Disputed interception costly for Bucs Anwar Richardson, The Tampa Tribune, published 16 November 2009 Raheem Morris had no clue how a pass intended for Michael Clayton ended up being ruled an interception. Mostly because when an NFL official tried to give the Bucs' coach an explanation, Morris was not in a listening mood. "He was trying to talk to me and I really didn't want to hear it at that point," he said. "It didn't matter what his explanation was. I didn't really care. I thought it was the wrong call and I disagreed." Morris' one-sided disagreement, which contained bad language, led to the coach getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct during the 25-23 loss to Miami. Later, referee Tony Corrente explained to the media. Tampa Bay had possession on its 4-yard line when quarterback Josh Freeman attempted a pass to Clayton in the second quarter. The ball was on Clayton's body for a moment before popping into the air and into the hands of Miami defensive lineman Jason Taylor, who ran it into the end zone. But the play initially was ruled an incomplete pass. The replay assistant reviewed the play and changed the ruling. Taylor was given an interception and Miami awarded possession at the Tampa Bay 15-yard line. Then, Morris' unsportsmanlike penalty moved the ball half the distance to the goal line, to the 8-yard line. Two plays later, Miami quarterback Chad Henne threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Kory Sperry, giving the Dolphins a 16-6 lead. Corrente said the play initially was ruled an incomplete pass because officials believed the ball had touched the ground after it left possession of the receiver. He also explained why the play was not ruled a completion. "Because the player in question (Clayton), the player who was possessing the ball in the air, as he started to come down, was hit," Corrente said. "As he is coming down, he is now going to the ground to complete a catch and, by rule, if he's going to the ground to complete a catch, he has to maintain possession of the ball completely through the entire process of hitting the ground and thereafter showing control. "As he went to the ground, basically right when he went to the ground, the ball popped out, and went right into the arms of the Miami player. The ball had never touched the ground." Corrente said the play was not whistled dead until Taylor got into the end zone, but he explained why the ball could not be advanced. "Because by rule, in the replay rules we can give the ball to the team, but we can't allow the advance thereafter," he said. Clayton did not agree with the ruling and believed he caught the ball, but Morris took the ruling harder than his players. "This loss is solely on me," Morris said. "End of the half to get a personal foul as a head coach is unacceptable. I'm taking those points. It's on me. That's how much we lost by. I should be getting all the blame for that. That was a discipline issue on my part. I didn't do the right thing. That's a great lesson for me as a young coach and a great lesson to my team."