From: jwc@netxcom.netx.com (Jeff Comer)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: Was Dallas screwed? You make the call....
Date: 14 Dec 92 14:02:42 GMT
Organization: The Chaos Bobs

Was Dallas screwed? You make the call.... For those who didn't see it, the
Cowboys had the game sewn up at RFK late in the 4th quarter, 17-13. On 2nd
and 7, from their own 5-yd line, Aikman drops back to pass. DT Jason Buck
hit Aikman as he was attempting a pass; the ball rolled loose in the end
zone, and RB Emmitt Smith picked the ball up. He was immediately hit by LB
Andre Collins and Danny Copeland. As Smith was going down, it looked like
he was trying to roll the ball forward out of the end zone. In any case,
the ball squirted loose again, and Copeland fell on it for a Redskin TD.

Several points -

[1] Was Aikman's forward motion enough to make it a pass? On this, I am
    inconclusive. The official ruled that he saw no forward motion, and so
    it was a fumble. But several replays seem to counter this; I did not
    see any replays so I cannot judge; but several non-partisan viewers do
    say it should have been an incomplete pass.

[2] Was Smith down? It seemed as though he was not, though again, several
    replays suggest otherwise. I was at the game on the 40-yd line, and to
    me it looked like Smith was down.

[3] What the hell was JJ trying to do? The game is on ice with 3+ minutes
    to go; why try to pass at all? The Cowboys had been moving the ball on
    the Skins defense most of the day; all they had to do was just keep 
    stuffing the ball up the middle, wasting clock time, and hand the ball 
    back to the Redkins offense, which was pretty anemic.

[4] What was Smith trying to do by rolling the ball forward? Was he in fact 
    trying to roll the ball forward? I thought you were supposed to fall on 
    the ball! The worst result is that you take a safety, give up 2 points, 
    and kick off from the 20, still leading the game 17-15 with 3 minutes 
    to go.

[5] What would Instant Replay Review have ruled? There seems little doubt
    that Smith would have been ruled down, giving the Skins a safety. They
    might also have ruled that Aikman's arm was moving forward, and that
    the ball was an incomplete pass. Someone here claimed that the passed
    ball hit a lineman in the facemask. If this is true, it should indeed
    have been called an incomplete.

I am interested in what other netters think of this bizarre play. I am a
little disappointed that such a big game turned on such a weird event.

In any case, I think the Pokes played a pretty good game; they definitely
looked like a super-bowl calibre team. The Washington defense also played 
a great game, holding Dallas scoreless in the 2nd half and getting a couple 
of key turnovers.

When is Washington going to get an offense? The Redskin O again looked like 
they had no clue what to do. Rypien was overthrowing receivers all over the 
place, and had a couple of easy TD throws that he missed. It wasn't all Ryp's 
fault, as there were several easily catchable balls that were muffed.

So now the Pokes have something they can use as revenge. For Skins fans,
this is not good, as the two will probably meet in the playoffs, back in
Texas. The loss might end up being a boost for Dallas, and might serve to
refocus them on the Super Bowl drive.

-JC
The NFL Mad Man.