Spotting the Ball

[hsfb99]

What about when the player extends the ball forward with his arm as he is coming down? So if a player is airborne or on top of other players, when his body or knee makes contact, the ball should be spotted where the ball lands in his outstretched arm, correct? It seems the ball is almost always pulled back and spotted where the ball carriers chest lands. I've seen a lot of first downs get missed with this spot.
The only time I've seen an outstretched arm count is for a td. The ball carrier can stretch out, and as soon as the tip of the ball breaks the plane, even if the carriers body, from the wrist back, is still in the field of play and then comes down in the field of play, it is called a td.
Seems to me, this call is pretty inconsistent. Sometimes it only involves a half yard or less but, as we all know, it's a game of inches.