Taylor Decker reporting his eligibility to the refs

[DFWJC]

Illegal formation.

That wasn’t the call though

 

[droopdog7]

Here is what I saw; 68 talking to the ref, likely reporting as eligible. 70 runs over late, does not appear to get the attention of the ref but seems satisfied. Play ends with 68 catching the td (not 70, who may not have reported). So what went wrong?

Second, I assume the refs have to tell the defense that someone reported as eligible? How else would they know?

 

[Chasing6]

That was BONKERS. If that happened to Dallas this board would be a NUCLEAR MELTDOWN.

I don’t know what happened any more than anyone else watching, but he CLEARLY said something to the ref.

Glad we gutted out a win versus a top team. Dak played super, CD was BANANAS, and fortunately Dan Campbell is a bigger idiot than MM.

Curt Warner said either way he was covered by a split end. So regardless if he did report, it was an illegal man down field, and illegal touching.

 

[StuckMojo]

Moot point in the end, because the WR covered Decker. WR needed to be in a Flanker position. So it's an illegal formation, also an illegal touch. Decker was never eligible simply based on the formation

St Brown was off the line leaving Decker uncovered but fortunately for us the ref didn’t hear Decker.

 

[McKDaddy]

It's not the responsibility of the ref to assist in the player "not drawing attention" to themselves. Eligible lineman is supposed to be announced to the defense over the loudspeaker and in person (that's what Allen is doing when he goes over and talks to the defense). When they heard Allen didn't announce 68 they shouldn't have run the play.

They did not announce it on the speaker though so Lions didn't know Allen hadn't heard. Least that is what they said on post game.

My biggest issue is that Allen "ran" away while they Detroit players are clearly trying to communicate with him. Clock was stopped. No reason to rush his job.

 

[Cowboys5217]

Not surprising the talking heads are ignoring the other two penalties and are only lamenting whether both players reported or not.

It's to try and drown out that the majority of people see that the Cowboys get screwed in general by the officiating. The talking points have gone out.

 

[StuckMojo]

Curt Warner said either way he was covered by a split end. So regardless if he did report, it was an illegal man down field, and illegal touching.

There are photos in Kurt’s tweet showing Kurt was wrong. St Brown was off the line.

 

[JW82]

Here is what I saw; 68 talking to the ref, likely reporting as eligible. 70 runs over late, does not appear to get the attention of the ref but seems satisfied. Play ends with 68 catching the td (not 70, who may not have reported). So what went wrong?

Second, I assume the refs have to tell the defense that someone reported as eligible? How else would they know?

Yes if linemen are eligible receivers they have to tell the refs. The ref then announces it over the mic that number 68 and 70 are reporting eligible. They only announced 70. So either he did not report, or the ref missed it. Had they announced it, he would have been accounted for.

 

[ATXSRT]

Even if he did report as eligible it was an illegal formation, so it doesn't matter.

 

[Starstruck22]

It does not matter if he reported. It is an illegal formation because decker is uncovered anyway so regardless it is not 2 points

 

[Roadtrip635]

 

[zrinkill]

He reported in. The Lions won that game. What if that happened to Dallas when the season mattered? They should award the game to the Lions and fire that ref. It’s really not about the officiating, nobody cares if you blew the whistle or missed a call, replay it and get it right.

Bull

 

[Shotgun Dave]

Curt Warner said either way he was covered by a split end. So regardless if he did report, it was an illegal man down field, and illegal touching.

Hey, I’m thrilled with it. I’m just saying…that’s not what they called. The officiating this year has been trash, IMO, and this is gonna be gas on that fire.

 

[Starstruck22]

Exactly he was not covered right?

Yes

 

[Amarillofan82]

I don't think there is much doubt they were trying to confuse the defense. Send three guys over, the defense won't know which one is eligible. Except they have to know and the ref has to let them know.

Exactly. If you declare someone eligible the defense gets a heads up. No masking allowed. The Lions sent three players over to try and confuse the refs into allowing one of the 3 players to catch the ball.

 

[AmericanCowboy]

I think the bigger issue is with three linemen going to speak to the ref- why were three going there?

 

[MC8828]

Its amazing how many of you guys dont know what being covered means for eligible receivers. He was not covered up. #8 is off the line and #68 is the last player on the line on the left side. I dont know if he reported or not, but it was not an illegal formation.

 

[DFWJC]

Curt Warner said either way he was covered by a split end. So regardless if he did report, it was an illegal man down field, and illegal touching.

Kurt said that but refs and video have confirmed he was wrong

and the-refs did not call it either

 

[LovinItAll]

We have no idea what Decker said or didn’t say, and it’s definitely his responsibility to make sure the ref gets the message.

Damn shame /s

 

[VaqueroTD]

I’m glad someone tweeted this. They said it during the game that either way it was a penalty.

Thanks. I trust Kurt Warner on this. Smart dude.