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Catch Rule Question


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7 minutes ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

On the play where the KC defender picked up a potential catch/fumble from an Eagles' player and ran it in for a TD, it was overturned because "he needed a 3rd step".  But it was pretty clear that the Eagles player caught the ball and had firm control of it (he had both hands on the ball) and he was nowhere near the sidelines (so being out-of-bounds wasn't even a consideration).

My question is: why doesn't that count as a catch (and fumble) when it would count as a catch had the receiver done the same exact thing but then fell (or stepped) out-of-bounds?  

 

I think going out of bounds would be considered the third step, whatever the hell that means. 

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4 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

Asking for clarification on the catch or possession rule from anyone including the league is totally fruitless.  No one knows and even the ones who are supposed to know change it from instance to instance.   By far the worst rule issue the NFL has right now.  It's a travesty.

This, in my opinion, is the correct answer.

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Great question.

 

The answer is that the NFL catch rules are a logically incoherent mess. They should be simplified to be "two feet and clear control of the ball." The "football move" stuff is arbitrary nonsense that only complicates the intuitively simple notion of a catch. 

In the old days, that would have been a fumble 10 out of 10 times (go back and watch the 1994 SF-Dallas NFL title game and look at Michael Irvin's fumble on the second drive of the game - two feet down, possession, and a fumble. SIMPLE. The NFL needs to go back to SIMPLE rules with SIMPLE interpretations). 

 

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12 minutes ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Also, what does he mean by "out of bounce"?  The correct terminology is "out of bounds".  

 

It was a joke. You obviously did not follow the (useless) parade of pre-season tweets from one of the the Jets beat writers (the guy from the Dolphins - DJ something)  in 2021 (I think).  He repeatedly called out of bounds "out of bounce" and was apparently serious about this term and not making a joking malapropism. 

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20 minutes ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

On the play where the KC defender picked up a potential catch/fumble from an Eagles' player and ran it in for a TD, it was overturned because "he needed a 3rd step".  But it was pretty clear that the Eagles player caught the ball and had firm control of it (he had both hands on the ball) and he was nowhere near the sidelines (so being out-of-bounds wasn't even a consideration).

My question is: why doesn't that count as a catch (and fumble) when it would count as a catch had the receiver done the same exact thing but then fell (or stepped) out-of-bounds?  

 

It’s a really good question.

I’m assuming you mean a “toe tap” type of play?
 

My best guess would be, with the continuance out of bounds the player still has to “move” the ball at some point. His hands and arms have to break and move with possession cleanly still.

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Just now, Joe Willie White Shoes said:

It was a joke. You obviously did not follow the (useless) parade of pre-season tweets from one of the the Jets beat writers (the guy from the Dolphins - DJ something)  in 2021 (I think).  He repeatedly called out of bounds "out of bounce" and was apparently serious about this term and not making a joking malapropism. 

Oh, lol.  A Jets' beat writer didn't know that?!  That's crazy!

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c. after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, performs any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so. 
 

 

That’s an incompletion 100/100 times 

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2 minutes ago, Larz said:

c. after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, performs any act common to the game (e.g., tuck the ball away, extend it forward, take an additional step, turn upfield, or avoid or ward off an opponent), or he maintains control of the ball long enough to do so. 

That’s an incompletion 100/100 times 

What if he did what he did yesterday (right before the potential fumble) but stood there frozen for 20 minutes.  Then the defender came in and knocked the ball out.  That should be an incompletion in your opinion?

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34 minutes ago, Larz said:

No football move. That was really obviously an incomplete pass 

Actually, I think there was a football move.  He caught the ball running to the sideline.  But he was facing the end zone when he was hit and dropped the ball.

When I watched the play, I was convinced it was an incomplete pass.  When I watched the replay, I changed my mind to a fumble and Chiefs TD.

But really, there was no right call.  The margin was too thin either way.  Refs made a reasonable call.

It's just never going to be perfect!

