blindzebra
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For all who might be confused by all of the misleading posts on here by a few of the posters who have NO CLUE how to read and interpret rules. I have officiated multiple sports for 25 plus years...explains the username...and I actually TAUGHT CLASSES for beginning officials. I know what I am talking about when it comes to rules and how case book plays work. I would not be bragging to say I would have been 1000 times more qualified to have held Blandino's position being he was an ex comedian who NEVER OFFICIATED A GAME IN HIS LIFE.
Here are the facts:
On the 4th and 2 play, Romo threw deep left to Dez. Dez high pointed it and brought it in gaining full control with both hands when his second foot lands. His body turns to his left, he takes a step and during this step, he becomes tangled up with Shields. As he starts to go down he moves the ball into his left hand...which is his dominate hand, and the one nearest the goalline...with his right hand he braces and simultaneously pushes off his left leg which goes from bent to fully extended, and this tosses up turf as he propels himself toward the endzone. As he lands just short of the goalline his control of the ball is temporarily lost.
In 2014 the rules for a catch read that a player needed to have control, have two feet down in bounds, and make or have the time to make a move common to the game.
The 2014 Case Book had the following play:
A.R. 8.12 GOING TO THE GROUND—COMPLETE PASS First-and-10-on B25. A1 throws a pass to A2 who controls the ball and gets one foot down before he is contacted by B1. He goes to the ground as a result of the contact, gets his second foot down, and with the ball in his right arm, he braces himself at the three-yard line with his left hand and simultaneously lunges forward toward the goal line. When he lands in the end zone, the ball comes out.
Ruling: Touchdown Team A. Kickoff A35. The pass is complete. When the receiver hits the ground in the end zone, it is the result of lunging forward after bracing himself at the three-yard line and is not part of the process of the catch. Since the ball crossed the goal line, it is a touchdown. If the ball is short of the goal line, it is a catch, and A2 is down by contact.
For those who don't know what a case book is, it is a supplement to the rule book that presents possible scenarios of plays that could happen under certain rules to show how the rule should be applied correctly. I will also mention that a major part of officiating is understanding how different rules line up to cover a play.
The case play presented above mixes two rules and a subsection of one of them. The first part is the catch rule, and under that rule is an item about going to the ground, which states a RECEIVER going to the ground with or without contact, must maintain control of the ball through contact with the ground. Now back to that earlier catch rule: control, two feet, and time to or an act common to the game. Why is this important? Because completing the act of a catch turns a RECEIVER to a RUNNER. Now that rule comes into play in terms of fumbles or down by contact.
Now let's review both what Dez did and the case play presented above. In both the receiver controlled the ball and was contacted by a defender causing them to go to the ground. The case play receiver landed on one foot, Dez landed on two. So going back to the catch rule Dez has completed 1. Control 2. Two feet down in bounds. In the case play the receiver takes a second step after contact, so now both have completed two of the three steps required to go from a RECEIVER to a RUNNER. At this point the case play RECEIVER braces and lunges to complete the third step of the catch process and is now considered a RUNNER. Dez meanwhile turns his body from the opposite sideline toward the goalline, steps with his left foot and his left leg bends at the knee as he continues down to the ground, Dez takes his right hand off the ball, with his left hand he starts to extend the ball while his right arm braces to keep his body up, with his left leg he pushes off, throws up turf, and his leg goes from bent to fully extended, he extends the ball even farther just before he hits the ground. Now the question to ask yourself here is, if the case play RECEIVER just braced and lunged to become a RUNNER, under the catch rule what did Dez do? By my count, he turned, took a step, moved the ball, braced, pushed off his left leg, and extended the ball. If the two acts the case play player did made him a RUNNER, what does the SIX ACTS DEZ DID make him?
All involved with the overturn talked post game about football moves, so regardless of what some want you to believe, in 2014 an act common to the game (football move) mattered when going to the ground, just as the case book play clearly states. In 2015 the NFL altered the rule and changed part three of the process to upright long enough to become a runner. Why is this so-called clarification crucial? Because it negates the catch process during going to the ground. In other words, the RECEIVER must become a RUNNER before they start the going to the ground process. Yes, I am aware that the case play above stuck around for the 2015 rule and case book, however it has not existed since 2015 and it contradicts the new wording of the rule. Let's just assume 2015 was bad editing for the case book.
