DMN: NFL VP of Officiating: It’s not unreasonable to watch everything Dez did and think

[nathanlt]

I'll stay out of it so it doesn't turn into another food fight.

Might as well. You don't have an NFL rule to support your argument anymore. All you have is a clip of what happened after "down by contact", after the CATCH.

 

[fishspill]

I get the impression the NFL was hoping to make things simple and consistent, but failed miserably in the codification and application of the rule. In the simplest, observable terms they wanted a player to control the ball fully through the entirety of the motion of the play. No juggle, no moving, no shifting until all bodies cease movement. The application occurs any time a body or ball is tended toward the ground at the end of a play. In an attempt to write this into words, they tried to eliminate subjectivity but failed at the enterprise. Their words say Dez made the catch; the spirit of the rule says he didn't.

 

[nathanlt]

I get the impression the NFL was hoping to make things simple and consistent, but failed miserably in the codification and application of the rule. In the simplest, observable terms they wanted a player to control the ball fully through the entirety of the motion of the play. No juggle, no moving, no shifting until all bodies cease movement. The application occurs any time a body or ball is tended toward the ground at the end of a play. In an attempt to write this into words, they tried to eliminate subjectivity but failed at the enterprise. Their words say Dez made the catch; the spirit of the rule says he didn't.

Yes, It's possible that they meant for the receiver to hold onto the ball for 3 seconds after catching it, or something like that. But if they couldn't even write that down, they sure weren't all that serious about it.

On the other hand, the spirit of the rule could have been a million different other things, but since they weren't able to capture it in words, we will never know.

 

[cowboyvic]

I don't give a crap with Stephen Jones, the NFL or Blandino says. Dez caught that ball. and the cowboys were cheated out of a chance to go to the Suoer Bowl.. Stephen Jones is a disgrace for not fighting for the players,coaches and fans. 2 playoff wins in going on 20 years, and we get screwed out of a chance to go to the Super Bowl, and this fool says this. he is a disgrace and a joke. tells me he does not give a damn about winning a championship. he cares about being in good standing with his buds in the NFL. and making money. this makes me sick!

 

[blindzebra]

http://********.com/nfl-changes-the...source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Via former VP of Officiating Mike Pereira on Twitter, the new rule gets rid of language about a “football move.” Here’s how it will read:

A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

And for comparison’s sake, here is the relevant portion of the old rule (emphasis mine):

A player who makes a catch may advance the ball. A forward pass iscomplete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) if a player, who is inbounds: a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and c) maintains control of the ball long enough, after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, to enable him to perform any actcommon to the game (i.e., maintaining control long enough to pitch it, pass it, advance with it, or avoid or ward off anopponent, etc.).

[...]

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contactby an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the fieldof play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the passis incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

Pereira tweets that this new wording makes it so that Bryant’s catch would have been “clearly incomplete,” but I’m not so sure. Now, instead of watching the above clip and determining whether or not Bryant performed a football move, you have to determine whether or not he remained upright long enough to “demonstrate that he is clearly a runner.” I guess I would agree that he isn’t a runner in the above clip, but he did manage to take two steps and propel himself forward. What if he had taken a third step before falling, would that be considered running?

Besides the fact that the rule remains ambiguous, the NFL is going in the wrong direction. Dez Bryant’s catch, like Calvin Johnson’s five years before, was an incredible feat of athleticism, and a highly exciting play. The rule was applied correctly in both cases, but that’s precisely the problem, as the practical application of this rule is to take away exciting-as-all-hell catches that would be considered catches everywhere ... except the NFL rule book.

The NFL has traded one ambiguously worded rule for another, and the new one will be even more likely to take away phenomenal plays. That seems backwards.​

 

[nathanlt]

http://********.com/nfl-changes-the...source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Via former VP of Officiating Mike Pereira on Twitter, the new rule gets rid of language about a “football move.” Here’s how it will read:

A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

And for comparison’s sake, here is the relevant portion of the old rule (emphasis mine):

A player who makes a catch may advance the ball. A forward pass iscomplete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) if a player, who is inbounds: a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and c) maintains control of the ball long enough, after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, to enable him to perform any actcommon to the game (i.e., maintaining control long enough to pitch it, pass it, advance with it, or avoid or ward off anopponent, etc.).

[...]

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contactby an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the fieldof play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the passis incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

Pereira tweets that this new wording makes it so that Bryant’s catch would have been “clearly incomplete,” but I’m not so sure. Now, instead of watching the above clip and determining whether or not Bryant performed a football move, you have to determine whether or not he remained upright long enough to “demonstrate that he is clearly a runner.” I guess I would agree that he isn’t a runner in the above clip, but he did manage to take two steps and propel himself forward. What if he had taken a third step before falling, would that be considered running?

Besides the fact that the rule remains ambiguous, the NFL is going in the wrong direction. Dez Bryant’s catch, like Calvin Johnson’s five years before, was an incredible feat of athleticism, and a highly exciting play. The rule was applied correctly in both cases, but that’s precisely the problem, as the practical application of this rule is to take away exciting-as-all-hell catches that would be considered catches everywhere ... except the NFL rule book.

