NFL to change the catch rule.

The NFL will change the catch rule. Vote to be this week. Basically if possession occurs it is a catch. Dez Bryant would now be a catch. James would now be a catch. Exact details after the vote.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nf...rsial-catch-rule/ar-BBKtjEj?OCID=ansmsnnews11

 

Meh. I played for 9 years. The way the rule is now makes sense to me.

Of course there will be close calls that require some judgement. Sometimes those judgement calls will be wrong. That will not change if they change the rule. The only thing that will change is that more plays that I consider drops will be called completions.

IMO if you catch the ball while falling down, and then drop it when you hit the ground, that should be incomplete.
If you catch the ball, run a few steps, and drop it after that, it was already a completion.
The run a few steps part will be in a gray area on some plays. That's life.

IMO,
Dez - not a catch. He was falling down. Yes he touched his feet in bounds 3 times, but he was falling the whole time, not running.
James - not a catch. Falling down, no steps.
Ertz - a catch. Caught the ball in stride ran 3 steps before contact and was not falling down. Dove on contact. He was already a runner at that point, so dropping it after crossing the goal line is irrelevant.
These are examples of close calls, where judgement has to be applied. I happen to personally agree with the judgement applied in each of those calls.

There are others I have disagreed on. e.g. buffalo v ne last year. The Kelvin Benjamin TD that got reversed. It was called a TD on the field. We watched the replay 50 times and I could see it both ways. It was hard to tell exactly when he established control vs. when his feet were down. IMO if it is not 100% definitive on replay then the call on the field should stand. So in that case, I thought the replay was inconclusive, so the call should not be reversed.

Changing the rule will result in...
more weird completions that used to be drops.
more weird TDs that used to be drops.
more weird fumbles that used to be drops. (people forget these because no one cries about them years after the fact).

Ground can't cause a fumble when you are being tackled, but what about if you fall down with no defender tackling you.
What if you make a diving catch and drop it when you hit the ground with no contact from a defender. If those types of plays become completions, won't dropping it when you're not in the end zone become a fumble?

There will still be gray area judgement calls that people will cry about after the fact.
So I don't see any reason to change it.

 

Need to see the details. What does it mean to establish possession? Not juggle and take 2 steps? You can still fumble right? If you hit the ground and dont have established control then what?

 

My main thinking on this concerns out of bounds and end zone.
Especially end zone.
Once the ball crosses the line the play is dead. Touchdown.
A defender can't slap the ball out your hands and call it a fumble.
Why is the ground allowed to create an in-completion?
Same with the out of bounds.

 

Depends on if control is established.

 

Funny how the concept of catching a ball has become so complicated. How was it done 20 or 30 years ago?

 

when i was growing up, a man was a man, and a catch was a catch. did he have possession? were two feet down or the knee/hip/whatever? Catch. possession + 2 steps = catch.

now we're going to define whether the second foot was "stepping" or "touching" or "stumbling?" how can anyone define a "stumble" as less of a step as a sideline "toe touch?"

C'mon NFL don't be so bitchy.

 

A defender can slap the ball out of your hands in the end zone to prevent a completion, as long as he does it before the pass is considered complete.

The ground doesn't create the incompletion. A receiver has to maintain control of the ball after falling to the ground before it is considered a completion. It's not the same thing as the ground not causing a fumble. A runner already has possession. A receiver doesn't have possession until after the pass is considered complete.

It has been that way since forever, and by forever I mean since I started playing in the 80s when I learned the game.

 

They changed it.

The new rules defining a catch include:

1. Control of the ball.
2. Two feet down or another body part.
3. A football move such as:
» A third step;
» Reaching/extending for the line-to-gain;
» Or the ability to perform such an act.

Control it in midair, drop it when you hit the ground, apparently will be a catch next year.

"it's a significant step in clarifying a rule that confounded everyone involved in the NFL for years."

It only confounded non players and receivers that cry when they drop the ball.

It seems the dumb but loud have won the day again.

 

A catch happens when the ball is thrown to a guy and he doesn't drop it

There’s your rule, NFL

 

Well, I'm glad the "surviving the ground" crap is gone.

 

Funny, I always know when it's a catch. They should just call me.

 

the rule needed to be changed, I am good with it

 

As long as control is established then fine. The ground cant cause a fumble.

 

So you guys think if a player jumps in the air and controls the ball, but then drops it when he hits the ground, that should be a complete pass?!?

That seems so wrong to me.

 

Personally I think if a player catches the ball it should be ruled a catch.

 

Except, if the ground cannot cause a fumble, then why should it turn a catch into a non-catch?

