One of the oft-repeated arguments about how the Detroit Lions got hosed was that Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant came on the field and didn't get a flag for it.
Well, the NFL is obviously listening to the wishes of its fans, because the officials in the Baltimore Ravens-New England Patriots game decided to call an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on Ravens coach John Harbaugh for wandering out on the field too far to argue a call.
Now everyone can be happy! Just what you argued for, more flags!
NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino said after the Lions-Cowboys game that calls like Bryant being on the field are under an official's discretion (Bryant being on the field without his helmet on has been mistakenly cited about a million times since the game, but it's not a foul for a player to come off the sideline onto the field without a helmet). The officials in this case decided that Harbaugh had crossed some line, figuratively and literally. After so much attention was paid to Bryant not getting called for coming on the field, it wouldn't be a big surprise if the officials in this weekend's games were told to watch out for it.
It was a pretty big penalty. The Patriots trailed 28-14 in the third quarter at the time of the call, the penalty moved New England half the distance to the goal line, and shortly after that Tom Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 5-yard touchdown. The Patriots tied the game on their next possession.
After seeing the officials call that unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that really didn't need to be called and that made a big difference in the game, it's clear the game is better off with officials calling more needless penalties like the one on Harbaugh.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1BNHyhh
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