have to have a timeout to get a correct ruling on the field. It makes no sense at all.

Amen.. this rule needs to get changed.. The NFL needs to prioritize getting the damn call right.. Yes it will probably slow things down initially until they get the hang of it. Remember back when replay reviews would routinely take 10 minutes? Now they get through them pretty quickly for the most part. It's like anything else, the more you do it the better you get at it.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

the ball was loose before any part of his body touched the ground.

Agreed.

The original post wasn't about saying "the ref got it right." It was about establishing what constitutes down by contact.

We're looking at it in slo-mo from different angles. The ref that was adament that it the RB was down by contact probably had the worst angle of it. With all that said, I said the league should have stepped in and reviewed the play.