detroitdad
Royal Flush
Go Lions
3 huge plays......jeremy ross KO return to the 5 and the shanked punt were killers in regards to field position at that time in the game....and I will be interested to hear nfl explanation of the pass interference call reversal.
Retired ref was on Mike and Mike this morning and he stated that because the receiver was falling backwards at the point of the grab it wasn't pass interference. He also stated that once the flag was thrown, it should have been followed through as pass interference.:
I'm going to side with the entire NFL fan base here and go with pass interference. Total game changer if the flag was honored. Insane game.
Barry Petchesky said:Let's get this caveat out of the way, and (in spirit) amend it to all future discussions of the picked-up pass-interference flag that appeared so crucial in the Lions' loss to the Cowboys: the no-call didn't cost Detroit the game. Failing to hold a lead cost Detroit the game, as did turning the ball over three times, as did shanking a punt and failing to make Dallas drive any appreciable chunk of the field, as did letting Tony Romo lead a game-winning drive, complete with a fourth-down conversion, as did failing to answer in the 2:32 Matthew Stafford was given to go 80 yards. The Cowboys were better, and better later, and deserved to win the game, and if the Lions caught a strange and bad break on the controversial no-call, they had multiple chances to render it meaningless, and did not.
relevant intro from this deadspin article:
Absolutely condescending type of writing if you ask me... Treating fans like total morons not to mention cearly written by a Cowboys fan with a Cowboys bias... OF COURSE it wasn't just one play that determined the result of the game... OF COURSE the Lions messed up a bunch of plays, as did the Cowboys in the first half... Whether the Cowboys were better is actually debatable and not as clear cut as this fan boy makes it out to be... What is clear though, was that play WAS pass interference, and it is clear that play was VERY important during the game...
While they were discussing the call WR Bryant ran onto the field wihtout his helmet to aruge with the refs. Instant 15 yard penalty that wasn't called.
Barry Petchesky said:Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew and Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens—not known for their pass-catching or pass-defending abilities, respectively, and seldom asked to demonstrate them, so bound to be as sloppy as anyone in this situation—were in near-constant contact. Hitchens tugged Pettigrew's jersey (most telling replay at 0:23 of the video above); Pettigrew put his hand on Hitchens's facemask (0:48); Hitchens restrained, then pushed off, Pettigrew's right shoulder (0:30). And f
Barry Petchesky said:or good measure, Dez Bryant came well off the sideline to argue. By the letter of the law, that's four potentially flaggable calls.
your first post in this thread implies that the (non)call(s) gave dallas the win rather than detroit's mistakes. in fairness, you're obviously willing to lay some of the blame at detroit's feet in subsequent posts, but if detroit fans or anyone else is going to be hyperbolic in attributing the loss directly to the non-call, it seems like that intro is warranted or at least justified.
i could not care less about this game or the NFL in general, but the constant whining that the call "gave" dallas the game has been inescapable today even for someone like me who doesn't have a dog in the fight.
As a lawyer you must know that my words DO NOT mean what you're stating they do. It means just what is reads (with hyperbole of course), their call benefitted the Cowboys... I am not in their heads to know if they did it intentionally or unintentionally, it is just a manner of speaking that it's very common as you know... As you fairly stated, I explicitly agreed it was mostly Detroit's fault... If the game was 54x0 that debacle of a call wouldn't have mattered... It seems it is you and that writer that preferred to think that call played absolutely NO part on the result. All I am saying is it DID play a part, an important one at that... Instead of a punt, it would be first down close to field goal range, with the Lions wasting the clock... How much that would have changed the game, it's just a guess, but it is DEFINITELY NOT zero...
It is never stated in this thread by me or anyone else, and I have not even heard it ONCE here in Michigan that the Lions would have won the game for sure if it wasn't for the call... Now, I believe it is fair to talk about that call since it was the first time I saw a flag thrown for pass interference, discussed among the refs, announced to the public and all of a sudden waived without explanation...
I understand you couldn't care less about that game, and to be honest, it is not that big of a deal to me as well... What we are doing here in the thread is more socializing than whining as you put... I though all the comments were pretty fair and fun leaning... No one was screaming at the top of their lungs here, it was just a bunch of Lions fans commiserating about their long last reality...
Sorry if that bothers you that much...
i accept your apology. i just thought the article was interesting and the point had merit. i'm sorry for your loss.
Here's the flag no flag play for those in the viewing audience that didn't see it.
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First I've seen it. Pretty brutal and obvious PI from a guy with no dog in the fight. Corner never turns his head and pretty much plows through the wr.
This is what is most disturbing about the play....absolutely inexcusable.....and then waived the penalty without any explanation whatsoever...
OK, so the officials missed the initial holding of Pettigrew's shirt by Hitchens,
Well, the initial miss was Pettigrew light grabbing of Hitchens facemask. Fingers are clearly in them and he did a downward tug, which I believe is the reason Hitchens snap-locked onto Pettigrews shirt as a retaliatory reaction. If that was called though, at least the Lions get another play vs facing 4th down. I do agree that the facemask was minimal, but perfectly justifiable if the ref threw a hankie.