Dez Bryant deserved the catch...a Gbay fan sums up the NFL

[Dead Money]

By now, we've all read the specific rule that explains Dez Bryant's catch/no-catch during yesterday's game and why, according to the letter of the rule, it makes sense that the pass was ruled incomplete.

By now, we all also know that that rule - like many of the NFL's - makes no damn sense. In a lot ways, the NFL thrives on this perpetual gray area of rule interpretation. Like the old days of the BCS, the debate that stems from whether a hit was illegal or not, or a catch was in bounds or not, or a flag that was inexplicably picked up, is often very much worth the short-lived backlash from whatever team and fan base feels like they got screwed. It's for this reason I, as a Packers fan, feel bad for Dez Bryant.

Because make no mistake, Dez Bryant got screwed. The NFL's rules say otherwise, but these are the same rules that say you're supposed to hit the opposing player, just not too hard. Or in specific areas of the body. Or for too long. These are the same rules that use vague, subjective terms like ?process' and ?throughout.' These are the same rules that, in some cases, are predicated on ?intent', as if that's some kind of measurable value.
These rules are dumb and while some have helped the game - outlawing leading with the helmet, for example - they've by and large made watching football a lot like watching last night's Golden Globes. It's just that instead of an IMDB app open the whole time, you need a rulebook handy to know just what the hell is going on. Sooner or later, on-field referee explanations will just advise the audience to turn to page 43 of their NFL manual.

This is the opposite of how football should be. Like all sports, football is at its best when great players are allowed to do great things. When the mundane - like a simple pass or a catch - is turned into the majestic. Like Aaron Rodgers teleporting about the pocket and delivering a dart to Davante Adams in the corner of the end zone. Or in yesterday's case, Dez Bryant doing everything short of climbing up the Lambeau Field luxury boxes to make what would have been a game-shifting catch. These are the plays that as a football fan, you hope to see. Especially from someone like Dez.

Here's a guy who, ever since coming into the league has been subjected to a constant flow of molten-hot takes on how he needs to "play the game the right way" and gesticulate less on the sideline, and keep his head straight and every other lame excuse the Brian Billicks of the world have made for criticizing Dez for essentially being a black Tony Romo. Here he was, doing everything you can ask of your athletes. He hustled his ass off, ran a perfect route, timed his jump beautifully, and exerted every last bit of will from his finely tuned frame to catch the ball, stay in bounds, and reach for the goal line in the hopes of scoring. We talk all the time about which team ?deserved' to win the game; while I usually think that's BS since teams, for the most part, get what they earn, this is one case where Dez Bryant earned that damn catch.

Now, I don't know what Dez Bryant would be doing if he didn't play football, but I do know this: Dez Bryant was built to play football better than most people are built to do anything else. And here he was, doing something great in the exact moment his team needed him to be great. Yet, throughout those mesmerizing slow-motion seconds of him extending that ridiculous wingspan to haul in that catch, you just knew. Knew that because the ball moved by a bit, this wasn't going to be a play that gives this game - already a great one by any standard - additional subtext like ?The Drive' or ?The Catch.' Instead of seeing a player write his own chapter to the NFL's history books, we got something far less captivating - the NFL's rulebook.

And just like that, the game was all but over (per our Paul Noonan on Twitter, Advanced Football Analytics' WP Calculator says the Cowboys were 45% likely to win if the catch was upheld, but 13% after the overturn). All because a singularly magnificent athletic play was reduced to the living embodiment of legislation. Something tells me the Packers - with Aaron Rodgers breathing fire at that point - would have gotten the points to win even if Dallas scored and took the lead.
Unfortunately, that's not what we got, which makes yesterday's game not only unfair to Dez Bryant.

It was unfair to us.

 

[TennisTapir]

By now, we've all read the specific rule that explains Dez Bryant's catch/no-catch during yesterday's game and why, according to the letter of the rule, it makes sense that the pass was ruled incomplete.

By now, we all also know that that rule - like many of the NFL's - makes no damn sense. In a lot ways, the NFL thrives on this perpetual gray area of rule interpretation. Like the old days of the BCS, the debate that stems from whether a hit was illegal or not, or a catch was in bounds or not, or a flag that was inexplicably picked up, is often very much worth the short-lived backlash from whatever team and fan base feels like they got screwed. It's for this reason I, as a Packers fan, feel bad for Dez Bryant.

