That’s all there is to it, but it’s everything. The Lions hoped to confuse the Cowboys by having both Decker and tackle Penei Sewell approach referee Brad Allen from one direction while the Lions’ usual jumbo tight end, Dan Skipper, ran from the sideline and approached Allen as if Skipper was reporting as eligible.
The problem is that in their attempt to deceive the Cowboys, the Lions also deceived Allen.
While Campbell was not specifically questioned if the pregame communication contained an explanation that they wanted to play a shell game with the Cowboys, his comments addressing his explanation to the referees were only focused on the play itself.
“I had it on a piece of paper,” Campbell said of the pregame meeting, which (as previously reported by PFT) Allen did not attend. “This is our game. What our guys possess. All I can do is talk it out. That’s all I can provide.”
He could, however, have done more. He might have told the referees, “Now, look, when we run this play, we want the Cowboys to think 70, not 68, is eligible.” So we’ll have three individuals approach the referee and hope the defense doesn’t notice which one is genuinely eligible. It’ll appear to be 70 degrees, but it’ll actually be 68.”
As previously stated, it’s difficult to fathom a head coach essentially recruiting authorities to go along with such a farce. The Lions took the risk that having three players approach Allen — including the normal big tight end who went right at Allen rather than to the huddle or the line — might confuse both the Cowboys and the referee.
That is exactly what occurred. According to the league, it was trickery and gamesmanship. And the Lions finally succeeded in confusing the Cowboys too well, because Skipper’s part of the ruse led Allen to believe the Lions’ regular jumbo tight end was reporting as eligible. That’s why Skipper dashed from the sideline to Allen.
If he could do it all over again, Campbell said he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I don’t have a timeout,” Campbell said. “There’s nothing I can do, you know?” It’s also quite loud. Nothing can be heard. Not where we were, you understand? I believe they identified 70 [as eligible] as soon as the game began. So there you have it.”
What it was, plain and simple, was an effort to conceal that Decker was eligible. It was an effort to make the Cowboys think Skipper was eligible.
And it worked. Too well.
