NFL admits Detroit Got Screwed

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[h=1]Dean Blandino acknowledges Cowboys got away with one[/h] Posted by Michael David Smith on January 5, 2015, 2:59 PM EST
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APNFL head of officiating Dean Blandino isn’t trying to sugarcoat the key call that went against the Lions in Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys.
Blandino, appearing on PFT Live, told Mike Florio that Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens did get away with a penalty on the Lions’ fourth-quarter pass to Brandon Pettigrew. But Blandino said the missed call that troubled him most was not the pass interference flag that was originally thrown but later picked up.
According to Blandino, the clear penalty Hitchens got away with was defensive holding: Hitchens grabbed Pettigrew’s jersey while Pettigrew was running his route, and Blandino said that should have been called. If it had been, it would have given the Lions an automatic first down.
Blandino said the pass interference penalty that one official flagged, only to get overruled by another official, was a “close call that could have went either way.” Blandino acknowledged that the officials should have done a better job of communicating, first among themselves so that they could get the call right, and then after referee Pete Morelli turned on his microphone to announce the penalty. Morelli first announced pass interference, then later announced that the pass interference penalty would not be enforced — but that second announcement was so hasty that the FOX broadcast missed it.
Although some observers have suggested that Pettigrew also should have been flagged for facemasking Hitchens, Blandino says that’s not the case.
“I felt that was minimal contact,” Blandino said of Pettigrew’s contact with Hitchens’s facemask.
Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant ran onto the field to argue the pass interference call, and Blandino said Bryant could have been flagged for that. Blandino said running on the field to argue with an official is “not an automatic penalty,” but he added that “I certainly would have supported a call for unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Ultimately, Blandino admits, if all of the elements of that play had been called correctly, the Lions would have had a first down. Instead the Lions had a fourth down, shanked a punt, and gave up the game-winning touchdown on the subsequent drive. The Lions will be left to wonder what might have happened if that penalty on Hitchens had been called.
 

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Never seen more outrage over a PI call with 8 minutes left in an NFL game. It was a bad call, it happens. Been happening for a while.

A lot happens over 60 minutes. The Lions still had plenty of chances to win and couldn't get it done.

10 yard punt, not going on 4th and 1, 2 TOs on the final drive
 

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Never seen more outrage over a PI call with 8 minutes left in an NFL game. It was a bad call, it happens. Been happening for a while.

It was the call AND the circumstances that caused the outrage. Picking up the flag AFTER the penalty announced, no penalty on Dez, no announcement of picking up the flag.
 

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Never seen more outrage over a PI call with 8 minutes left in an NFL game. It was a bad call, it happens. Been happening for a while.
I tend to agree. The officials didn't effect the 10 yard punt on the next play. it happens in so many games and so many sports. Ever watch a hockey game? Especially in the playoffs? In OT? You can get away with murder and the refs won't call a penalty sometimes. Shit happens. Move on.
 

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I tend to agree. The officials didn't effect the 10 yard punt on the next play. it happens in so many games and so many sports. Ever watch a hockey game? Especially in the playoffs? In OT? You can get away with murder and the refs won't call a penalty sometimes. Shit happens. Move on.

People saying they won't watch next weeks games and shit lol

I'd kill family members to see 3 of the 4 games next week, you kidding me?
 

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The refs fucked up, much like they often do in games but I really dont know if it affected the outcome of the game.
 

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The refs fucked up, much like they often do in games but I really dont know if it affected the outcome of the game.

Well of course it effected the outcome. If the call is made then Det has about a 20% more chance to win (on avg) but the main point is A LOT of stuff effects a 3hr NFL game to put it on 1 play is just kinda shortsighted. Shit happens. Unless you are exremely emotionally invested in the outcome I'm not sure why there is so much outrage. Calls tend to even out over time.
 

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I'll send them an invoice for my $350 Lion ML bet.....
 
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Well of course it effected the outcome. If the call is made then Det has about a 20% more chance to win (on avg) but the main point is A LOT of stuff effects a 3hr NFL game to put it on 1 play is just kinda shortsighted. Shit happens. Unless you are exremely emotionally invested in the outcome I'm not sure why there is so much outrage. Calls tend to even out over time.

I don't think it's as much the call as it is the shady as shit way it went down.
 

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I don't think it's as much the call as it is the shady as shit way it went down.

Yeah that and the fact it was the Dallas Cowboys are why it has become so polarizing. America's team/the team America loves to hate and the fact it was a sequence nobody has ever seen before.

As far as the call itself though, I mean it sucks but I've seen much, much worse.
 
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Yeah that and the fact it was the Dallas Cowboys are why it has become so polarizing. America's team/the team America loves to hate and the fact it was a sequence nobody has ever seen before.

As far as the call itself though, I mean it sucks but I've seen much, much worse.

Yeah, I mean bad calls are to be expected. That said, how often do you see a penalty called (the correct call), announced and then 30 seconds later taken away(the incorrect call). Not to mention I thought it was kind of odd that the HL had a "better angle" than the back judge on that play. It is what it is. No changing it now.

Also, add in Dean Blandino kicking it with the Jones', the fact that the NFL would much rather have Cowboys/Packers than Seahawks/Lions and Packers/Panthers and people start to wonder what the hell is going on.
 

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Yeah, I mean bad calls are to be expected. That said, how often do you see a penalty called (the correct call), announced and then 30 seconds later taken away(the incorrect call). Not to mention I thought it was kind of odd that the HL had a "better angle" than the back judge on that play. It is what it is. No changing it now.

Also, add in Dean Blandino kicking it with the Jones', the fact that the NFL would much rather have Cowboys/Packers than Seahawks/Lions and Packers/Panthers and people start to wonder what the hell is going on.

To the 2nd sentence. If they wanted to rig games to get a Boys/GB matchup they would be able to pull it off a lot more discreetly than that. Conspiracy theories always abound in these situations but mostly have no merit.
 
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To the 2nd sentence. If they wanted to rig games to get a Boys/GB matchup they would be able to pull it off a lot more discreetly than that. Conspiracy theories always abound in these situations but mostly have no merit.

No one said they had merit. I am saying that's why you have the outrage you have. This wasn't a typical bad call that would even out over time as you stated earlier. The manner in which it went down was awkward and unlike anything we typically see from NFL referees.
 

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Ya I agree with that.

Obviously it being the Cowboys plays a huge role as well. It is easier for people to sleep at night in a world where Tony Romo isn't leading clutch 4th Q TD drives. Now really nothing makes sense.....If they beat GB next week society might devolve into utter chaos
 
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Ya I agree with that.

Obviously it being the Cowboys plays a huge role as well. It is easier for people to sleep at night in a world where Tony Romo isn't leading clutch 4th Q TD drives. Now really nothing makes sense.....

Ha, ya that probably plays a role as well.
 

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