NFL has a lot to fix - Catch Rule is #1

[nycdan]

When I was a kid, I knew a TD when I saw one.  Seemingly, so did everyone else.  Now, every important TD catch seems to involve a multi-point review and nobody is sure anymore.  Games turn on overturned calls that nobody agrees with.  I was amazed they let those two TDs stand tonight and I think the game was better for it.

There's a lot that you could argue is broken with the NFL right now, but to me, this is the thing that ruins the flow of the game for me more than any other.  

[Anthony Jet]

Pretty ironic the pats had at least three catch calls overturned this season in there favor in big moments and than lose the super bowl on those same calls being held up to what they should be called

[SMC]

The Catch Rule was only ****ed up to help the Patriots.

The 2 catches by the Eagles were clear TDs and the only reason it was questioned (and Collinsworth was begging for it to be overturned) is because the Pats were involved.

On Ertz it was unequivocally a TD.  He took at least 3 steps after securing the ball then dove into the endzone after getting hit low. The pop up was immaterial and the refs made the clear-cut call.

[Pac]

It's getting fixed the next couple months:

 

 

The confounding catch rule is the bane of many football fans' existence. Count NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as one of those perturbed viewers fixated on simplifying and clarifying the rule this offseason.

"I'm not just somewhat concerned. I am concerned," Goodell told FOX Sports' Colin Cowherd on Monday, concerning the ambiguous standard. "We just had five Hall of Fame receivers and several coaches come in just two weeks ago to focus on the catch, no-catch rule -- how we bring clarity. And this is where the balance comes in. ... You want there to be clarity from an officiating standpoint, a coaching and player standpoint -- they know what it is or isn't. And so they draft the rule, the Competition Committee looks at it, they bring it to the membership, and they want that clarity. I think here you might have clarity in a large element of it, but then it's not the rule that people really want."

 

 

On many occasions this season -- at least three of which coincidentally involved and favored the AFC champion New England Patriots -- the catch rule drew major scrutiny for its conclusion and implementation.

The most notable of these instances came in the Game of the Year when Steelers tight end Jesse James' winning touchdown against the Pats was called back upon review after it was determined James did not survive the ground when reaching over the plane; New England sealed the win on a game-ending interception two plays later.

Following the loss, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, a member of the NFL's Competition Committee, said the catch rule "needs to be revisited" in the offseason. Goodell sounds intent on doing so.

"One of our Hall of Fame receivers said it well to me when we looked at this a couple years ago: Fans want catches," Goodell explained. "...It's particularly in the going to the ground that has created a lot of the confusion because it's a different rule when you're going to the ground then when you're on the sideline or the end zone. And I think that's what we're focusing on.

"The Competition Committee is going to be bringing this up in February and March, and I hope we'll be able to address this in a way that will bring more clarity and, frankly, more excitement to this."

[slimjasi]

I agree with you in general, but those were both obviously touchdowns.

The second one in particular made Collinsworth and Michaels sound so stupid and uninformed. Ertz took three mother****ing steps. If that isn't a touchdown, then touchdowns don't exist. 

 

[Maxman]

16 minutes ago, nycdan said:

When I was a kid, I knew a TD when I saw one.  Seemingly, so did everyone else.  Now, every important TD catch seems to involve a multi-point review and nobody is sure anymore.  Games turn on overturned calls that nobody agrees with.  I was amazed they let those two TDs stand tonight and I think the game was better for it.

There's a lot that you could argue is broken with the NFL right now, but to me, this is the thing that ruins the flow of the game for me more than any other.  

I think they fixed it tonight.

Both of those calls would have been overturned during the regular season. Tonight they were Eagles touchdowns. Problem solved.

[Larz]

The NFL panicked over the Dez Bryant play because he is a star on a premiere team 

If Bilal Powell made that play, nobody cares 

The field should be like the end zone or sidelines, 2 feet in with possession is a catch. 

The "football move" thing is too confusing as well but it fits what fans want to see 

If after a catch with 2 feet down inbounds the ball comes loose but doesn't hit the ground, that's a catch 

If it hits the ground, that's a fumble 

Since you don't want plays where the player has the ball for a split second winding up as fumbles you add in "establishes clear possession and tucks the ball or becomes a runner" 

They have to get rid of surviving the ground 

[nycdan]

1 minute ago, Maxman said:

I think they fixed it tonight.

Both of those calls would have been overturned during the regular season. Tonight they were Eagles touchdowns. Problem solved.

