The botched coin toss thread

[MikeB80]

Demarcus Lawrence just admitted it was his fault. He said they were supposed to say DEFER but they said KICK instead. Lawrence thought they wanted the ball first and Dak said KICK.

He just admitted Dallas screwed this up.

 

[MikeB80]

NFL officials say you’re wrong. That’s the real End of story.

Nope.

 

[glimmerman]

Just another way of putting drama in a game...

 

[HungryLion]

Nope.

Keep telling yourself that. Game log says the cowboys received the kick in the second half.

 

[MikeB80]

Keep telling yourself that. Game log says the cowboys received the kick in the second half.

and lawrence just said the reality. They screwed up and said kick.

the NY office over ruled walt anderson and gave dallas the ball.

 

[HungryLion]

and lawrence just said the reality. They screwed up and said kick.

the NY office over ruled walt anderson and gave dallas the ball.

I never said they didn’t say “kick”. I admitted they said kick.

what I said was. They then corrected themselves and clarified. Which is why the league gave them the ball.

I also said official have to use common sense when making decisions. Of course the cowboys didn’t want to kick both halves. It’s common sense.

 

[MarcusRock]

OMG. There are 3 options at a coin toss, He picked kick and pointed. That is one of the choices.

end of story. You have to say what you mean.

I believe this is correct. Someone mentioned that Dak "clarified" his choice after saying "kick." Per the rules, you don't even get a chance to clarify your coin toss call if you say one thing and then try to clarify a different way even if the official flubs the actual toss.

 

[MysteryIceGuro]

I think all parties had brain farts. Dak saying “kick” and “we defer the 2nd half” (??) is weird, but it’s kinda obvious what he meant. He wanted to defer the ball. The refs were being dumb in this situation as well. Only in Dallas do you find situations like these . Hopefully it won’t happen again. As long as the refs and the NFL fixed the situation, who cares anymore?

 

[Nav22]

Walt Anderson’s a clown for this.

Even if Dak didn’t use the word “defer” (which he did), common sense should’ve prevailed.

OBVIOUSLY Dak didn’t want to NOT have possession to start either half.

Anderson could’ve made the common-sense call and explained to Dak/Garrett later on that, “Hey, in the future, you need to use the word ‘defer’, otherwise...”

Don’t ruin a game over a technicality.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Why would the word "kick" even come out of your mouth, though?

If you want to defer, that should be basically the only word you say when the ref asks what your choice is.

 

[NorthTexan95]

He won’t make that mistake again

He shouldn't have made that mistake the first time.

 

[TheDuke]

He shouldn't have made that mistake the first time.

I agree.

 

[AbeBeta]

Demarcus Lawrence just admitted it was his fault. He said they were supposed to say DEFER but they said KICK instead. Lawrence thought they wanted the ball first and Dak said KICK.

He just admitted Dallas screwed this up.

There is no reason for the refs to ignore Dak's clarification.

Really the only reason there was controversy.

 

[MarcusRock]

There is no reason for the refs to ignore Dak's clarification.

Really the only reason there was controversy.

I don't see anything in the rules about getting to clarify one's choice. Dak made one initially.

 

[Gangsta Spanksta]

Obviously the o line didn't give him enough time to make the correct call.

he audibled

 

[MikeB80]

I don't see anything in the rules about getting to clarify one's choice. Dak made one initially.

Yep. Why these guys can' t realize this is odd.

Its the equivalent of calling a timeout and then saying no we didn't I said i don't want a timeout. They are going to take the timeout.

Jerry in the post game said he is going to need to send some different people out for the coin toss next week.

 

[HungryLion]

I don't see anything in the rules about getting to clarify one's choice. Dak made one initially.

Of course the rulebook doesn’t say In black and white that a player can clarify. But there is such a thing as common sense.

it’s no different of a concept, than referees turning a blind eye to offensive or defensive pass interference on say a Hail Mary pass. We all know that by the letter of the rulebook, pass interference occurs in those situations, but the referees use their judgment in those circumstances.

The NFL office in New York used their judgement and determined that they were willing to accept the clarification. Which is just a common sense decision to make.

 

[lurkercowboy]

Dumb question maybe, but why would a team ever want to kickoff for both halves?

Why even have this as an option?

Sometimes if weather is a factor a team might want to choose a particular goal to defend so they will have the wind in their favor in the fourth quarter. I remember Parcells doing this with the Giants more than once.

 

[aikemirv]

The NFL was right to give the cowboys the ball.

No team would willingly choose to kick the ball to start both halves. Dak’s intent was clear.

Yep stupid ref in that case-just ridiculous that it was even an issue-unless it’s a weather game no one would choose that.

 

[DandyTom64]

Yea but I am willing to bet when we move passed statutory law and start looking at the case law we will find that most cases see it being ruled this way.

Edit: sorry that law school ruined me lol

Ruined a lot of people.