Because make no mistake, Dez Bryant got screwed. The NFL's rules say otherwise, but these are the same rules that say you're supposed to hit the opposing player, just not too hard. Or in specific areas of the body. Or for too long. These are the same rules that use vague, subjective terms like ?process' and ?throughout.' These are the same rules that, in some cases, are predicated on ?intent', as if that's some kind of measurable value.
These rules are dumb and while some have helped the game - outlawing leading with the helmet, for example - they've by and large made watching football a lot like watching last night's Golden Globes. It's just that instead of an IMDB app open the whole time, you need a rulebook handy to know just what the hell is going on. Sooner or later, on-field referee explanations will just advise the audience to turn to page 43 of their NFL manual.

This is the opposite of how football should be. Like all sports, football is at its best when great players are allowed to do great things. When the mundane - like a simple pass or a catch - is turned into the majestic. Like Aaron Rodgers teleporting about the pocket and delivering a dart to Davante Adams in the corner of the end zone. Or in yesterday's case, Dez Bryant doing everything short of climbing up the Lambeau Field luxury boxes to make what would have been a game-shifting catch. These are the plays that as a football fan, you hope to see. Especially from someone like Dez.

Here's a guy who, ever since coming into the league has been subjected to a constant flow of molten-hot takes on how he needs to "play the game the right way" and gesticulate less on the sideline, and keep his head straight and every other lame excuse the Brian Billicks of the world have made for criticizing Dez for essentially being a black Tony Romo. Here he was, doing everything you can ask of your athletes. He hustled his ass off, ran a perfect route, timed his jump beautifully, and exerted every last bit of will from his finely tuned frame to catch the ball, stay in bounds, and reach for the goal line in the hopes of scoring. We talk all the time about which team ?deserved' to win the game; while I usually think that's BS since teams, for the most part, get what they earn, this is one case where Dez Bryant earned that damn catch.

Now, I don't know what Dez Bryant would be doing if he didn't play football, but I do know this: Dez Bryant was built to play football better than most people are built to do anything else. And here he was, doing something great in the exact moment his team needed him to be great. Yet, throughout those mesmerizing slow-motion seconds of him extending that ridiculous wingspan to haul in that catch, you just knew. Knew that because the ball moved by a bit, this wasn't going to be a play that gives this game - already a great one by any standard - additional subtext like ?The Drive' or ?The Catch.' Instead of seeing a player write his own chapter to the NFL's history books, we got something far less captivating - the NFL's rulebook.

And just like that, the game was all but over (per our Paul Noonan on Twitter, Advanced Football Analytics' WP Calculator says the Cowboys were 45% likely to win if the catch was upheld, but 13% after the overturn). All because a singularly magnificent athletic play was reduced to the living embodiment of legislation. Something tells me the Packers - with Aaron Rodgers breathing fire at that point - would have gotten the points to win even if Dallas scored and took the lead.
Unfortunately, that's not what we got, which makes yesterday's game not only unfair to Dez Bryant.

It was unfair to us.

Garbage.

Here's how the world works: there are rules. You don't like them, but you follow them. What would a smart receiver have done? He would have clutched the ball to his chest. Not leaped for the EZ once he had the catch. What dumbass dez did was only one degree better than those idiots who drop the ball before they cross the goal line. He gave the ref the chance to apply the rule as written, and the ref did.

Imagine a Patriots player - how would he have acted? He would have secured the ball. He would have known precisely 1) what the rule was, 2) that he was playing at Lambeau, meaning that any 50-50 calls were likely to go to the home team (which dallas certainly benefited from last week, many would say). He would have had the ball on his stomach lying on the two or one. His team would have scored and probably won.

You may not like the rule, but you know it exists, and you know what it means. If you -- a professional receiver -- choose not to play by it, you run the risk of just what happened. If only there were some way to figure which type of players are smart enough to figure this out. Lol.

 

[TennisTapir]

Garbage.

Here's how the world works: there are rules. You don't like them, but you follow them. What would a smart receiver have done? He would have clutched the ball to his chest. Not leaped for the EZ once he had the catch. What dumbass dez did was only one degree better than those idiots who drop the ball before they cross the goal line. He gave the ref the chance to apply the rule as written, and the ref did.

