Whats the Rule on Instant Replay?

[ConstantReboot]

This has been bothering me for quite some time why Dez's catch was overturned.

What are the rules for reversals? If there was insufficient evidence then why was it overturned?

I thought the responsibility of a review was to make sure that the ref on the field did not make the wrong call and that if there is not enough evidence to overturn, than the plays stands, right?

The booth review is not allowed to make interpretations on the rules and that the call on the field should trump whatever the booth is suggesting. Mainly the booth cannot override a call unless there is sufficient evidence to do so.

McCarthy challenged the call because he thought Dez bobbled the ball. Upon further review it showed that Bryant didn't bobble the ball, he caught it clean and took 3 steps. Thus the challenge should be nullified and the play should have stand.

The booth did not have the rights to make an interpretation on their own and overturn the play, PERIOD.

Thus why was this play overturned?

 

[ConstantReboot]

Opps my bad. Can I have a kind moderator delete this post? I accidentally hit post by accident once I got onto my computer.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

It depends on the refs and the guys upstairs. They felt there was sufficient evidence to turn it. I've come to grips with it but the more I look at the catch the more I think the refs and everyone else involved didn't really factor in all accounts when reviewing the call. They didn't even realize the 20+ seconds they forgot to add to the clock. They very well could've made a mistake this week like they did last week when they picked their flag up on a PI.

 

[CF74]

That its a fail?

 

[JDSmith]

It was overturned because the guys running the officials are human. They heard all of the backlash from the Lions game, and they were immediately put into position the following week to make another huge call involving the Cowboys. To make it worse, the rule invoked actually involves the Lions again because of Megatron. So had they upheld the ruling on the field there would be countless fans and pundits saying that the Cowboys get favorable treatment, the Lions are treated like second class citizens, more photos from the party bus etc... To avoid that they ruled against the Cowboys and changed the focus. Now it's on the broken officiating, not on the possibility of crooked officiating.

Honestly, I'd guess that all of the replay officials in NY were praying that the D would hold and we'd get another shot at winning. I don't think they wanted to be the deciding factor, but I don't think there was any way they would rule in that case in favor of the Cowboys if there was any chance at all of controversy one way or the other.

The conspiracy theorists had it wrong, the league doesn't care about one team getting to the Super Bowl. That doesn't affect their bottom line. But the image of the league and the perception that it's fixed could have a huge impact on their bottom line.

 

[Doc50]

This has been bothering me for quite some time why Dez's catch was overturned.

What are the rules for reversals? If there was insufficient evidence then why was it overturned?

I thought the responsibility of a review was to make sure that the ref on the field did not make the wrong call and that if there is not enough evidence to overturn, than the plays stands, right?

The booth review is not allowed to make interpretations on the rules and that the call on the field should trump whatever the booth is suggesting. Mainly the booth cannot override a call unless there is sufficient evidence to do so.

McCarthy challenged the call because he thought Dez bobbled the ball. Upon further review it showed that Bryant didn't bobble the ball, he caught it clean and took 3 steps. Thus the challenge should be nullified and the play should have stand.

The booth did not have the rights to make an interpretation on their own and overturn the play, PERIOD.

Thus why was this play overturned?

I see that you're pondering this at 2 am; I imagine most of the Cowboys are awake also, lamenting about what could have been.

Your point is well-taken. It's been unusual for this type of reversal to happen, the kind where the booth essentially concludes that the official did not interpret the rules correctly.

On the contrary, every receiver in the league, every QB and their coaches, every unbiased educated football opinion that watches this play knows that Dez had a bona fide catch. There is simply disagreement in the interpretation of the rule, its situational usage, and the definition of "football move".

So, the football gods clearly owe us one; I can sleep better knowing that, and I think we'll prevail next year. JG has promoted the same philosophical approach, and I hope the team can put it behind them as well.