The NFL has traded one ambiguously worded rule for another, and the new one will be even more likely to take away phenomenal plays. That seems backwards.​

Oh wow, even after rewriting the rule, Dez still caught the ball for the 2015-16 version of it. Let's see, Dez kept control of the ball after INITIAL CONTACT with the ground, for a full second, to boot. The initial contact?

Dez's first step. Not to mention he had 2 additional steps and both elbows down with no ball movement.

Blandino STILL can't put into writing how to take that catch away from Dez, 6 months later!

 

[DogFace]

Oh wow, even after rewriting the rule, Dez still caught the ball for the 2015-16 version of it. Let's see, Dez kept control of the ball after INITIAL CONTACT with the ground, for a full second, to boot. The initial contact?

Dez's first step. Not to mention he had 2 additional steps and both elbows down with no ball movement.

Blandino STILL can't put into writing how to take that catch away from Dez, 6 months later!

Yes I'm sure they would claim he didn't hold onto it long enough to satisfy the catch rule. Like he didn't make "enough" of a football move. I'd love to hear their explanation of how long satisfies this rule change.

This change is a laughable attempt to cover up an obvious, to most, error.

 

[cowboyvic]

Yes I'm sure they would claim he didn't hold onto it long enough to satisfy the catch rule. Like he didn't make "enough" of a football move. I'd love to hear their explanation of how long satisfies this rule change.

This change is a laughable attempt to cover up an obvious, to most, error.

It's all BS. Dez caught that ball and they know it. and anyone with a brain and two eyes know it. the NFL,Blandino and the media have been lying about this since it happen. and they are still lying about it. DEZ CAUGHT THAT BALL. the cowboys were cheated out of a chance to play for a trip to the Super Bowl.and i am still sicken about it.and nobody has been fired. this is a disgrace. i am still pissed.

 

[Don Corleone]

Please get Mike Pereira off of TV. These armchair refs add nothing to the game.

 

[ConstantReboot]

http://********.com/nfl-changes-the...source=deadspin_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow

Via former VP of Officiating Mike Pereira on Twitter, the new rule gets rid of language about a “football move.” Here’s how it will read:

A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

And for comparison’s sake, here is the relevant portion of the old rule (emphasis mine):

A player who makes a catch may advance the ball. A forward pass iscomplete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) if a player, who is inbounds: a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and c) maintains control of the ball long enough, after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, to enable him to perform any actcommon to the game (i.e., maintaining control long enough to pitch it, pass it, advance with it, or avoid or ward off anopponent, etc.).

[...]

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contactby an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the fieldof play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the passis incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

Pereira tweets that this new wording makes it so that Bryant’s catch would have been “clearly incomplete,” but I’m not so sure. Now, instead of watching the above clip and determining whether or not Bryant performed a football move, you have to determine whether or not he remained upright long enough to “demonstrate that he is clearly a runner.” I guess I would agree that he isn’t a runner in the above clip, but he did manage to take two steps and propel himself forward. What if he had taken a third step before falling, would that be considered running?

Besides the fact that the rule remains ambiguous, the NFL is going in the wrong direction. Dez Bryant’s catch, like Calvin Johnson’s five years before, was an incredible feat of athleticism, and a highly exciting play. The rule was applied correctly in both cases, but that’s precisely the problem, as the practical application of this rule is to take away exciting-as-all-hell catches that would be considered catches everywhere ... except the NFL rule book.

The NFL has traded one ambiguously worded rule for another, and the new one will be even more likely to take away phenomenal plays. That seems backwards.​

This entire rule is silly. The NFL is doing nothing more than damage control to what is otherwise a very bad call. Dez's catch was a normal, average catch during any game in the NFL. This rule makes it even more ambiguous in stating that any catch can now be ruled not a catch based on interpretation of an official looking at a play from instant replay.

Dez's catch should have stood because there was no conclusive evidence to overturn it. The original call was that it was a catch.For them to be making excuses even till today means that they know they messed up and they needed some kind of PR spin to make up for the wrong that they did.

 

[percyhoward]

I get the impression the NFL was hoping to make things simple and consistent, but failed miserably in the codification and application of the rule. In the simplest, observable terms they wanted a player to control the ball fully through the entirety of the motion of the play. No juggle, no moving, no shifting until all bodies cease movement. The application occurs any time a body or ball is tended toward the ground at the end of a play. In an attempt to write this into words, they tried to eliminate subjectivity but failed at the enterprise. Their words say Dez made the catch; the spirit of the rule says he didn't.

I would really hope the spirit of the rule was "catch it, get 2 feet down, and go."

 

[Everson24]

Well it certainly is reassuring that the group who made a decision that 99% of people, regardless of team affiliation, disagree with doesn't think we are all being unreasonable. Mass insanity or a really bad decision in a heated and pressure-packed environment that supports said bad decision? That's a toughie.

What I like to say s this: If that same play in the same game situation happened to TY Hilton and Andrew Luck in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots, what do you think the nations reaction would have been? Because it happened to the hated Dallas Cowboys everyone thinks we are whiners and just can't let it go and move on.

Give me a break! This was a far more egregious and shady way to lose a game than a few slightly deflated footballs in a cold weather game. This outcome was decided by Dean Blandino and John Mara watching the game in a New York office.