Tampabay.com
NOVEMBER 15, 2009

Bucs' Clayton reacts strongly to "pitiful" call

WR Michael Clayton seemed aware his comments after the game would probably be reviewed by NFL officials, but he had a hard time containing his emotions when asked about the play on which it was ruled Jason Taylor intercepted a pass intended for Clayton.

Clayton insisted he caught the ball late in the second half and was down by contact. The pass was eventually ruled incomplete but overturned on replay.

Clayton strongly disagreed.

"I hope they got it right," he said. "I hope they saw something that we didn’t see, because for me, from what I saw, it was pitiful. There’s no reason for that in any league. That’s just a routine catch. I hope they got it right. I would hate for a game to come down to that. For a game to be taken away on a call like that, that hurts."

He later added, "I know it was a catch. One hundred percent. I do hope that I’m wrong.
That hurts to see that happen, to see something taken from you. I just
hope that they got it right. They didn’t give us an explanation for it.
That’s the sad part about it. You can’t even give an explanation. I
think every (official) on that field deserves to give a head coach an
explanation for what just happened, especially under those
circumstances. In return, we get a penalty? I think that that’s sad. I
don’t think it’s called for."

Clayton official version was as follows: "From what I saw, from what I felt, I caught the ball. My legs got taken
out from under me. I came down, put my hand on the ground, then my
elbow, then my back."

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