Imagine a Patriots player - how would he have acted? He would have secured the ball. He would have known precisely 1) what the rule was, 2) that he was playing at Lambeau, meaning that any 50-50 calls were likely to go to the home team (which dallas certainly benefited from last week, many would say). He would have had the ball on his stomach lying on the two or one. His team would have scored and probably won.

You may not like the rule, but you know it exists, and you know what it means. If you -- a professional receiver -- choose not to play by it, you run the risk of just what happened. If only there were some way to figure which type of players are smart enough to figure this out. Lol.

Three questions:

1) Is Dez Bryant a professional receiver?

2) Is Dez Bryant capable of understanding what constitutes a catch per NFL rules?

3) Is it reasonable for outsiders to hold him responsible for complying with the rule?

Three questions. Three obvious answers. But let's make excuses. Like we do everywhere else in society.

If you don't like the rule, and I don't particularly, then talk about changing it. Defining a catch is not actually that simple, though, which is how we got the rule we have in the first place.

The receiver is the one responsible for understanding the rule and complying with it - that's his job. Right? Just as it's the journalist's job to make excuses for him not doing his job.

What a world.

 

[sds222]

The receiver is the one responsible for understanding the rule and complying with it - that's his job. Right? Just as it's the journalist's job to make excuses for him not doing his job.

What a world.

I agree.

I think it was a catch however it's a judgment rule, to me he did secure the ball and got two feet down and an elbow.

Just like you said though it was 4th down, and 2 i think, job #1 is to get the first down. Dez, a gifted athlete, was not smart when trying to make a great catch even better by getting in the end zone. The smart move as you stated is to catch the ball and remove as much doubt as possible, cover it up with both hands to prevent a fumble, drop, etc. What would have been wrong with 1st and goal from the 1?

We see this happen too often quite frankly, I mean if its 4th and goal you do that but if you don't have to risk it then why, to make a highlight reel vs risk of losing the game?

Your point is right on though, typical of our society to make excuses instead of asking how can i be better/smarter or am i culpable here?

 

[bleedingpurple]

you guys missed the point of the article

 

[LA Burns]

the more "gray area" that the NFL has to make calls the more power they have to influence the outcomes of games, which is one reason why they have updated their rules regarding DB's contacting receivers etc

in this case the refs poorly interpreted what is already a questionable rule - Bryant made the catch, then made multiple "football moves", the 1st by taking a 3rd step trying to score and the second by reaching for the goal line - at this point the "process" of making the catch had been completed

if you try to say that this was not a catch like the refs, I ask you this question - what if Bryant made a leaping catch on the sideline and then took 6 steps while battling the DB, then lunged for the goal line, had his elbow hit the ground and then when the ball hit the ground it popped up? would this be considered a catch? in this example the ball would not have been secured all the way to the ground


again, a shoddy interpretation of an even shoddier rule - for those who are arguing that Dez needs to be smarter and arguing that this is in any way equates to societal issues etc you are really taking things to a different level

 

[Shleprock]

You are not making a football move when your momentum from jumping causes you to fall down. If you are making a football move you take another step into end zone. Sine its not a football move once ball hits ground its now Calvin Johnson rule.

 

[LA Burns]

Shleprock I seem to remember that you are GB fan and therefore I believe your opinion to be biased

 

[Shleprock]

regardless its the rule bad rule but when game was replayed they had sound on packer dbacks and as soon asthey saw it on screen you hear them say loud and clearly calvin Johnson rule so they knew rule c Bryant didn't he should. When I first saw it I said catch when I saw rule no matter what team its not a catch according to rule. If he streteches out and tries to extend ball which he did not for endzone you have a better case ball hit the groundand popped up no fumble its not control thru the process.

 

[StevieD]

Let's say this play happens at the 10 yard line. Everything else is the same. Except when the ball bounces out of Bryant's hand's a defender plucks the ball instead of Bryant. Would it be an interception? I would think they would have to call it incomplete. For the record I think he caught the ball.

 

[the addict]

Yes it would be an int stevie

The call was correctly made after review ....not debatable...


Now, if the rule is garbage and should be changed, is very much debatable. ...

Imo the rule should be changed, because for that to be a non-catch is a crime

 

[StevieD]

Yes it would be an int stevie

The call was correctly made after review ....not debatable...


