Referee Gene Steratore simply saw it as an incomplete pass.
Steratore told the Journal Sentinel, which conducted the interview for the pool report distributed to the media, that wide receiver Dez Bryant’s fourth-quarter catch was ruled incomplete through instant replay because Bryant did not complete the process of the catch.
“There were a couple of angles that showed the ball actually hitting the ground and the receiver losing possession of it as well,” Steratore said.
This year, vice president of officiating Dean Blandino and his staff are in contact from New York with the referee or replay booth during every instant replay ruling to help sort out the play. When he announced the final ruling, Steratore said that “It was determined …” the catch was not made.
He was asked if the final ruling came from New York.
“It’s a joint decision,” Steratore said. “I mean, now we’re fortunate to have the ability to communicate with New York and have additional input, which helps with judgment as a referee on the field and in the booth to be able to have that communication. So, yes, it’s a joint effort.”
Here is how Steratore described why the catch was rule an incompletion:
“That ruling, although the receiver is possessing the football, he must maintain possession of that football through the entire process of the catch, So, in our judgment, he maintained possession, but continued to fall and never had another act common to the game.
“So, we deemed that by our judgment to be the full process of the catch and at the time he lands and the ball hits the ground, it comes loose as the ball hits the ground, which would make that incomplete. Although he repossesses it, it does contact the ground when he reaches.
“So the repossession is irrelevant because it was ruled an incomplete pass when we had the ball hit the ground.”
Steratore was asked whether the fact that Bryant’s right elbow hit the ground constituted him being down before the ball was bobbled. He said it didn’t matter whether he was down.
“When you’re still going through the process of the catch, elbows or knees are irrelevant,” Steratore said. “We’re still making that. He must complete that entire process with the football maintained possession throughout.”