Here are the facts:
On the 4th and 2 play, Romo threw deep left to Dez. Dez high pointed it and brought it in gaining full control with both hands when his second foot lands. His body turns to his left, he takes a step and during this step, he becomes tangled up with Shields. As he starts to go down he moves the ball into his left hand...which is his dominate hand, and the one nearest the goalline...with his right hand he braces and simultaneously pushes off his left leg which goes from bent to fully extended, and this tosses up turf as he propels himself toward the endzone. As he lands just short of the goalline his control of the ball is temporarily lost.
In 2014 the rules for a catch read that a player needed to have control, have two feet down in bounds, and make or have the time to make a move common to the game.
The 2014 Case Book had the following play:
A.R. 8.12 GOING TO THE GROUND—COMPLETE PASS First-and-10-on B25. A1 throws a pass to A2 who controls the ball and gets one foot down before he is contacted by B1. He goes to the ground as a result of the contact, gets his second foot down, and with the ball in his right arm, he braces himself at the three-yard line with his left hand and simultaneously lunges forward toward the goal line. When he lands in the end zone, the ball comes out.
Ruling: Touchdown Team A. Kickoff A35. The pass is complete. When the receiver hits the ground in the end zone, it is the result of lunging forward after bracing himself at the three-yard line and is not part of the process of the catch. Since the ball crossed the goal line, it is a touchdown. If the ball is short of the goal line, it is a catch, and A2 is down by contact.
For those who don't know what a case book is, it is a supplement to the rule book that presents possible scenarios of plays that could happen under certain rules to show how the rule should be applied correctly. I will also mention that a major part of officiating is understanding how different rules line up to cover a play.
The case play presented above mixes two rules and a subsection of one of them. The first part is the catch rule, and under that rule is an item about going to the ground, which states a RECEIVER going to the ground with or without contact, must maintain control of the ball through contact with the ground. Now back to that earlier catch rule: control, two feet, and time to or an act common to the game. Why is this important? Because completing the act of a catch turns a RECEIVER to a RUNNER. Now that rule comes into play in terms of fumbles or down by contact.
Now let's review both what Dez did and the case play presented above. In both the receiver controlled the ball and was contacted by a defender causing them to go to the ground. The case play receiver landed on one foot, Dez landed on two. So going back to the catch rule Dez has completed 1. Control 2. Two feet down in bounds. In the case play the receiver takes a second step after contact, so now both have completed two of the three steps required to go from a RECEIVER to a RUNNER. At this point the case play RECEIVER braces and lunges to complete the third step of the catch process and is now considered a RUNNER. Dez meanwhile turns his body from the opposite sideline toward the goalline, steps with his left foot and his left leg bends at the knee as he continues down to the ground, Dez takes his right hand off the ball, with his left hand he starts to extend the ball while his right arm braces to keep his body up, with his left leg he pushes off, throws up turf, and his leg goes from bent to fully extended, he extends the ball even farther just before he hits the ground. Now the question to ask yourself here is, if the case play RECEIVER just braced and lunged to become a RUNNER, under the catch rule what did Dez do? By my count, he turned, took a step, moved the ball, braced, pushed off his left leg, and extended the ball. If the two acts the case play player did made him a RUNNER, what does the SIX ACTS DEZ DID make him?
All involved with the overturn talked post game about football moves, so regardless of what some want you to believe, in 2014 an act common to the game (football move) mattered when going to the ground, just as the case book play clearly states. In 2015 the NFL altered the rule and changed part three of the process to upright long enough to become a runner. Why is this so-called clarification crucial? Because it negates the catch process during going to the ground. In other words, the RECEIVER must become a RUNNER before they start the going to the ground process. Yes, I am aware that the case play above stuck around for the 2015 rule and case book, however it has not existed since 2015 and it contradicts the new wording of the rule. Let's just assume 2015 was bad editing for the case book.
