...and I heard on the radio tonight that one of refs (perhaps the one who picked up the flag) was on Jerry Jones' party bus this week.
Executives from several NFL clubs expressed extreme disappointment and anger at a TMZ video that appears to show the league's head of officiating, Dean Blandino, out for a night of partying in Los Angeles with Cowboys EVP and son of owner Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones.
He was not pulling the facemask.
That was dean, during camp. Brutal.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...-on-cowboys-party-bus-irate-nfl-execs-say-yes
The original call is not really debatable. If you want to debate, discuss why there was no flag for dez running on the field confronting the ref.
But the lack of explanation is the dark horse in all of this.
I commented on the Dez no-call.
And thanks for the link and correcting me. Of course, this could be sheer coincidence...dallas getting a favorable no call including the Dez no call, after the VP of Officiating is shown to clearly have a personal relationship with the Cowboys owner and his son.
But the lack of explanation is the dark horse in all of this.
That wasn't directed at you, per se.
I think the ref called it face guarding, when asked to explain it postgame. I don't have a link right now though.
Anyone can make something up after the game. You HAVE to explain that on the field.
There is no explanation -- the silence on the field was incriminating, because in order to reverse calls, you have to have some irrefutable evidence, like what's needed on challenge reversals.
It was a tough gutted out win for the Cowboys. I think they have a real shot at beating the Packers next week
You can beat the Packers, but you can't beat the refs!!
I hate thinking like this but all kidding aside its hard to avoid. :|
I recall a few seasons in a row when a series of incredibly bad calls in playoff games nearly led to me not watching pro football anymore. (Seattle/Pitt Superbowl, Titans/Bills forward lateral, Brady tuck-play among others)
This call isn't quite on the level of those debacles but its close. Really tempers my enjoyment of the game.
.Explanation:
The league's gonna make a shit-ton more money with the ratings
from Packers/Cowboys then they would have from Lions/Seahawks?
<runs for the exit>
I think PI-calls should be open challenges because they can be reversed on the field. Holding calls can't (and shouldn't), nor should offsides/falsestarts/neutral zone infractions, etc.
I hate blaming refs, but we have to be honest, they influence the outcome of games just as much (if not more so) than the players on the field. One bad call can be the difference between winning and losing.
Very true.
And whats even worse is that my half-serious post about money "explaining" the call being reversed in tonight's game is based partially in truth.
The NFL really is going to make a bunch more money on a Cowboy vs Packer game then the alternative match-up so there's certainly at the least an appearance of impropriety on the officials part.
What has changed since the late 90s and now that all of a sudden these calls have become so much more controversial? If I recall, in the 90s there wasn't nearly as much arguing about pass interference or other missed calls. Seems to be a lot more now?
I got nothing on the PI call, it either shouldn't have been called, or never picked up.
Wrong. I blame the Lions for losing, as should anyone with a fucking brain. The refs screwed them on a single play, out of a hundred. Had they done better plays prior, they wouldn't have been in that situation to lose the game on a single play. Just like people who have that game losing fumble. No, the team's play the rest of the game is what lost it.I think PI-calls should be open challenges because they can be reversed on the field. Holding calls can't (and shouldn't), nor should offsides/falsestarts/neutral zone infractions, etc.
I hate blaming refs, but we have to be honest, they influence the outcome of games just as much (if not more so) than the players on the field. One bad call can be the difference between winning and losing.
What. That's not at all what anything or anybody said. Another referee overruled the back judge's DPI because he thought it WAS face guarding (a legal play), which it was not.Well, the ref (Pete Morelli) came out after the game and said the back judge threw the flag for "face guarding" which is only a penalty in college. After announcing the penalty and then discussing (which is ass backwards), they had to pick up the flag, as no other official threw it for PI.
Even as a Cowboys fan, I can agree that in the 2014/2015 season, that was PI. Last year, it might not have been called.
Regardless, fuck the "my foot's was numb" Lions. They want people like that on their team, I'm glad they lose games, regardless of the reasons.