[macrojack]

4 minutes left in the 4th quarter and the refs are doing everything in their power to hand the game to the Cowboys. Can Romo take advantage of all the advantages provided by the officials? I think so.

[sts9fan]

Good job refs!!

[thunderbrick]

Well, shit!     NOW what are we gonna do for Romo and Jerry Jones jokes?   Or is that being redundant……………..?

[macrojack]

Not a legitimate  win for the Cowboys. I liked it because it represents a blatant example of what I claim happens almost every game; the refs determine the outcome by calling or not calling penalties, as needed, to guide the preferred team into an advantageous position. The easiest way to see this seems to be in the area of pass coverage. If the refs "let them play" that means one defense is being allowed to maul the receivers of the other team. Seattle gets away with it a lot.

[JLM]

Not a legitimate  win for the Cowboys. I liked it because it represents a blatant example of what I claim happens almost every game; the refs determine the outcome by calling or not calling penalties, as needed, to guide the preferred team into an advantageous position. The easiest way to see this seems to be in the area of pass coverage. If the refs "let them play" that means one defense is being allowed to maul the receivers of the other team. Seattle gets away with it a lot.

+1  How many times do big plays get called back for penalties?

Just a couple of steps from the professional wrestling.   

(From Michigan, but not a Lions fan.)

[Tomy2Tone]

You guys remember hearing before the season started about VP of NFL officiating Dean Blandino hanging out with Cowboy Exec's on their "party bus". I guess it paid off!

[SteveFord]

Chin up, there's always next week to hate the Cowgirls.

[chip]

What are peoples picks this week?

I think this weeks games will be much better than last weeks games. Dallas game was only exciting due to refs calls/miscalls.

Patriots VS Ravens - Patriots by 7 at home.
Green bay VS Dallas -  ***Dallas at Green Bay will be a close match and I give an edge to the Packers
Broncos VS Colts - Broncos by 10 points
Seahawks VS Panthers - I believe this game is going to be low scoring and won by 3 points. Seattle is strong and at home but Panthers pull off the upset of the week.

[rodge827]

Not a legitimate  win for the Cowboys. I liked it because it represents a blatant example of what I claim happens almost every game; the refs determine the outcome by calling or not calling penalties, as needed, to guide the preferred team into an advantageous position. The easiest way to see this seems to be in the area of pass coverage. If the refs "let them play" that means one defense is being allowed to maul the receivers of the other team. Seattle gets away with it a lot.

You have mentioned the "NFL Ref Conspiracy Theory" in the past and until the Lions/Cowboy game I (like others) thought your observations were unfounded. 
But now I see and realize that your "theory" has some serious evidence to it.
You are a wise and thorough observer! 
My apologies for believing otherwise! 

[macrojack]

Thanks, Rodge. I'm going to show this to my wife who seems to think I'm never right about anything.

And I doubt that I'm alone in this observation. The Cowboy fans, who normally rejoice loudly whenever their team wins, have been utterly silent following their first playoff "victory" in years. I bet they are very disappointed that it came the way it did.

I think that one call reversed the entire direction of the game. The Lions were moving down the field and might well have scored another touchdown after the pass interference call and the Unsportsmanlike Behavior call that should have been charged to Dez Bryant when he ran out onto the field to protest the initial pass interference flag without his helmet. The additional 15 yards would have taken the Lions deep into the enemy territory, though I don't remember where on the field the infraction/non-infraction occurred.

All this makes the above predictions pretty futile.

For my part, I don't see why Dallas won't get more help in Lambeau. The Patriots are unlikely to stumble but I've seem Baltimore get big help in the past. I'd still bet on N.E. Carolina might well upset Seattle - no game hinges more on the refs than this one.
And my Bronkies, poor things, have finished the season well below playoff form. Manning is running on fumes and Andrew Luck is ultimately going to be the best QB ever to suit up in the NFL. That's why Irsay went over the top in the Suck for Luck sweepstakes. Colts take it in a runaway - unless the league feels the Broncos are a better storyline or will sell more everything.

[macrojack]

I just reviewed THE PLAY. If it had been called correctly, the Lions would have had a 1st & 10 around the Dallas 14 yard line.

Anything could have happened from there including a pick 6. That we know - but the energy went out of Detroit after that very deflating injustice.

I think that the NFL, like my cable company, exploits its monopoly status abusing its subscribers in the process. We seem to be catching on about the cable/dish people and I think we are moving in that direction concerning football (and big money sports in general). Off with their heads.

[mick wolfe]

First off, I'm confused and maybe late to the dance, but I've always thought "face guarding" WAS pass interference. Yet I've seen several examples this year where the defender is clearly face guarding and nothing is called. To make matters worse, the announcers usually chime in with " nice coverage" even though the defender never for an instant turned his head toward the ball. Now in Sunday's game, it looked like the defender actually could have been called for defensive holding even before the controversial pass interference call.....err no call. Never have seen a flag picked up like that before without an immediate explanation from the officiating crew. Save me a seat on the conspiracy bus. Something stinkuth here.

[Speedskater]

Of the 11 total playoff games, will there be any good games?
A game where one team plays poorly during the first half and the other team plays poorly during the second half is not a good game, regardless of the final score.
A game where both teams play poorly during the entire game is not a good game, regardless of the final score.