Yeah.  Maybe the NFL realized their credibility was actually being questioned in a loud enough way that they decided not to use the rule to simply gift the Patriots with another Super Bowl.  And lo and behold, the Patriots lost.  

Meanwhile, this apparently happened: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nick-foles-appears-to-have-been-in-illegal-formation-on-awesome-trick-td-play/ar-BBIHMCr?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Pats fans are going to be pissing and moaning about how unfair the game was.  Karma is a bitch!

[Maxman]

6 minutes ago, nycdan said:

Yeah.  Maybe the NFL realized their credibility was actually being questioned in a loud enough way that they decided not to use the rule to simply gift the Patriots with another Super Bowl.  And lo and behold, the Patriots lost.  

Meanwhile, this apparently happened: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nick-foles-appears-to-have-been-in-illegal-formation-on-awesome-trick-td-play/ar-BBIHMCr?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp

Pats fans are going to be pissing and moaning about how unfair the game was.  Karma is a bitch!

SB Nation says it was okay --> https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2018/2/4/16972192/nick-foles-touchdown-illegal-formation

I am going with that. 

[Sperm Edwards]

An equally horrible rule that must be undone, as the outcome makes no rational sense:

• If a team in chip-shot FG range fumbles, and the ball goes out of bounds just before the goal line, they retain possession there. No problem. 
• But If the ball bounces forward, crosses the goal line, and then goes out of bounds, they lose possession outright. It’s ruled a touchback where the other team - who didn’t recover or even necessarily touch the ball, mind you - not only unjustly gains possession, but they also are rewarded with 20 yards of breathing room on top of that.

Should be something along the lines of:

The fumbling team retains possession at the spot of the fumble or at the 1 yard-line, whichever is the greater distance from the goal line.

In order for possession to change hands, the defense has to actually establish possession in bounds.

[slimjasi]

Yeah, always hated the gift touchback rule. Makes zero sense. 

[jetsons]

44 minutes ago, SMC said:

The Catch Rule was only ****ed up to help the Patriots.

The 2 catches by the Eagles were clear TDs and the only reason it was questioned (and Collinsworth was begging for it to be overturned) is because the Pats were involved.

On Ertz it was unequivocally a TD.  He took at least 3 steps after securing the ball then dove into the endzone after getting hit low. The pop up was immaterial and the refs made the clear-cut call.

agree 100000000%!!!!!!!!

[jetsons]

17 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

An equally horrible rule that must be undone, as the outcome makes no rational sense:

• If a team in chip-shot FG range fumbles, and the ball goes out of bounds just before the goal line, they retain possession there. No problem. 
• But If the ball bounces forward, crosses the goal line, and then goes out of bounds, they lose possession outright. It’s ruled a touchback where the other team - who didn’t recover or even necessarily touch the ball, mind you - not only unjustly gains possession, but they also are rewarded with 20 yards of breathing room on top of that.

Should be something along the lines of:

The fumbling team retains possession at the spot of the fumble or at the 1 yard-line, whichever is the greater distance from the goal line.

In order for possession to change hands, the defense has to actually establish possession in bounds.

I humbly disagree... I think that rule should stay as is... you want to maintain possession of the ball when you're near the opposing teams goal line, don't fumble it... Period.

[Sperm Edwards]

9 minutes ago, jetsons said:

I humbly disagree... I think that rule should stay as is... you want to maintain possession of the ball when you're near the opposing teams goal line, don't fumble it... Period.

Using your “[then] don’t fumble it period” logic, you’ll want to further change existing rules to: every time you fumble you lose possession if it goes out of bounds, even if the defense never touches the ball (never mind actually establishing possession).

Being more successful in driving way down the field, prior to fumbling, is nonsensical to add more advantage and reward to the defense that yielded those extra yards prior to a fumble. 

It’s one of the dumbest rules in the NFL, if not outright the dumbest.

[jetsons]

17 minutes ago, Sperm Edwards said:

Using your “[then] don’t fumble it period” logic, you’ll want to further change existing rules to: every time you fumble you lose possession if it goes out of bounds, even if the defense never touches the ball (never mind actually establishing possession).

Being more successful in driving way down the field, prior to fumbling, is nonsensical to add more advantage and reward to the defense that yielded those extra yards prior to a fumble. 

It’s one of the dumbest rules in the NFL, if not outright the dumbest.

That's okay, I like the rule the way it is...