What you both aren't getting is the mechanics of the rules at the time. You had the general catch rule and then there were rule subsets that basically functioned as exceptions and those rules took precedence over the general catch rule. The going to the ground rule is either a yes or no question and if yes, the ball can't touch the ground and come out. The official on the field didn't see the ball hit the ground because he was shielded from it, but the replay showed everything and it was ruled as such.
As for the 2015 rule wording change, nothing about the rule itself changed. Time was always part of the elements of a catch so that was nothing new. You jump, land, and immediately get the ball poked out, there's not enough time to declare it a catch. That's always been the case. So despite whatever conspiracy trying to be created, nothing that happened from 2015 onward to the recent rule change was any kind of coverup. If you understand the rules as they were written (and the average football fan couldn't, which is why they re-worded it), you know it was the correct call at the time and all the way up to when they removed that subset rule taking precedence over the general catch rule. There was no "spirit of the law" being missed. It was always a yes/no determination. The field official missed what replay caught, which was that the ball hit the ground and came out of Dez' grip. By rule, that's a done deal and no catch. Dez needed to do all he could to secure the ball and take the 1st and Goal. Didn't happen.
