As I expected, Dean Blandino agrees with the pass interference penalty and wishes the flag was not picked up.
However, he understands it was "a judgment call" by the officiating crew and "debatable."
Quote:<p style="font-family:arial, verdana, helvetica;color:rgb(34,34,33);">"I think it's debatable," Blandino said. "There was a left hand on (Brandon Pettigrew's) shoulder, but does that significantly hinder the receiver's ability to make the catch? Looking at all the angles, we're not convinced it is or it isn't. I think had the flag not been thrown, I think we still would have debated it."
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<p style="font-family:arial, verdana, helvetica;color:rgb(34,34,33);">"I certainly could have supported it if they left the flag down. I would have supported the foul. But I think it's a close judgement call where you have two officials with differing opinions on it."
<p style="font-family:arial, verdana, helvetica;color:rgb(34,34,33);">Of course, Blandino was also critical of Morelli announcing the penalty before talking to the head linesman about it.
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Quote:Blandino also said that the mechanics of the entire crew needed to be "much better." He wants his crew to be sure about making its call before they announce anything. Referee Pete Morelli initially announced the pass interference penalty before the crew changed its call. Lions players were "baffled" by the change.
<p style="font-family:arial, verdana, helvetica;color:rgb(34,34,33);">Blandino also said Dez Bryant should have been penalized for running onto the field to argue the call, but surprisingly said officials are not required to throw flags for sideline fouls.
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Quote:Blandino also said that he would have supported a penalty on Dallas wide receiver Dez Bryant, who came off the sideline to argue the call. However, Blandino noted that penalizing the sideline for such an argument is not an automatic call, and the officials can use their discretion.
What do you think of all this? Some of his comments sound like he is too supportive and does not want to downgrade them for picking up the flag or letting Bryant get away with being an idiot.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...-debatable
All you have to do is watch the replay yourself. It was a bizarre call that never happens. They already announced the penalty... then said just kidding
Every time I watch the replay, I think "pass interference."
I'm sure the fact that he admitted they were wrong makes Detroit feel a lot better...
Dean Blandino says although pass interference is debatable it was at least defensive holding because Anthony Hitchens grabbed Brandon Pettigrew's jersey. So the real question is should it be 10 or 15 yards. Of course the Lions would get a first down either way because they only needed one yard. On picking up the flag, he blamed the head linesman for failing to make a quicker decision on whether it was DPI or not.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...-debatable
Sour grapes... LOL...
The WR was pushing off on the LB... The right thing was to let that play go. Which is what happened. Detroit should have gone for it on 4th and 1, but wimped out.
They lost, fair and square. Seriously, if you watched ESPN today, you would have seen the WR (Pettigrew) was shoving the LB before the ball was thrown. That's offensive pass interference and has been called all season long.
Let it go, the better team won. Detriot only got robbed in terms of choking that game away...
![[Image: giphy.gif]](http://media.giphy.com/media/119SFXjoMsax6o/giphy.gif)
Sucks for Detroit, but with their post season track record, odds are they still would have found a way to lose.
Quote:Sucks for Detroit, but with their post season track record, odds are they still would have found a way to lose.
One (1) playoff win since 1957.
That is some track record.
Quote:Sour grapes... LOL.
The WR was pushing off on the LB. The right thing was to let that play go. Which is what happened. Detroit should have gone for it on 4th and 1, but wimped out.
They lost, fair and square. Seriously, if you watched ESPN today, you would have seen the WR (Pettigrew) was shoving the LB before the ball was thrown. That's offensive pass interference and has been called all season long.
Let it go, the better team won. Detriot only got robbed in terms of choking that game away.
The Lions
did try to go for it on fourth down, but stupidly let the play clock expire.
Actually Pettigrew was called a tight end in articles about the play.
One thing that makes no sense is the possibility of offensive pass interference got lost in the argument over minimal contact by the linebacker. There was a lot of contact by the linebacker, so if no DPI was right, it should have been noted the tight end shoved him on NFL Network.
Quote:One (1) playoff win since 1957.
That is some track record.
I don't understand how a team with that much talent has that kind of misfortune. I think their fans have it worse than we do.
Quote:I don't understand how a team with that much talent has that kind of misfortune. I think their fans have it worse than we do.
They live in Detroit...it's obvious they have it worse than we do! At least when we suck we can enjoy our environment to cheer us up!
Quote:They live in Detroit...it's obvious they have it worse than we do! At least when we suck we can enjoy our environment to cheer us up!
Detroit has NHL, NBA, and MLB teams to entertain Lions fans in the offseason. That is better for sports fans than a minor league baseball team and arena football.
Quote:One (1) playoff win since 1957.
That is some track record.
Man that is just a crazy stat....
Quote:Man that is just a crazy stat....
And a stat that almost died yesterday. Whether Detroit deserved to lose or not, the Lions certainly had a great chance of winning before a flag for DPI was stupidly picked up after the announcement.
I agree that it should have never been called. Or that it should have been off setting penalties. There is no way it wasnt OPI also if it was DPI. The officials should just "let them play" in the playoffs, making the call at all just gave reason for the trolls to come out. Especially the ones who are fan of all animal teams...
Quote:One (1) playoff win since 1957.
That is some track record.
They are one of the NFLs oldest franchises too.
http://listafterlist.com/oldest-nfl-franchises/
They have had talent through the years too, just not at the most important position, QB, although Stafford has to be the best QB they have had in as long as I can remember.
Maybe they are just cursed.
Quote:I agree that it should have never been called. Or that it should have been offsetting penalties. There is no way it wasn't OPI also if it was DPI. The officials should just "let them play" in the playoffs, making the call at all just gave reason for the trolls to come out. Especially the ones who are fan of all animal teams...
If it should have been offsetting penalties, the correct decision would have been to repeat third down.
But what about Dez Bryant? They could have ignored the pass interference, but called unsporstmanlike conduct on him and given Detroit a first down.
Quote:All you have to do is watch the replay yourself. It was a bizarre call that never happens. They already announced the penalty... then said just kidding
and then the refs did the Johnny football money grab towards Jones...
Has anyone heard from D6? I'm concerned. Should we drag the Detroit River?