Refs weren’t the Reason we lost that game?

[nightrain]

Blaming the Refs is weak. The Cowboys had 4 downs to get a first down and couldn't convert on the last drive. The Pats still had a good chance of snuffing the drive out in the red zone or sooner if it continued.

The game was lost on Monday when the team started to prepare for the Patriots. Garrett has been outcoached in close games all year. The Cowboys obviously do not take special teams seriously, the Patriots are emphatic about solid special teams play and count on them to change the game.

Yes, the call was bad, but the Cowboys got away with a number of calls through the game as well. Officiating is a big problem for the NFL and it negatively impacts all teams.

Coaching matters in the NFL and that's where the Cowboys consistently come up short.

 

[glimmerman]

Somebody needs to start off by firing the ST coach. But the refs swing that game out of our hands. At least the opportunity to win it. JG went conservative again. Cooper drops one that would have been huge.

 

[DogFace]

Coaching is the number one reason we lost.

I totally agree. But can we all agree these rare and wrongly called tripping calls were another reason?

 

[DogFace]

Blaming the Refs is weak. The Cowboys had 4 downs to get a first down and couldn't convert on the last drive. The Pats still had a good chance of snuffing the drive out in the red zone or sooner if it continued.

The game was lost on Monday when the team started to prepare for the Patriots. Garrett has been outcoached in close games all year. The Cowboys obviously do not take special teams seriously, the Patriots are emphatic about solid special teams play and count on them to change the game.

Yes, the call was bad, but the Cowboys got away with a number of calls through the game as well. Officiating is a big problem for the NFL and it negatively impacts all teams.

Coaching matters in the NFL and that's where the Cowboys consistently come up short.

What are some of the calls we got away with? Were any rare (7 called all year 2 on us) like tripping? Or as impactful had they been called?

We can attempt to fix some of our other problems. I don’t see how we can prepare to stop these strange calls from having a large impact on the game.

 

[DandyDon52]

I think Zeke took himself out of the game. It looked like he was signaling that he had a problem with his gloves or something, but that may just be the way I read it.

well that is where he should just take the gloves off, is he afraid of water and a little cold air?

 

[NickZepp]

Yeah, other than special teams coaching I have no problem with the decisions.

The FG in the end instead of going for it on 4th and 7 - I had no confidence in us scoring there

3rd and 1 pass - we don't run block well on 3rd and short.

I can see that. But again our philosophy on special teams for ever has been to be as cheap as possible with it at the top level. So why would Jerry and company expect us to be good there?

Our run offense all day was really inconsistent. It was better than it's been in recent weeks I think but they were still not consistent.

 

[BoysForLife]

What a stupid comment to make! The refs darn sure might have been the reason we lost that game!!! We will never know for sure. If they don’t call the phantom tripping penalty we just might go down and score the game winning TD.
1 penalty in the later stages of a game can definitely change the outcome of a game.

I enjoy your optimism but what makes you think that drive would have been the magical TD drive when we hadn't sniffed the end zone all game?

the refs were bad for sure. They didn't help.

But special teams and our inability to get in the end zone were the reasons for the loss.

When your defense holds the defending champs to 13 points (and 7 of those were off a blocked punt deep in your end), you should win the game. Period. End of story. No excuses.

 

[DandyDon52]

I totally agree. But can we all agree these rare and wrongly called tripping calls were another reason?

what reason would that be??
The refs are not anti cowboys, all teams get bad calls, and the only reason refs would call penaltys other than that they believe it is right call, is that the games
are fixed, and that would be for big gambling needs certain teams to not lose or win, but cover the spread or not cover it.
as it was NE did not cover the spread 6-7 point fav and they won by 4. That would mean the big money was on NE covering the spread and winning by 6 or more.

Me personally, I think NY is calling the penaltys, they tell a ref when to throw a flag, and then what it is for. Then sometimes the refs throw some on their own.
but to favor one team, it would have to be about money, not likability.

 

[DandyDon52]

What are some of the calls we got away with? Were any rare (7 called all year 2 on us) like tripping? Or as impactful had they been called?

We can attempt to fix some of our other problems. I don’t see how we can prepare to stop these strange calls from having a large impact on the game.

they could play better early and have a big lead late in games, that would help .
Anytime you wait until the last few minutes of a game to come from behind, penaltys can cause you to lose.

 

[JoeKing]

The refs were a factor once again that decided the game. This happens far too often these days. The refs need to let the players play in games until the infractions are egregious.