Now, if the rule is garbage and should be changed, is very much debatable. ...

Imo the rule should be changed, because for that to be a non-catch is a crime

How could it be an interception if the play was dead or ruled incomplete when Bryant lost control of the ball?

 

[Cricket]

Great catch,bad rule. Too many games being tilted by controversial calls, interpretation,blind missed calls. Can't stand all the flag lobbying and playing for interference instead of athletic abilities and sportsmanship.

 

[Shleprock]

How could it be an interception if the play was dead or ruled incomplete when Bryant lost control of the ball?

nothing would change once the tip of the ball hits ground its no catch same call.

 

[SOUTHPHILYSHARK]

Catch or No Catch

Play selection by the Cowboys 4th & 2 with 4MINUTES left was a BAD Decsion!!!
Meaning:
Hey let's give Rodgers 4mins to get into FG range to WIN the Game...
You get the 1st Down there, eat up the clock then Hopefully Score a TD under 2mins closer to 1 Min if possible...
Dallas was The Better Team that Day by Far...
NON Pass Interference call end of the half on Terrence Williams in the End Zone then missed FG.
Then
COBB's catch at Mid Field was not a Catch!!!
Back camera angle shows is CLEARLY hit the ground..
Hey that's Football that's the way the Ball Bounces..
I look at the Cowboys to get better on D next year and sign AP as the RB instead of Murrey and then Romo super bowl win

 

[az1]

Dez

Dez

How could a receiver not know the rule? The play call was high risk in the first place. No safety help they could have went anywhere on the field. Dallas did the same thing in the first half on third and short and threw up a long pass. Why isn't anybody questioning Tony Romo's two decisions to change the plays. As far as penalties go there were two questionable pass interference calls on Tremon Williams. The refs didn't blow the call they interpreted the rule the way it is. As soon as it happened I told my wife they are going to challenge and win it. The Packers outgained the Cowboys by over 100 yards so enough of the Cowboys dominated. It is time to move on.

 

[Shake N Bake]

By now, we've all read the specific rule that explains Dez Bryant's catch/no-catch during yesterday's game and why, according to the letter of the rule, it makes sense that the pass was ruled incomplete.

By now, we all also know that that rule - like many of the NFL's - makes no damn sense. In a lot ways, the NFL thrives on this perpetual gray area of rule interpretation. Like the old days of the BCS, the debate that stems from whether a hit was illegal or not, or a catch was in bounds or not, or a flag that was inexplicably picked up, is often very much worth the short-lived backlash from whatever team and fan base feels like they got screwed. It's for this reason I, as a Packers fan, feel bad for Dez Bryant.

Because make no mistake, Dez Bryant got screwed. The NFL's rules say otherwise, but these are the same rules that say you're supposed to hit the opposing player, just not too hard. Or in specific areas of the body. Or for too long. These are the same rules that use vague, subjective terms like ?process' and ?throughout.' These are the same rules that, in some cases, are predicated on ?intent', as if that's some kind of measurable value.
These rules are dumb and while some have helped the game - outlawing leading with the helmet, for example - they've by and large made watching football a lot like watching last night's Golden Globes. It's just that instead of an IMDB app open the whole time, you need a rulebook handy to know just what the hell is going on. Sooner or later, on-field referee explanations will just advise the audience to turn to page 43 of their NFL manual.

This is the opposite of how football should be. Like all sports, football is at its best when great players are allowed to do great things. When the mundane - like a simple pass or a catch - is turned into the majestic. Like Aaron Rodgers teleporting about the pocket and delivering a dart to Davante Adams in the corner of the end zone. Or in yesterday's case, Dez Bryant doing everything short of climbing up the Lambeau Field luxury boxes to make what would have been a game-shifting catch. These are the plays that as a football fan, you hope to see. Especially from someone like Dez.

Here's a guy who, ever since coming into the league has been subjected to a constant flow of molten-hot takes on how he needs to "play the game the right way" and gesticulate less on the sideline, and keep his head straight and every other lame excuse the Brian Billicks of the world have made for criticizing Dez for essentially being a black Tony Romo. Here he was, doing everything you can ask of your athletes. He hustled his ass off, ran a perfect route, timed his jump beautifully, and exerted every last bit of will from his finely tuned frame to catch the ball, stay in bounds, and reach for the goal line in the hopes of scoring. We talk all the time about which team ?deserved' to win the game; while I usually think that's BS since teams, for the most part, get what they earn, this is one case where Dez Bryant earned that damn catch.

