After the disputed Detroit Lions ineligible receiver call, the NFL sends a message to every club.
The Week 17 matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys generated headlines for NFL officials. The Cowboys eventually won that game 20-19. However, a contentious ineligible receiver call against Detroit played a significant role in the outcome.
Last week’s call infuriated Lions coaches, players, fans, and bettors alike. NFL legend Carl Banks went even farther, claiming that the league’s legitimacy is at jeopardy. The NFL has now doubled down and sent a message to every team on the rule.
In a Memo, the NFL used the Detroit Lions as an example
The NFL distributed this memo to each team in the league. The video lasts just under two minutes. The essential point to remember is that the NFL chose to utilize the Detroit Lions’ contentious situation as the example for the video.
This video is narrated by Perry Fewell and Walt Anderson. They are the SVP Officiating Administration and SVP Officiating Training and Development, for those of you who are unfamiliar with them.
These two take the time to remind each squad of how to report a qualified receiver. They stress that it is the player’s responsibility to ensure that the referee understands their eligibility. These two also state repeatedly that the aim of this is to notify the defense that an offensive lineman is eligible.
Another topic covered here is how a player lines up. They aired a clip of the Lions’ pre-two-point conversion formation against the Cowboys. The narrators pointed out that no matter how they lined up, they would have formed an illegal formation. In other words, the NFL is doubling down on the call made that night on the field.
NFL Supporters React
As you can expect, supporters were outraged by the message issued by the NFL. Here’s what some of them thought about it:
“Absolutely incredible this league continues to double down on this like it was the lions fault for their referees incompetency.”
“What a joke. #fireBradAllen”
“Joke of a league.”
“Is this parody?”
“Full of suit much?”
“This is laughable.”
“Why can’t they just own up to their mistake?”
It is safe to say that the wound is still fresh for many NFL fans. Worst of all, this controversial call had a major impact on playoff implications. The Dallas Cowboys could very well could get a higher playoff seed than the Detroit Lions as a result.
