NFL VP of officiating visited Cowboys after Dez Bryant’s non-catch
In light of Dez Bryant’s controversial non-catch, NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino made a point to personally visit Dallas during the off-season to discuss the season-ending ruling with the Cowboys.
That’s not to say Blandino’s stance on the call ever wavered.
“Not a catch,” Blandino said Friday at the NFL officiating clinic in Irving. “We went through that process with the committee. Didn’t change the rule. Tried to clarify it. We really feel that the way the rule is written now, the way it’s being applied, allows us to be as consistent as possible.”
Blandino pointed out Friday the same thing he has since January, when Bryant’s fourth-and-2 catch near the goal line was overturned in the NFC divisional playoffs, effectively ending the Cowboys’ season.
Bryant, Blandino said, didn’t maintain control of the ball as he fell to the ground. According to the league’s “Calvin Johnson Rule,” that’s not a catch.
“The message to the coaches and players — because we’ve gone out and visited with every staff — is if you’re falling to the ground to make the catch, then you have to maintain the control when you land,” Blandino said. “And if you reach or do anything with the football, that’s not going to trump that requirement to maintain control.”
Blandino, though, wanted to convey this to the Cowboys in person, which isn’t always standard protocol.
“I wanted to make sure that I was in Dallas this year, because obviously it was a controversial play,” he said.
The dialogue also consisted of “lengthy discussions” with Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones, who’s a member of the league competition committee. The team has been level-headed about the issue, Blandino said.
“They may not agree with the call, but it was always positive,” he said. “‘Hey, look let’s get to some common ground as to what are we going to teach our players. How can we be consistent?’ And, so, they’ve been great throughout the entire process.”
Other officials Friday reiterated Blandino: the call was simply the application of a rule.
“We got the call right,” said referee Walt Coleman, who was involved in the controversial “tuck rule” call in a game between the Patriots and Raiders in 2001.
Ed Hochuli, another longtime league referee, said the hype of the game contributed to the debate as much as anything.
“It was correctly ruled,” he said. “I think what’s unfortunate is that it was a close play. Everybody agrees with that. It’s unfortunate when a play like that is in a big game at a big time, at a big moment in the game. If that same thing had happened in Week 15, nobody really would have noticed. But everybody would have understood, ‘OK, yeah, I guess that’s what the rule is.’”
Ryan Osborne, 817-390-7760
Twitter: @RyanOsborneFWST
This story was originally published July 17, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "NFL VP of officiating visited Cowboys after Dez Bryant’s non-catch."