[barrows]

Not a legitimate  win for the Cowboys. I liked it because it represents a blatant example of what I claim happens almost every game; the refs determine the outcome by calling or not calling penalties, as needed, to guide the preferred team into an advantageous position. The easiest way to see this seems to be in the area of pass coverage. If the refs "let them play" that means one defense is being allowed to maul the receivers of the other team. Seattle gets away with it a lot.

Disagree, despite the poor job with the calls, Dallas deserved to win (and I hate Dallas): Detroit had the game in hand, and let it get away from them, you just do not win playoff games by relaxing like that.
Yeah, the Superbowl last year was a great example of letting a team (the Seahawks DBs) "play", but still, again, despite a bad job of officiating the Seahawks deserved to win (not surprising considering that fully half of the Broncos defensive starters were injured).
In general, despite sometimes poor officiating, the deserving team almost always wins the game.  Bad calls are part of any sport, the team which is able to overcome that type of adversity is the team which wins, and deservedly so.  No, I do not believe the conspiracy theory myself, not saying it is impossible that you are correct, just that I highly doubt it.  Calling pass interference consistently in real time is just a very challenging task for officials: it is easy for us to look at replays and make the correct call, but officials do not have the advantage of looking at replays for penalties.

[rodge827]

Thanks, Rodge. I'm going to show this to my wife who seems to think I'm never right about anything.

Female trait!
I was a smart and competent guy, was even told that many times, but for some reason after she washed the rice out of her hair my IQ dropped 75points.   

Ignorance is bliss...  

[rodge827]

Calling pass interference consistently in real time is just a very challenging task for officials: it is easy for us to look at replays and make the correct call, but officials do not have the advantage of looking at replays for penalties.

Oh come on now!
More than one ref is always watching the ball!
That was a blatant penalty and everyone knows it. I do agree that bad/missed calls are a part of the game, no doubt, but this is the Playoff's, and these guys get paid big bucks to get it right! Apparently this crew hadn't worked together before and there was a trust issue between them.
Whether Detroit would have won the game is still a mystery, but get it right guys! It's your job to do so!

[jhm731]

What are peoples picks this week?

I think this weeks games will be much better than last weeks games. Dallas game was only exciting due to refs calls/miscalls.

Patriots VS Ravens - Patriots by 7 at home.
Green bay VS Dallas -  ***Dallas at Green Bay will be a close match and I give an edge to the Packers
Broncos VS Colts - Broncos by 10 points
Seahawks VS Panthers - I believe this game is going to be low scoring and won by 3 points. Seattle is strong and at home but Panthers pull off the upset of the week.

NFL Odds Divisional Playoff Games - NFL Football Odds
Divisional Playoffs
NFL Game Odds 1/10 - 1/11, 2015

Date & Time       Favorite        Spread  Underdog 
1/10 4:35 ET At  New England     -7     Baltimore
1/10 8:15 ET At  Seattle            -11     Carolina 
1/11 1:00 ET At  Green Bay        -6      Dallas 
1/11 4:40 ET At  Denver             -7      Indianapolis   

Unless New England and Denver are unable to run the ball, I don't see any upsets.

[thunderbrick]

Oh come on now!
More than one ref is always watching the ball!
That was a blatant penalty and everyone knows it………..
Whether Detroit would have won the game is still a mystery, but get it right guys! It's your job to do so!

On SI.com the NFL head of officiating said the flag shouldn't have been picked up…………..

[jonbee]

NFL Odds Divisional Playoff Games - NFL Football Odds
Divisional Playoffs
NFL Game Odds 1/10 - 1/11, 2015

Date & Time       Favorite        Spread  Underdog 
1/10 4:35 ET At  New England     -7     Baltimore
1/10 8:15 ET At  Seattle            -11     Carolina 
1/11 1:00 ET At  Green Bay        -6      Dallas 
1/11 4:40 ET At  Denver             -7      Indianapolis   

Unless New England and Denver are unable to run the ball, I don't see any upsets.

I don't expect any upsets either.
As to Seattle v. Carolina, Carolina has the 20th ranked offense against the #1 Seattle defense, and Seattle 10th ranked offense vs. the 15th ranked Carolina defense. Add to that the fact that Seattle had the toughest schedule of any team this year which skews those numbers and you get a not very close game, IMO. 27-10 Seattle.
I expect the real test for Seattle will be against Dallas or Green Bay. That should be a close game.

[whell]

First off, I'm confused and maybe late to the dance, but I've always thought "face guarding" WAS pass interference. Yet I've seen several examples this year where the defender is clearly face guarding and nothing is called. To make matters worse, the announcers usually chime in with " nice coverage" even though the defender never for an instant turned his head toward the ball. Now in Sunday's game, it looked like the defender actually could have been called for defensive holding even before the controversial pass interference call.....err no call. Never have seen a flag picked up like that before without an immediate explanation from the officiating crew. Save me a seat on the conspiracy bus. Something stinkuth here.

Face guarding similar to pass interference in College football.  Face guarding is not a penalty in pro football.  Regardless, the Dallas defender made contact with the Detroit receiver before, during and after the ball was thrown.  Pass interference should have been an easy call to make on that play, as well as a flag on Dez Bryant for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Yup, I'm from Detroit and I'm biased.  But even non Detroit fans are scratching their heads over this one, and rightly so.  Conspiracy?  No.  Poor officiating from a ref crew that never worked together before?  Yup.  Does any of this matter?  Nope, the Lion's season is still over.