After watching a lot of football this year, I've noticed there still seems to be a lot of uncertainty when it comes to referees making judgement calls. Now obviously on judgement calls there can only be so many guidelines in the rule book since it is up to the referee to make the call. However, I still think the NFL has to make it more clear how those judgements should be made. For example, what exactly is a "catch" and what exactly is "not a catch". It amazes me that even after implementing instant replay a few years back, there are still so many incorrect calls being made on the field. Wasn't the whole point of adding instant replay to the game to avoid this from happening? To make it easier on the NFL commissioner who will definitely read this article and implement my rule book change suggestions, here is the rule that needs to be changed and what I think it should be changed to:
We need a more clear rule about what is a "catch."
This rule gets botched every single week by NFL refs. Mostly because there are so many contradictions in the rule book about how a ref should decide. According to NFL rules:
"In order to complete a catch, a receiver must clearly become a runner. He does that by gaining control of the ball, touching both feet down and then, after the second foot is down, having the ball long enough to clearly become a runner, which is defined as the ability to ward off or protect himself from impending contact. If, before becoming a runner, a receiver falls to the ground in an attempt to make a catch, he must maintain control of the ball after contacting the ground. If he loses control of the ball after contacting the ground and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. Reaching the ball out before becoming a runner will not trump the requirement to hold onto the ball when you land. When you are attempting to complete a catch, you must put the ball away or protect the ball so it does not come loose."
Is this as confusing to you as it is to me? It seems like every sentence is a contradiction. And clearly this rule is no good. I'm thinking about Odell Beckham Jr.'s missed touchdown catch a few weeks back (speaking of OBJ, why wasn't he ejected in the first quarter of last week's game when all the violence was first starting?), I'm thinking about Megatron's missed touchdown catch earlier this year, and I'm thinking about the big Dez Bryant call in the postseason against the Packers. Fans have been demanding a significant change to this rule for a while now and it's time. A catch or no catch call can determine the outcome of the game so it's time to establish what exactly a catch is. In my opinion, let's make it as easy as it gets. Let's say you need to have full possession when you get to the ground and the ball can never hit the ground. If you lose full possession at any point once you hit the ground it is not a catch. But hey, that's just my opinion. The bottom line is that we are getting down to the end of the season when every play matters and the correct calls need to be made.
So NFL, I ask you one last time, what is a catch? Please explain this to me and the whole football world ASAP and make the necessary changes to the rule book before the playoffs start. Make the right call, explain this rule better.
