video is here: Tour also OK with Rory McIlroy's embedded-ball drop at Farmers | Golf Channel
The shot is relatively similar, but their behavior is quite different.
For McIlroy, the shot takes a bounce first then disappears into thick rough. McIlroy comes upon it, checks it out, DOESN'T pick it up. Shouts out to his playing partners 'hey I think my ball is embedded.' To which they don't even bother to examine, confirm it's a one club drop, and go about their business. THEN McIlroy picks up the ball.
Contrast with Reed, two damning factors. Almost his first utterance is 'did anyone see it bounce?' which is an odd question, unless, of course, he saw it bounce and knows the odds of it being embedded after a bounce are low. And of course, he picks it up before calling anyone over.
If he behaved like McIlroy, good chance he would have been treated like McIlroy "of course it's embedded dude, look at these conditions." Instead, he went about it all sneaky, and with his history, he is accused of cheating. Now, why didn't he do that? And why doesn't he see that it's not "...SAME THING."