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I understand what a muff is and I think that B's control of the ball continues to be a muff until he contacts the ground with that control where he has possession of the ball and it then becomes a catch. You cannot have a change of possession on a forward pass without a catch, and therefore, in the first situation, A is still in TEAM possession when A & B jointly catch the ball. A's ball.
What happens when B jumps up to catch the ball and momentarily controls the ball, but before he hits the ground he is hit by A and drops the ball? It is an incomplete pass, not a fumble. B never caught the ball.
In the same fashion, this is why #2 is an incomplete pass.
What if in #1 B threw the ball forward, whould you have an illegal forward pass, too? I don't think so. Not unless B threw it after he made contact with the ground in bounds.
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