Dez Caught It

[Sect 236]

Looks like the NFL is changing it so that plays like the one Coach Dez had against GB will now be ruled a catch. Shame (not really) of it is, that doesn't help Dez, Romo or Dullass in 2014 and they still haven't sniffed a title since Slick Willy Clinton was in office.

Oh yeah...the Eagles are also Super Bowl champs!

[art vandelay]

i know i'll be alone on this, but i don't think the NFL's catch rule is that bad. the dez "catch" is the one that i could see a legitimate gripe with, because reaching to the end zone can be considered a football move.

but the jesse james non-catch was pretty clear to me. and the calvin johnson non-catch wasn't even close. he has to hold on to that.

under the old rule (assuming they change it ) i think zach ertz's SB TD fit the minimum criteria for a catch.

[IronEagle]

i know i'll be alone on this, but i don't think the NFL's catch rule is that bad. the dez "catch" is the one that i could see a legitimate gripe with, because reaching to the end zone can be considered a football move.

but the jesse james non-catch was pretty clear to me. and the calvin johnson non-catch wasn't even close. he has to hold on to that.

under the old rule (assuming they change it ) i think zach ertz's SB TD fit the minimum criteria for a catch.

To my eye Ertz clearly took two (or maybe three) steps with possession of the football before he broke the plane.

Once you secure possession it doesn't matter if the ball moves.

[RSE]

It killed me that Collinsworth and Michaels never acknowledged the three steps.

Though to be fair neither did Merrill Reese or Mike Quick. Merrill was arguing the catch was good because both of Ertz’s hands were under the ball when it popped out, which I don’t think is true.

But it was obvious to me Ertz was a runner.

[IronEagle]

It killed me that Collinsworth and Michaels never acknowledged the three steps.

Though to be fair neither did Merrill Reese or Mike Quick. Merrill was arguing the catch was good because both of Ertz’s hands were under the ball when it popped out, which I don’t think is true.

But it was obvious to me Ertz was a runner.

I completely agree the ball came out when Ertz hit the ground.

But he most certainly broke the plane as a runner before that occurred.

[IronEagle]

I completely agree the ball came out when Ertz hit the ground.

But he most certainly broke the plane as a runner before that occurred.

PS: is taking a step (or two, or THREE) not a "football move"?!?

[RSE]

If Ertz has lost the ball after beginning his dive and New England had fallen on it, they sure as shit would have been arguing Ertz made a football move.

[thegodfather]

To my eye Ertz clearly took two (or maybe three) steps with possession of the football before he broke the plane.

Once you secure possession it doesn't matter if the ball moves.

Ertz took 3 steps with control and his hand was under the ball. Dez took NO steps with control and the ball hit the ground. Both calls were correct.

[Drama Queen]

A step or two in the process of falling

PS: is taking a step (or two, or THREE) not a "football move"?!?

isnt a football move under the rule. The difference for Ertz, he took 3 steps with possession and turned towards the goal line in an effort to score. Clearly a football move.

I thought the Clement TD was closer to debate. However, he possessed the ball through the end of his first step and at the begin of his second step before moving to secure it. That’s security with two steps and a TD.

Actually you hear very little debate about both scores. Michael and especially Collingsworth wanted controversy as opposed to explaining the play. I have a hard time accepting Collingsworth is that stupid. Kind of sickening.

Our skill players came up big. That Jeffrey catch mid field along the side line over his should was fantastic. Very difficult.

[TRENT]

he did,,a total football move,,he was runner

they just hyped it up because it was a go ahead TD in the SB

[art vandelay]

your eye was right. two steps, then a third (football move), then he dove. they were right to review the play. if he had been touched earlier then maybe that's not a TD. but they got the call right.

imo all the other controversial non-catches (dez bryant, jesse james, calvin johnson) were correct interpretation of a rule that's really not absurd. makes sense that you have to have possession as you go to the ground.

[ishimonster]

Didn't surprise me

It killed me that Collinsworth and Michaels never acknowledged the three steps.

They were blowing the Pats all game.

Collinsworth was audibly upset any time something went our way.

Biased commentating without basic knowledge of the rulebook.

[jrachiever]

On the Dez Bryant and Calvin Johnson catches, I think the NFL is fine with their current rules, they just need to clarify the way they want the referees to interpret them. The NFL rule on becoming a runner is:

"A player has the ball long enough to clearly become a runner when, after his second foot is on the ground, he is capable of avoiding or warding off impending contact of an opponent, tucking the ball away, turning up field, or taking additional steps. If the player loses the ball while simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground, there is no possession. This rule applies in the field of play and in the end zone."

On the Dez Bryant play, he gets 3 steps in after catching the ball, and on the last one he turns his body towards the end zone, drives forward with the foot, and dives with full possession of the ball. In my view, he fulfilled at least one and possibly all four of the requirements to be a runner by the rules.

On the Calvin Johnson play, the relevant rule is:

"Item 1. Player Going to the Ground. A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete."

The key part here is *initial contact with the ground*. On that play Calvin Johnson, catches the ball, makes a hop, comes down on his butt and left hand, and as he's turning over and pushing his body upwards, with center of mass rising, he places his right hand with the ball towards the ground and the ball comes loose. You could say he successfully maintained possession through the initial contact and lost possession after the catch was completed in the process of getting up.

The Jesse James play seems like a no catch, unless you'd want that same catch to be ruled a fumble and live ball if it was made outside the end zone, or would want a rule revision that contains some type of end zone exception, which I think they would want to avoid.