ST and coaching were the other factors that decided the game. Kudos to Bill Belichick.

 

[erod]

 

[Miller]

What a stupid comment to make! The refs darn sure might have been the reason we lost that game!!! We will never know for sure. If they don’t call the phantom tripping penalty we just might go down and score the game winning TD.
1 penalty in the later stages of a game can definitely change the outcome of a game.

Well they weren’t the reason we lost. In fact if you want to talk refs..if they did their job we would probably have been in a bigger hole because we blatantly held 2-3 times on the big gain Zeke screens. We also got away with PI 2-3 times. But people just chalk that up to “we deserve it.” But when we have one go against us it’s “blame the refs” It’s pathetic. We lost because of special teams, the Pats D and our coaching being afraid to be aggressive.

 

[king987]

The officiating is infuriating, even more so because the NFL doesn't care as long as they're raking in the green.

But this team continues to give the officials chances to cost them games. And by team, I'm mainly talking about the coaching staff that continues to put their players in terrible positions.

 

[Silverz1972]

Disagree. This is good defense and it tough to continuously execute and get bs calls over turn the play.

One missed tripping call was bad. But two is unheard of. I’m guess it was the same guy calling both. Tripping calls are not even a common call. I doubt if there has been more than a couple handfuls this year.

 

[Jake]

We can attempt to fix some of our other problems. I don’t see how we can prepare to stop these strange calls from having a large impact on the game.

Seems like a good idea. If the Cowboys don't hand the Patriots 10 points with two costly mistakes in our own territory a blown call has less impact.

 

[mahoneybill]

The Pats only scored 2 FGs and a TD they got because it was a 12 yard drive after a turnover. Dallas outgained NE both passing and rushing.

The loss was on the ST Coach, the phantom penalties and the fact the game was bad weather on the road.

Agree. To me the end score was a lot closer than I anticipated. I went into this game with the feeling that we would lose in the end with a bigger margin.

That said we played well in the conditions and to me the reasons you cited were the difference. Hopefully the team takes on a we can play with anyone going forward.

That said we need a new ST coach, and a new HC.. 10 years is enough of Red Ball....

I'm a senior Cowboys fan from the 60's so know the drought times, the struggles of Landry , and JG is no Tom Landry and to me doesn't deserve an extension...

 

[Fritsch_the_cat]

Blaming the Refs is weak. The Cowboys had 4 downs to get a first down and couldn't convert on the last drive.

But they did convert, and it was brought back because of the phantom tripping penalty. It's hard enough to convert a third down, especially against a team like the Patriots. That fake tripping penalty forced the Cowboys to do it twice, first time it worked, second time it didn't.

I agree they should have overcame it and made the play they needed to, but you can't absolve the refs just because you hate Garrett. I don't like the coaching either but the refs forced the Cowboys to try to do the same thing twice, second time even tougher.

 

[mahoneybill]

Disagree. This is good defense and it tough to continuously execute and get bs calls over turn the play.

One missed tripping call was bad. But two is unheard of. I’m guess it was the same guy calling both. Tripping calls are not even a common call. I doubt if there has been more than a couple handfuls this year.

Saw elsewhere that we are the team that has had this " phantom call" called the most .....

To me if someone uses their let to take out the other leg " traditional tripping" thats what should be called not some incidental contact which appeared to be the case , and I'm sure goes on in every play.

 

[Dalmations202]

If you owned an entertainment business, how much control would you want of every part of it you could have? Would you want control of the FTE's, the building costs, the food costs, the PRODUCT that is marketed and bought by the public? I know I would want to maximize profit and let many involved get a piece of the prize so they wouldn't complain too much and would put forth the best product they could. I would have to look at it from the big picture and not from a local market. And I would control everything that I possibly could from the socks to the jocks. With this said, the NFL is a business. Why should control of officiating be considered anything but a standard -- it is entertainment for them to keep the games close at least. Control the product, and control the expenses and every part of it you can -- this is how you put out a quality product that will last and be profitable.

 

[Fritsch_the_cat]

The refs need to let the players play in games until the infractions are egregious.

That's the thing about both of those tripping penalties. It's not like they were arguable, where you could say, well, it could have went either way. Both were absolutely horrible, phantom penalties. That guy was looking for a reason to throw a flag. I'm not saying he was intentionally looking to screw the Cowboys, just that he was way over-zealous.