Refs blow it again! Dez Bryant non-catch in Cowboys - Packers game

[Mflint]

Sorry Deus is correct, making a football move doesn't matter if the receiver is going to the ground.
The receiver has to maintain possesion through the contact with the ground.

Knew it was incomplete after the first replay.
The ball came out of his hands after the ball contacted the ground.

BTW:
Romo is soft.
Rodgers is absolutely the best QB in the league.
Would rather face the Seahawks

You'd really face the Seahawks? Really? You must not have watched them play much lately. If the Patriots face them in the Superbowl the best hope is that Seattle over play... too aggressive. Then Brady might be able to burn them. But if Seattle plays in control I see it being a very tough game. Time will tell!

 

[unoriginal]

Agree with the call, Bryant is going to the ground and the ball is jarred out when it touches.

Really doesn't matter how fast he was going and how much ground he covers while doing so.

Danny posted an abridged gif on page 1 but here's the full "catch":

If instead of him losing control to the ground a safety was there to blast him at his third footstep at the two and jar the ball that way nobody says boo about this. Somehow falling to the ground has become a football move.

 

[letekro]

Agree with the call, Bryant is going to the ground and the ball is jarred out when it touches.

Really doesn't matter how fast he was going and how much ground he covers while doing so.

Danny posted an abridged gif on page 1 but here's the full "catch":

If instead of him losing control to the ground a safety was there to blast him at his third footstep at the two and jar the ball that way nobody says boo about this. Somehow falling to the ground has become a football move.

He catches the ball at the 5, moves it to his left hand and reaches for the goal line. Arguably, that's a football move (arguably not, but to me the catch and and the reaching for the pylon are two different moves). The FJ is right there watching the whole thing and ruled it a catch. Was he unaware of the Calvin Johnson rule, or did he determine that there was an interruption of the "catch process"? We'll never know. Very different btw, from the Calvin Johnson rule where the catch process was never interrupted by another move.

 

[Brewskies]

The NFL wanted GB to win Bad rule, Bad call

 

[Joker]

Whatever...Jerry Jones needs to call up his buddy, Robert K. and talk him into crap canning this Scumissioner...GB and Rodgers got every call in the book today, just like Manning is getting the Steratore Knob Polish routine tonight. Laughing jackazzdell with his scripted denials while sitting AT the Pats playoff game watching us get SCREWED all game by wacked out ref calls makes it very clear. HE is the E-N-E-M-Y. He is the nemesis of every single Pats fan alive on this planet. HE MUST GO!!! Jerry...talk some sense into Robert...get OUR league back on even footing.

 

[unoriginal]

He catches the ball at the 5, moves it to his left hand and reaches for the goal line. Arguably, that's a football move (arguably not, but to me the catch and and the reaching for the pylon are two different moves). The FJ is right there watching the whole thing and ruled it a catch. Was he unaware of the Calvin Johnson rule, or did he determine that there was an interruption of the "catch process"? We'll never know. Very different btw, from the Calvin Johnson rule where the catch process was never interrupted by another move.

If he's going to the ground, and the ground forces it out, it's incomplete.

My guess is the FJ didn't see the ball touch the ground in real time. In the gif its not clear the ball touches the ground, it sort of looks like his forearm is under it.

On a similar play if the defender knocks it out at that point (Bryant moved ball to left hand) I can't possibly see it ruled a fumble. I.e. the Sterling Moore-Lee Evans play.

 

[BradyManny]

I think that SHOULD be a catch - but per the rules, it seems like the right call was ultimately made. I'd rather be the rule such that what Bryant did is a catch.

 

[letekro]

If he's going to the ground, and the ground forces it out, it's incomplete.

My guess is the FJ didn't see the ball touch the ground in real time. In the gif its not clear the ball touches the ground, it sort of looks like his forearm is under it.

On a similar play if the defender knocks it out at that point (Bryant moved ball to left hand) I can't possibly see it ruled a fumble. I.e. the Sterling Moore-Lee Evans play.

The rule says:

"If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact with an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete."

