Pondering Off-Season Rule Adjustments

[O_P_T]

If I understand what you're saying, you're saying that this is not a reviewable call. Well, not only is a reviewable call, but the Dez Bryant non-catch was originally ruled complete on the field and then overturned on replay.

IMHO it is pretty clear he was falling down in the act of making the catch. He was not running free and then taking a dive for the end zone. He simply stretched for the end zone as he was falling.

Exactly.

When his second foot comes down he falls to the ground.

There's no way he could have remained on both feet the way he was moving.

He was going to the ground in the process of making the catch.

The ball hits the ground, and he does not control it the whole time.

By rule that's an incomplete pass.

 

[chevss454]

The fact that we're still discussing it tells me there's too much ambiguity & too little common sense with the rule.

But forget the rule for a minute and now watch the gif above.

Did he catch the ball?

 

[QuiGon]

The fact that we're still discussing it tells me there's too much ambiguity & too little common sense with the rule.

You say there's too much ambiguity in the rule and too little common sense. The thing is, common sense and ambiguity go hand-in-hand. If you tell the refs "eh, just rely on your common sense to make the call" then you're opening a big huge Pandora's Box of ambiguity.

But forget the rule for a minute and now watch the gif above.

Did he catch the ball?

Well it looks to me like he caught it while he was in the air, but it is also quite clear that he was in the process of going to the ground while catching it. Catching and controlling it for an instant as you're falling to the ground is not good enough. You have to control it all the way through.

 

[O_P_T]

The fact that we're still discussing it tells me there's too much ambiguity & too little common sense with the rule.

But forget the rule for a minute and now watch the gif above.

Did he catch the ball?

No.

 

[Stevo]

No.

I also vote for no