You’re not going to believe this, but the NFL is blaming the Lions for a blown call that cost them a win vs. the Cowboys on Saturday night.
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, the NFL has no plans to change the rules on players reporting as eligible after Saturday night’s fiasco in Dallas. And it’s not placing blame on the refs.
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“Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL does not plan to change the procedure for players reporting as eligible. The league views the situation as an effort by the Lions to engage in deception and gamesmanship that backfired,” Florio said.
“Basically, the Lions wanted the Cowboys to think Skipper was reporting as eligible and that Decker was not. Which would have caused the Cowboys to cover Skipper, not Decker, when the play unfolded. The problem is that, in trying to confuse the Cowboys, the Lions confused Allen.”
“Part of the problem is that the Lions relied on verbally communicating the eligible/ineligible information to Allen without using the clear, inconspicuous non-verbal signal of the eligible player running his hands over the front of his jersey. It was, apparently, part of the effort to confuse the Cowboys. Which, in turn, confused Allen,” Florio added.
After the game, Lions coach Dan Campbell, Decker, Skipper and Goff all said Decker reported as eligible, and Skipper said nothing to the ref.
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Campbell said he told the officiating crew about the possibility of the play before the game, but Florio reports Allen wasn’t present during that meeting.
“So, no, the NFL won’t be changing the procedure. It’s up to the teams to use it the right way. If they deliberately confuse the situation as a matter of strategy, they have to accept the consequences of potentially confusing the officials, too,” Florio said.
So because the Lions drew up a play so good, it even confused the refs, they didn’t deserve to win a game they clearly won. But that’s just life as a Lions fan.
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