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Officials miss key point on Moats' fumble call
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One of the most controversial plays in yesterday's Texans-Colts game was the Ryan Moats fumble near the Colts goal line just before the two-minute warning in the first half.
The Texans were down 13-0 but had driven to the Colts 10-yard line. On 1st and goal at the 10, Matt Schaub took the snap with the clock at 2:30 and threw a quick out to Moats who caught the ball at the 8 and headed toward the corner of the end zone.
Moats was hit at the 3-yard line by Colts defender Antoine Bethea and both players hit the ground and rolled out of bounds at the 2-yard line.
Moats, however, lost control of the ball before he hit the ground. The ball, which stayed in bounds as Moats' and Bethea went out of bounds, rolled toward the end zone and was picked up by another Colts defender, Jerraud Powers.
Powers had also stepped out of bounds during his pursuit but when he saw the loose ball, he hopped back in bounds and picked up the ball as it was laying on the goal line.
The officials blew the play dead at 2:24, apparently based on the observation that Moats was out of bounds at the 2. Bethea got up and could be seen saying something to the officials -- something like 'that was a fumble.'
You can watch the play full speed and the official explanation on this video from NFL.com.
The CBS broadcast showed two quick replays immediately after the play, and on the second one, color analyst Solomon Wilcots commented that Moats fumbled while in bounds. I saw the same thing.
The next thing we saw on the broadcast was the Texans lined up at the 1 1/2 yard line ready to run a play on 2nd and goal. The clock, now re-started since it was still outside of two minutes, was rolling at 2:14. At about 2:08 you can see Schaub get the message in the helmet to let the clock run to the 2:00 warning.
I wrote yesterday how the Texans coaching staff blew it by not running a play at that point and eliminating the possibility of a replay reversal.
At his press conference today, Kubiak stated that they weren't aware of a potential issue.
"Well, I think hindsight obviously is 20-20; we'd like to have done something. I know that we didn't think there was an issue there," said Kubiak. "We thought he was out of bounds, we were moving forward. I can't speak for the Colts, but I'm not sure they knew there was an issue there, neither, until we got to the two-minute warning."
As I said in yesterday's entry, anyone watching the CBS broadcast was aware of a potential issue the minute they showed the first replay just before they re-started the clock at 2:24. Wilcots was all over it. I said enough about that yesterday.
Then, of course, once the 2:00 warning hit everyone was all over it, including Colts head coach Jim Caldwell who challenged the play coming out of the 2:00 warning.
Texans fans worst fears were realized as the officials confirmed it was a fumble in bounds, but their attention then focused on the player who picked up the ball (Powers) and his position on the field.
The officials ruled the play a touchback because Powers touched the ball as it was laying on the goal line before he fully re-established in bounds with two feet down (the official explained that he had only one foot down when he touched the ball). The ruling would be the same as the recovery of a loose ball at the back or side of the end zone by a player who has a foot out of bounds. Verdict: Touchback -- Colts ball at the 20. And seemingly the right call.
But here's what the officials missed that should have made Powers' touch of the ball a moot point. The loose ball contacted Bethea's left arm as he tackled Moats and while Bethea's right leg was out of bounds at the 2-yard line. That means it should have been a dead ball there (based on the same rule they applied to Powers - just at the 2 and not in the endzone). Whatever happened after Bethea touched the loose ball while he was out of bounds is irrelevant. During the review, not only should it have been ruled a fumble, it should also have been ruled a dead ball at the 2 because of Bethea's touch (Texans ball).
Here's a photo I posted yesterday by Tom Strattman of the Associated Press. As you can see, the ball is already out. Moats is still in bounds and isn't down because he's laying on Bethea (41) who's in the process of rolling out of bounds at the 2-yard line. Also notice that Bethea's left forearm is in contact with the loose ball and that Bethea appears to be on or very close to the sideline. The only problem is that it was difficult to tell from this angle whether Bethea was really out of bounds. There was a similar replay angle shown during the broadcast.
I went back and reviewed the play on my DVR about 50 times and was able to capture the following image from the CBS broadcast which shows the opposite angle at the precise time that Strattman shot the photo above. The lower image clearly shows that Bethea's right leg was out of bounds while in contact with the loose ball at the moment the upper photo was taken. Bethea's right elbow (that fuzzy black spot - he was wearing a large pad on his elbow) was also on the white line. Immediately after this screen capture - as Bethea is even further out of bounds - you can see Bethea's left arm move backward and push the ball toward the goal line where Powers (25) was waiting.
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If there are any Zapruder conspiracy theorists out there who doubt the images are from the exact moment in time, check out the position of Moats' feet, the position of the ball on his left wrist, the position of Bethea's left leg and the angle of Bethea's back to the ground.
During his presser today, Kubiak said that the Texans have contacted the league regarding the call.
"We basically filed our report," said Kubiak. "The bottom line, (the officials said) that the ball was not touched by anybody who was out of bounds. Or if it was, it was only touched by Ryan (Moats), who was on top of another player. We thought looking at it that 41 (DB Antoine Bethea) is touching the ball and he's out of bounds. So we'll hear back from them."
It will be interesting to see if the clarification (if any) is made public. You can bet I'll be watching NFL Network Wednesday evening to see if Mike Pereira addresses this on his Official Review segment.
Of course there's nothing anyone can do now. But it would be nice to hear an official explanation of the part of the play where Bethea was in contact with the loose ball while his leg was clearly out of bounds.
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