This day in Cowboys history - The Dez Bryant Catch

[Staubacher]

The ball hitting the ground is the whole crux of the call. If it's kept off the ground, it was a catch the whole way but once it bobbled after that and came out of his possession that's what did it.

The NFL changed the rule and admitted Dez caught it

 

[MarcusRock]

For those so inclined to relive that painful moment, I believe the NFLN is replaying that game tonight. Enjoy!

If you can block out the emotion of all that happened towards the end, it was a great game. The Cowboys went to the vaunted Lambeau and gave them a real run for their money.

 

[McKDaddy]

I still don’t think he caught it. He trapped it and it hit the ground. When he gets up he wasn’t throwing up no X, or being cocky. He knew it moved.

So, the complete control, changing hands, stepping over a defender & lunging for the goal line wasn't enough to say he caught it?

 

[ATXSRT]

Let's not forget.... before all that mess Murray fumbled the ball away that gave them a ton of momentum. Shouldn't even have come down to this if Murray just runs to the endzone, that hole was so huge any of us could have ran thru it.

 

[Canadian BoyzFan]

He caught it. Two steps and then a football move (extending for the GL).

Anyhow Shields knocked the ball out while he was trying to extend the ball, they wouldve said it was a fumble

For the record - Shields even said it was catch.

 

[MarcusRock]

The NFL changed the rule and admitted Dez caught it

They did not. After they changed the rule years later, after Jesse James' no-catch, they gave examples stating that plays like Dez' would now be catches, not that they ruled it wrong at the time. There was a whole thread here where folks misunderstood that. I fought the good fight there but this misinformation still remains. Lol.

 

[McKDaddy]

Per the NFL rules of the day, Dez did not catch the ball.....the correct call was made!

It still wasn't the rule of the day. The rule said if you were "going to the ground". Anyone should have been able to distinguish between going to the ground in order to make the catch versus catching it in a vertical position & then later lunging to get more yardage.

 

[fivetwos]

Why throw a bomb on 4th and 2 with that much time left?

They needed to convert and further reduce the clock.

Rodgers took the ball from there and we couldn’t stop them. Why would it have been different if Dez scored?

 

[Aven8]

So, the complete control, changing hands, stepping over a defender & lunging for the goal line wasn't enough to say he caught it?

Not when the ball hits the ground and pops out

 

[Blackspider214]

Still think it was the wrong decision to go for that play on a 4th and 2. Had stuff underneath to keep the chains moving and a new set of downs.

That play is way down the list of what bothered me about that game. Even if caught, GB was getting the ball back with plenty of time left to win the game.

So much leading up to that play that was much worse.

1. There was a ball that hit the ground they let stand as a catch for GB and they ended up scoring a TD on that drive. Can't remember which part of the game this was at.

2. A bad spot put us at a 4th down instead of a 1st towards end of the 1st half. I think we missed a FG on that drive and GB gets ball back and get points before half.

3. Murray fumbled with a clear path to the endzone or at worst, getting tackled close to GB's endzone with a 14-10 lead. Could have really started to take control here.

4. After going up 21-13, Packers fumble on the ensuing kickoff. The ball popped up for as easy of recovery you can have. We whiffed on it and Packers recover. We could have easily went up 24 or 28-13 had we recoverd. Never see this play mentioned but this was huge.

5. On a 3rd and long, Rodgers hits Adams on a very long pass for a TD.

6. After the over turned Dez catch, defense had 2 or 3 opportunities to get off the field, including a 3rd and long and failed on them all.

 

[WillieBeamen]

It still wasn't the rule of the day. The rule said if you were "going to the ground". Anyone should have been able to distinguish between going to the ground in order to make the catch versus catching it in a vertical position & then later lunging to get more yardage.

 

[MarcusRock]

Let's not forget.... before all that mess Murray fumbled the ball away that gave them a ton of momentum. Shouldn't even have come down to this if Murray just runs to the endzone, that hole was so huge any of us could have ran thru it.

There was a safety in the secondary that was going to have a chance at a play but even a FG there would have tightened the stranglehold on them.

 

[FloridaRob]

That’s okay. If the game on Sunday unfolds like the odds makers predict, you won’t be back here to see us talking about it.

Of course I will. I have been here since the week Rodgers went in for Favre and you guys said he would never amount to much. If Packer do not win, I hope the Cowboys win the Super Bowl. I like McCarthy and think it would be awesome to see him win another one.

 

[WillieBeamen]

Not when the ball hits the ground and pops out

He caught the ball in a vertical position…

It was the rule about time. It was Article 3, Item 1 in the 2014 NFL Rulebook, which establishes that "a forward pass is complete" when a player "secures control of the ball in his hands or arms...touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands "..and then "maintains control of the ball long enough...to enable him to perform any act common to the game...." And that's where Garrett takes issue, because to his mind the act that Dez Bryant performed was so uncommon to the game it not only satisfied but exceeded any possible conditions the NFL could dream up.

 

[Blackspider214]

Why throw a bomb on 4th and 2 with that much time left?

They needed to convert and further reduce the clock.

Rodgers took the ball from there and we couldn’t stop them. Why would it have been different if Dez scored?

Absolutely. That was a terrible decision on a 4th and 2. This is the type of play you do on 2nd and short or 1st and 10 to see if you can hit something big. We scream at Mike for these types of play calls all the time on 3rd downs. They make no sense. Hit Beasley or Witten underneath and keep the drive moving. The goal there was to not score quickly but to drain clock and score. Defense had zero answer for Rodgers in the 2nd half. And Rodgers was playing on one leg that game.

That overturned play doesn't bother me as much as my list I just replied with.

 

[The Quest for Six]

It still wasn't the rule of the day. The rule said if you were "going to the ground". Anyone should have been able to distinguish between going to the ground in order to make the catch versus catching it in a vertical position & then later lunging to get more yardage.

You had to maintain possession throughout the process of the catch......Dez did NOT maintain possession, the ball came out when he hit the ground, END OF STORY!

 

[WoodysGirl]

 

[McKDaddy]

He caught it. Two steps and then a football move (extending for the GL).

Anyhow Shields knocked the ball out while he was trying to extend the ball, they wouldve said it was a fumble

A non cowboys guy & I were talking about the play a few days later. He was arguing it wasn't a catch. I said well what if a GB player had grabbed the ball as it moved, wouldn't they have ruled it a fumble with clear recovery? You can't fumble it if you don't possess it.

He thought about it for a few minutes & agreed that is exactly what would have happened and he withdrew his contention that it wasn't a catch.

 

[MarcusRock]

You had to maintain possession throughout the process of the catch......Dez did NOT maintain possession, the ball came out when he hit the ground, END OF STORY!

Yeah, people are quoting the catch rule but not one of the exception cases that overrides the catch rule and those requirements have to be followed instead. That rule is a major part of why I highlight the holding rule exceptions present-day. People just don't know them or the mechanics of them to make a beeline to "robbery."

 

[DanTanna]

He caught it, took THREE steps and dove to the endzone. The Cowboys have had numerous rules "made up" right on the field in real time over the years.