NFL Catch Rule vs. NCAA & NFHS

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by FormerUmp

I think the argument in favor of this being a TD is that he clearly made a clean catch with control of the ball and lunged for the endzone, only losing control after the ball had broken the plane. People are seeing that as a football move. Given the inconsistent way that replay decisions have been made this year, with several decisions not being supported by video, it should be no surprise that high-profile calls are getting even more attention than usual. Also, technically, he survived his "initial contact with the ground," which was his knee, then lunged for the endzone, losing the ball after that.

I do think it's worth exploring if there's a way to modify the rule so that this play and others like it are touchdowns, as they should be, in my opinion. The key would be to do it in such a way that it's not going to lead to a bunch of cheap turnovers in the field of play. Perhaps a rule change that only applies to the endzone?

I don't know why they'd want to particularize it like that. But then, I don't know why they wanted a different rule for when the receiver's body is moving downward from when the receiver's moving in any other direction.

For instance, they could've written a rule allowing recovery of a loose ball by a player on the ground who's getting up only if the possession "survives getting off the ground". So if you're getting onto your feet while picking up a loose ball, and the ball comes loose while your body is still rising, that'd be non-possession as well. Makes as much sense as the one about a player going to the ground -- and apparently going to the ground applies even after some part of the body other than the hands or feet touches the ground, as long as the player's body still has a net motion downward.