HOW ABOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!!

[madinmaryland]

[El Supremo]

1. How 'bout them fans!

And of course:


Too bad we don't have a picture of MIM.

[madinmaryland]

10. Who knew that Tommy Lasorda was a Cowboys fan.

Do you really think that the fat fuck can out Perry Rick Perry. Perry at least has a reason for supporting the Cowboys. Fat fuck has two teams in New Jersey that he is ignoring.

[Brother Buzz]

33. Someone told Lasorda there was a spaghetti feed after the game

[Auggie]

41. LOL

[Auggie]

2. Impressive half-time adjustments by Dallas ...

though it looked to me that the Detroit defense -- especially the d-line -- had little left in tank by the 4th quarter.

I really wanted to see a Green Bay / Dallas match-up at Lambeau, so I'm happy with this victory. Hope it snows.

BTW, the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders are still #1.

[madinmaryland]

3. This will be the first time Dallas plays in Green Bay for a playoff game since the Ice Bowl.

[Ishoutandscream2]

6. Very classy. Thank you.

I really mean that.

[mythology]

4. It's made much easier when the refs decide that an obvious pass interference didn't occur.

The Cowboys got lucky today.

[madinmaryland]

5. It was not interference. There was contact, but didn't appear to be interference.

[El Supremo]

7. Looks like a bad reversed call to me:

[JonLP24]

8. I don't see it

If there was contact (not enough to justify PI) it would be OK if he turned around but I'm not an expert on the rule. Calls went against Dallas in the first half, some pretty bad ones too.

[El Supremo]

9. He was shoving his shoulder!

It could have been holding too.

[JonLP24]

11. He did

I really doubt holding though. Not like Michael Floyd having his arm held on 3rd down which the go ahead touchdown followed.

[R B Garr]

32. Exactly! n/t

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. He had to show he was going for the ball.

He wasn't going for the ball. To throw a flag, discuss it on the sidelines with Cowboy players and coaches standing all around you and then pick the flag. Come on now.

Top pick up a flag a minute after you threw it? Come on man. I'm a Packer fan, and I call bullshit on that.

[JonLP24]

17. He wouldn't have caught it even without that ticky tack shoulder push

Pete Morelli: Penalty not warranted

"The back judge threw his flag for defensive pass interference," Morelli said in a pool report. "We got other information from another official from a different angle that thought the contact was minimal and didn't warrant pass interference. He thought it was face guarding."

Face guarding is a penalty in college football, but not at the pro level. Back judge Lee Dyer threw the flag on Hitchens from the far side of the field. Head linesman Jerry Bergman offered the different -- and ultimately deciding -- view.

Morelli said he should have waited before making the initial announcement.

"The information came and then the officials got together a little bit later after it was given to me, the first information," Morelli said. "It probably would've been smoother if we got together."

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nfl/story/_/id/12121292/referee-pete-morelli-explains-overturned-pass-interference-call-dallas-cowboys-detroit-lions-wild-card-game

This explains why they did throw the flag and why they did pull it after discussion.

Morelli: The better view was from the head linesman.

Morelli said that the head linesman saw minimal contact and he (the head linesman) felt the play was face-guarding and not pass interference, and the head linesman had a better view so that's why they changed the call. Face-guarding is a penalty in college, but not the NFL. When asked what he personally saw, Morelli said, "It's not my responsibility. I'm a hundred miles away." OK, then.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24935977/lions-cowboys-no-pi-call-pereira-disagrees-with-it-head-ref-explains-it

[ScreamingMeemie]

18. It was a catchable ball.

[JonLP24]

19. He got his hand on it but it would have been difficult to bring it around the defender's back

I should say the odds were very low of making the completion with or without the push.

[ScreamingMeemie]

20. It was a catchable ball, and on this one, I'm going to go with the announcers,

the analysts, etc.

And I am sort of glad the Packers don't have to face the Lions in the post-season. That doesn't mean I agree with picking up a well-earned flag.

[JonLP24]

21. They would have only faced Lions

If they beat the Seahawks & Packers advanced. Lions winning meant they'd be facing Carolina next week.

[navarth]

24. horse shit

It was pass interference. Unintentional but still pass interference.