 

i think he should have possession when he hits the ground. I just think they got too into the weeds with their definition.

like the dez catch. he caught the ball. he made multiple steps, he lurched forward toward the goal line, and when he hit the ground (having been contacted by a defensive player), he bobbled it. the definition was that a player must "maintain control throughout the entire process of contacting the ground." that definition is overkill.

if the ground prevents the player from gaining possession, ie diving for a catch and bobbling it when he hits the ground from midair, then that makes sense. they just needed to come up with a way that allows, within the definition, for a more reasonable way to measure catch & possession.

 

The concepts of "the ground can not cause a fumble" and "surviving the ground during a catch" are completely different.

In the case of a ball carrier running with the ball, he already has possession. Say for example, when he is getting tackled, the ball pops out when he hits the ground. The event of the runner hitting the ground makes him down and the play is over. That means the ball popping out is not a fumble because he is already down and the play is over. Hence, "the ground can not cause a fumble". You hear the refs say "down by contact" when this happens. They mean down due to contact with the ground.

In the case of a receiver trying to catch a ball, he does not have possession until the pass is considered complete. "Complete" has traditionally meant controlling the ball in bounds long enough to be considered a runner. If you don't become a runner and instead go out of bounds or fall down, you can't drop it while doing so. You must maintain control while falling down for the pass to be considered complete. This is "surviving the ground".

Going back to the case of a receiver controlling the ball in the air and dropping it when hitting the ground. It is not the ground making a catch a non-catch. It is the receiver failing to make the completion by dropping it. He never had possession because he did not complete the pass.

With the original rule it was pretty clear what was and what wasn't a catch IMO. If you drop the ball it's incomplete.

With the new rule, I have no idea how they will call it. I actually believe there will be more confusion, and it will be applied more inconsistently. I actually think the players will be coached to take advantage of the new wording. On sideline catches receivers will start to squeeze in 3 mini foot taps in bounds instead of 2. The 3rd step will now qualify as the "football move" and then they can drop the ball out of bounds and it will still be a completion. Receivers catching the ball in midair will start to automatically reach their arms forward which will now qualify as a "football move" and then they can drop it when they hit the ground and it will still be complete.

Be careful what you wish for. These changes were not well thought out at all. It's a knee jerk reaction to clueless TV talking heads and twitter crybabies. Guaranteed more catch rule changes coming in 2019.

 

Shannon Sharpe understands.
Skip Bayless clueless. Skip's basically says that how his emotions feel when watching a play determines if it's a catch or not. I would bet anything Skip never played tackle football.

 

I hate to pick nits (never mind, I love picking nits), but the "contact" refers to contact with an opposing player. Here's the relevant language from Rule 7, Section 2, Article 1 from the NFL Rules:

So if a runner falls on his own (I guess you could call that "down without contact") and then loses the ball when he hits the ground, he is not "down by contact" and a fumble results.

This has been rare, but it will become more common under the new rule. If a receiver lunges to catch the ball in the middle of the field, stumbles a few steps and stretches for the first down marker (a "football move"), then loses the ball when he hits the ground, all without contacting a defender, that will be a catch and a fumble. But if he contacts a defender in the process, it will be a catch and down by contact.

Another nuance is that the contact has to occur while the player is a runner. So if a receiver gets touched just before making the catch, then makes the catch, then stumbles, then loses the ball upon hitting the ground, that will be a fumble. I wonder whether the timing of catch vs. touch will be subject to replay review.

 

You are correct on the language. The contact refers to contact with a defender.

My point is still correct in that when a runner is being tackled, the play is over the moment the player touches the ground, so if the ball pops out due to touching the ground, it is not a fumble because the play is already over ("the ground can not cause a fumble").

This is a completely different concept from "surviving the ground" when a player is trying to catch a pass, meaning the pass will not be complete if you drop it before you become a runner.

The new rule greatly relaxes the criteria needed for a receiver becoming a runner.

"surviving the ground" will still be a thing for receivers that don't make the 3rd step, extend for a line to gain, or "have the ability to perform such an act".

With such vague criteria as "the ability to perform such an act", how on earth will officials be able to apply it with any consistency?

 

This is a very good point. There will be replays to determine if a defender touched the receiver before or after he dropped a ball.

Touched him before drop. Complete and down by contact.
Touched him after drop. Complete and fumble. Defense recovered...turnover.

People lost their minds when the review determined if a pass was complete or incomplete. How about when a large number of reviews determine if its a complete pass or a turnover.

Next season is going to be Bizarro World football.

 

This new rule is going to be tough. Potential for more time outs for review to see if the guy controlled the ball prior to hitting the ground. And each ref will have his own interpretation. Confusion abounds!