I've bolded and underlined the critical part, which you are not focusing on. In my view, the "act of catching a pass" was over when he started reaching for the pylon. This makes the ball coming out upon hitting the ground irrelevant. IMO, the rule is meant to capture situations like the Calvin Johnson play or Amendola play, where there the catch process is still going on when the player goes to the ground.

 

[letekro]

This video shows the inconsistency. In my view, all three (Cruz, Johnson, Bryant) should be catches, but only the Cruz catch was so ruled.

 

[Triumph]

Perreira said, on tv, that you only need to perform an act common to the game. Then it's already a catch.

He also said the ground cant cause a fumble but it can cause and incomplete pass.

 

[Triumph]

Its been discussed ad nauseum that you must maintain possession of a reception all the way through the catch.

The ball can hit the ground as long as it does not move. Its clear that Bryants reception hit the ground and moved.

End story.

 

[letekro]

Its been discussed ad nauseum that you must maintain possession of a reception all the way through the catch.

The ball can hit the ground as long as it does not move. Its clear that Bryants reception hit the ground and moved.

End story.

highlighted the critical part of your statement. Question is when the catch is completed. If the catch is completed and a football move is made, then it doesn't matter that the ball comes out on the ground. See the rule excerpt above and the video of the Cruz catch, which was called properly. Judgment call is whehter Dez was reaching out to the pylon as a separate move after the catch or part of the catch. Answering that is not as cut and dried as you suggest.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

They lost 26 seconds in the Dez Bryant reversal call that could have made a difference. Is it too much to ask that they have a little competence? They had the time to get it right. It didn't take 36 seconds to run the play.....A billion dollar organization that is run like a lemonade stand...

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2015011100/2014/POST19/cowboys@packers#menu=gameinfo|contentId%3A0ap3000000456765&tab=analyze&analyze=playbyplay
· 4-2-GB 32 (4:42) (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass deep left to 88-D.Bryant to GB 1 for 31 yards (37-S.Shields). Green Bay challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was REVERSED. (Shotgun) 9-T.Romo pass incomplete deep left to 88-D.Bryant (37-S.Shields). Yard marker changed due to change of passession.
· Green Bay Packers at 04:06
· 1-10-GB 33 (4:06) (Shotgun) 27-E.Lacy right end to GB 35 for 2 yards (42-B.Church).
-------------------------------------------------
Mike Pereira ‏@MikePereira 15m15 minutes ago
While the reversal in replay was correct, the clock should have been reset to 4:32. 26 seconds lost.

 

[RayClay]

He also said the ground cant cause a fumble but it can cause and incomplete pass.

So, if he extended his arms more before he hit the ground it would and wouldn't be a catch.

Makes sense to me.

 

[fnordcircle]

Right ruling. Bad/questionable rule. Tuck Rule esque.

If you look at that play that's clearly a guy who catches the ball, secures it, takes 3 steps, reaches for the endzone and fumbles, then recovers or was already down by contact.

The rule is stupid.

 

[TomPatriot]

It amazes me that an official can think that catching the ball in the air, hands above your head at the 5 yard line, falling forward, taking three steps and lunging at the pylon before hitting the ground - all with the ball in your hands and then cradled in your left arm and hand - is not "completing the process." This is especially true where your knee hits the ground before the ball is jarred loose by the ground.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

This has been a terrible playoff year for the officials.

They have been awful, inconsistent and out of sync. Clearly something needs to be done.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I personally think the league has convoluted these rules so much they don't even know what the right call is.

Actually the rule is supposed to take judgement out of it in the name of consistency but they do seem to make rules for rules that end up making some of them hard to interpret.

 

[rochrist]

Perreira broke it down, multiple times. It was a textbook example of a non-catch. You can hate the outcome, and you can hate the rule, but that's not the same as the play being a catch under today's rules.

I agree that by rule it was incomplete, but I also disagree with the rule. What the should have been was an outstanding clutch catch.

 

[rochrist]

Falling down is not a football move unless your name is Brandon Lloyd.

Oh, you're back. Any comment on McCourty?