[trotsky]

27. Reminded me of this play from the 09 NFC Championship

Which WAS called, despite it being highly debatable (was the ball even catchable?).

[Goblinmonger]

29. The one this weekend was WAY worse than that.

But that call against the Vikings was BS. Yes, I'm biased.

[trotsky]

30. Of course I am in complete agreement with you. :)

The one they led slide this time was inexcusable.

[JonLP24]

38. I agree with the explanation that the contact was minimal

This goes on pretty much every play in the secondary.

[navarth]

39. And I think

You don't know what pass interference is. And I'm pretty sure that debating it with you would be pointless.

[JonLP24]

42. I have a pretty good idea

but its all subjective so debating something as subjective as "minimal" would be pointless.

[hughee99]

37. According to the NFL rule book...

It is pass interference by either team when any player movement beyond the line of scrimmage significantly hinders the progress of an eligible player of such player’s opportunity to catch the ball. Offensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is snapped until the ball is touched. Defensive pass interference rules apply from the time the ball is thrown until the ball is touched.

Actions that constitute defensive pass interference include but are not limited to:

(a) Contact by a defender who is not playing the ball and such contact restricts the receiver’s opportunity to make the catch.

There's a bunch of other things too, but this first one seems like it would be the applicable one.

http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/passinterference

Still, it's a judgement call, and IMO, the refs showed poor judgement in this case. These sort of things happen pretty often, though, and on judgement calls, you're always going to find people who disagree even when it's more clear-cut than this.

[RiffRandell]

12. It was. nt

[trotsky]

26. Didn't even look back / make a play for the ball.

Blatant PI. Happy late Christmas, Cowpies!

[KamaAina]

13. HOW ABOUT THEM REFS!!!!

[madinmaryland]

14. There were several other calls that should have gone the other way...

so let's not go there.

The bottom line is you will have Sexy Rexy Ryan as your coach next year!!

[KamaAina]

22. The bottom line is he was born to be a "foot"ball coach.

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. Exactly... and for those who will go "ooooh other calls weren't made...oooo"

The problem is, THIS call WAS made and rescinded a full minute later. The Cowboys got their three bogus calls in a row later though. And don't get me started on the 4 seconds that weren't put back on the clock.

[navarth]

23. Thank you for being a reasonable poster. It was PASS INTERFERENCE

What a fucked up thing to have your momentum interrupted by this kind of bullshit. In the PLAYOFFS. Horrible.

It was clearly pass interference. Some people on this thread don't know what pass interference means.

That was a game changer.

All Dallas fans should buy that chickenshit ref a beer. He's your best friend.

[a kennedy]

25. Hey, keep it classy pal.....

All Dallas fans should buy that chickenshit ref a beer. He's your best friend.

[navarth]

34. Let me get this straight

Are you comparing calling my city 'detoilet' with my characterization of that ref? Tell me. Pal.

[trumad]

28. Even bigger than that was bryant

running on the field without his helmet objecting to the call. That's 15 yards right there. So---pass interference spotted where it happened, and then unsportsmanlike penalty---15 more yards. Yeah I'd say game changer.

[caraher]

35. Absolutely

I was pretty amazed they let that go. And there's no judgment call on that one - imagine the chaos if every disputed play resulted in every player who had a mind to object rushing onto the field to argue.

In a league full of flags for celebrations, how do you let this go?

[TBF]

31. Hey cowboy fans ~

welcome to Lambeau!

[1gobluedem]

36. Cowboys "got away with one" per head of NFL officials

http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/01/05/detroit-lions-dallas-cowboys-referees/21297019/

So not surprised. And the Dez Bryant thing being a judgment call? What if Suh had run out on the field to complain? Yep, thought so.

Sigh.

[navarth]

40. IMO the Cowboys are not guilty in this. For sure they were given the game

but you have to expect them to take that. They want to win, after all.

This is squarely on the shoulders of those officials. This raised a brand new level of egregiousness. There will be changes because of this, I am sure.

I believe it's incumbent on any HONEST football fan to call it like it is. If the Lions won like that, I would feel the victory was severely tainted, and act accordingly.

[TZ]

43. How about the

Bribing of government officials for favorable treatment NFL team from Dallas. Even Snyder isn't that corrupt