Referee Gene Steratore explains why Dez Bryant catch was overturned
By Mike Dyce
NFL referee Gene Steratore explains why he overturned the catch made by Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Late in the game as the Dallas Cowboys were marching down the field to try and regain the lead from the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, it looked like wide receiver Dez Bryant made a huge catch.
It came on a fourth down play and was a big time play from one of the team’s best stars. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, the call was challenged and then overturned, baffling many NFL fans. Even Dez Bryant struggled to understand why the catch was overturned.
After the game, NFL referee Gene Steratore explained the thought process that went into overturning the catch.
“Although the receiver is possessing the football, he must maintain possession of that football throughout the entire process of the catch,” Steratore said, via Rick Maese of the Washington Post. “In our judgement, he maintained possession but continued to fall and never had another act common to the game. We deemed that by our judgement to be the full process of the catch, and at the time he lands and the ball hits the ground, it comes loose as it hits the ground, which would make that incomplete; although he re-possess it, it does contact the ground when eh reaches so the repossession is irrelevant because it was ruled an incomplete pass when we had the ball hit the ground.”
Bryant obviously disagrees with that assessment.
“What am I supposed to do? I’m just reaching for the goal line. I don’t understand,” Bryant said, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News.
And not so shockingly, Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett would also disagre with that assessment.
“It looked like he had three feet down and what they describe to us all the time as a move common to the game,” Garrett said, via the Associated Press. “It’s a signature play for him. He maintained possession of it throughout, in my opinion.”
Despite their protests, Steratore said the officials in New York agreed that the ball hit the ground and that it was a joint decision.
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