Now, I don't know what Dez Bryant would be doing if he didn't play football, but I do know this: Dez Bryant was built to play football better than most people are built to do anything else. And here he was, doing something great in the exact moment his team needed him to be great. Yet, throughout those mesmerizing slow-motion seconds of him extending that ridiculous wingspan to haul in that catch, you just knew. Knew that because the ball moved by a bit, this wasn't going to be a play that gives this game - already a great one by any standard - additional subtext like ?The Drive' or ?The Catch.' Instead of seeing a player write his own chapter to the NFL's history books, we got something far less captivating - the NFL's rulebook.

And just like that, the game was all but over (per our Paul Noonan on Twitter, Advanced Football Analytics' WP Calculator says the Cowboys were 45% likely to win if the catch was upheld, but 13% after the overturn). All because a singularly magnificent athletic play was reduced to the living embodiment of legislation. Something tells me the Packers - with Aaron Rodgers breathing fire at that point - would have gotten the points to win even if Dallas scored and took the lead.
Unfortunately, that's not what we got, which makes yesterday's game not only unfair to Dez Bryant.

It was unfair to us.

Well put, sir. Don't lawyer my football (and that's coming from a lawyer).

 

[gardenweasel]

Garbage.

Here's how the world works: there are rules. You don't like them, but you follow them. What would a smart receiver have done? He would have clutched the ball to his chest. Not leaped for the EZ once he had the catch. What dumbass dez did was only one degree better than those idiots who drop the ball before they cross the goal line. He gave the ref the chance to apply the rule as written, and the ref did.

Imagine a Patriots player - how would he have acted? He would have secured the ball. He would have known precisely 1) what the rule was, 2) that he was playing at Lambeau, meaning that any 50-50 calls were likely to go to the home team (which dallas certainly benefited from last week, many would say). He would have had the ball on his stomach lying on the two or one. His team would have scored and probably won.

You may not like the rule, but you know it exists, and you know what it means. If you -- a professional receiver -- choose not to play by it, you run the risk of just what happened. If only there were some way to figure which type of players are smart enough to figure this out. Lol.

I agree with you.....that`s the rule....but,it all depends on who`se ox is being gored....some are a little more equal than others...

I remember that there was very little bitching about the o.t. rule change that gave both teams a chance at possession unless the 1st possession resulted in a t.d.....that was until it was "peyton" and the broncos that lost on a 1st possession t.d. to the seahawks in o.t.........

I mean,it was peyton !!...that`s just wrong !!..even the talking heads were crying ....peyton should have had a chance in overtime.....terry and Howie were apoplectic...

now,the cowboys get the benefit of an overturned call that plays a huge part in defeating the lions and there wasn`t an objective cowboy fan to be found.."tough shit"......"stop complaining"...

I guess that old saw "it all evens out in the end" has some merit.........

:lol:

 

[the addict]

How could it be an interception if the play was dead or ruled incomplete when Bryant lost control of the ball?

Sorry misunderstood....


Yes if ball hits ground at anypoint durin a non catch the ball is dead

 

[gardenweasel]

I agree with you.....that`s the rule....but,it all depends on who`se ox is being gored....some are a little more equal than others...

I remember that there was very little bitching about the o.t. rule change that gave both teams a chance at possession unless the 1st possession resulted in a t.d.....that was until it was "peyton" and the broncos that lost on a 1st possession t.d. to the seahawks in o.t.........

I mean,it was peyton !!...that`s just wrong !!..even the talking heads were crying ....peyton should have had a chance in overtime.....terry and Howie were apoplectic...

now,the cowboys get the benefit of an overturned call that plays a huge part in defeating the lions and there wasn`t an objective cowboy fan to be found.."tough shit"......"stop complaining"...

I guess that old saw "it all evens out in the end" has some merit.........

:lol:

don`t mean to be overly hard on the cowboys...just sayin` that rules are rules and should be applied evenly across the board...


that said,if romo`s health isn`t a chronic issue,the cowboys are gonna be a real handful for a good long time(excellent young nucleus,particularly that off. line)...