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1 minute ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

What if he did what he did yesterday (right before the potential fumble) but stood there frozen for 20 minutes.  Then the defender came in and knocked the ball out.  That should be an incompletion in your opinion?

I posted the actual rule. It was a correct interpretation of the rule and the correct call. In the meaningless example you mentioned, I suspect the play would be blown dead prior to 20 minutes elapsing. 

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2 minutes ago, addage said:

Actually, I think there was a football move.  He caught the ball running to the sideline.  But he was facing the end zone when he was hit and dropped the ball.

When I watched the play, I was convinced it was an incomplete pass.  When I watched the replay, I changed my mind to a fumble and Chiefs TD.

But really, there was no right call.  The margin was too thin either way.  Refs made a reasonable call.

It's just never going to be perfect!

It was the right call. This one isn’t even remotely close or controversial 

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2 minutes ago, Larz said:

I posted the actual rule. It was a correct interpretation of the rule and the correct call. In the meaningless example you mentioned, I suspect the play would be blown dead prior to 20 minutes elapsing. 

1 minute ago, Larz said:

It was the right call. This one isn’t even remotely close or controversial 

It may have been the right call according to the rulebook (just like the Tuck Rule), but my point is that it's an idiotic rule.

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5 minutes ago, addage said:

Actually, I think there was a football move.  He caught the ball running to the sideline.  But he was facing the end zone when he was hit and dropped the ball.

When I watched the play, I was convinced it was an incomplete pass.  When I watched the replay, I changed my mind to a fumble and Chiefs TD.

But really, there was no right call.  The margin was too thin either way.  Refs made a reasonable call.

It's just never going to be perfect!

Football move or not, do you think the guy caught the ball and had possession of it?  

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41 minutes ago, Larz said:

No football move. That was really obviously an incomplete pass 

Exactly. People can complain about the rules as they are written and want them changed, but the rule is clear. He needs 2 feet down and make a football move. He had 2 feet down and before he can make a "football move" the ball was knocked out. Not sure what the drama is all about. 

ANY rule related to a catch will always have some level of subjectivity. At what point is a move a "football move"? In this case, he just caught the ball but didn't do anything. He didn't take a step up field, he didn't lunge for extra yardage. It was in his hands and then instantly dislodged so by rule it's not a catch. 

I am pretty sure the thought process behind the "football move" is that it is unfair for a player to be credited with a catch and fumble in the exact same act. 

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1 hour ago, HighPitch said:

That rule is a bunch of BS.

So if I caught the ball perfect and froze and was hit 20 minutes later thats not a catch?

Freezing for 20 minutes is still a move.

Replay has destroyed all sense of actual events. 

Bang (catch) bang (knocked out immediately before the receiver moves or reacts) has always been an incompletion.

But ultra-slow-mo replay makes it seem like he had 20 minutes to "finish the catch" when he didn't.  It was ruled correctly.

I'm far more concerned with all the catches ruled incomplete, and the variability of such calls, because of the bogus rules in place now about the ball not shifting or moving as the receiver hits the ground out of bounds.  Again, something only ultra-slow-mo replay actually can show, it can't really be seen in live action.

Replay has done more damage than good to the quality of the game.

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8 minutes ago, JoJoTownsell1 said:

Exactly. People can complain about the rules as they are written and want them changed, but the rule is clear. He needs 2 feet down and make a football move. He had 2 feet down and before he can make a "football move" the ball was knocked out. Not sure what the drama is all about. 

ANY rule related to a catch will always have some level of subjectivity. At what point is a move a "football move"? In this case, he just caught the ball but didn't do anything. He didn't take a step up field, he didn't lunge for extra yardage. It was in his hands and then instantly dislodged so by rule it's not a catch. 

I am pretty sure the thought process behind the "football move" is that it is unfair for a player to be credited with a catch and fumble in the exact same act. 

My post isn't about "did they make the correct call".  It's about "they should change this idiotic rule".

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