The NFL's Official Change to What Is A Catch: Dez Bryant play rule rewritten *merge*

[cml750]

Lol.... they rewrote the rule to makes Dez's catch not a catch????? I guess that is how they are going to justify that BS call???? The whole thing is ridiculous.

 

[xwalker]

Oh wow, even after rewriting the rule, Dez still caught the ball for the 2015-16 version of it. Let's see, Dez kept control of the ball after INITIAL CONTACT with the ground, for a full second, to boot. The initial contact?

Dez's first step. Not to mention he had 2 additional steps and both elbows down with no ball movement.

Blandino STILL can't put into writing how to take that catch away from Dez, 6 months later!

My issue is that the rule should not apply because Dez took 2 full steps (i.e. 3 feet down).

If he had taken 10 steps it would obviously be a catch; therefore, 2 full steps should also be a catch.

In the controversial no-catch by Calvin Johnson he only had 1 foot down, which would mean that this rule would be in play; however, after some number of steps this rule should no longer apply.

I don't understand why the fact that Dez took 2 full steps is rarely discussed. Three feet down with possession should always be a catch.

 

[CowboyGil]

The bottom line reason they re-worded it: CYA!!

 

[nathanlt]

The bottom line reason they re-worded it: CYA!!

Rewording it still doesn't give them the right to take Dez's CATCH away. They don't know how to write language to make that incomplete. And I'm sure not going to give them any help in defining the concept.

But they're going to hear an earful today from me on the comment line. 1-212-450-2000

 

[blindzebra]

The other thing that is great technically as it is written if a player goes to the ground OOB loses control and regains it without it touching the ground it is complete.

 

[nathanlt]

The other thing that is great technically as it is written if a player goes to the ground OOB loses control and regains it without it touching the ground it is complete.

Nice observation! I've always said that Blandino was incompetent. The language of the new rule is proof. Wow.

 

[percyhoward]

This is the NFL pulling the old "bait and switch."

Blandino at the league meeting in March: “I don’t think there’s a difference. I think it’s an effort to just make it easier to understand … I don’t think the standard changes. I think the way we’re communicating the standard has changed.”

They had advertised that the Dez play would not prompt any rule changes -- just a rewording of the rule. Then when the season comes around, we find out that they really have changed the rule after all. This amounts to admission of guilt on Blandino's part, because on January 11, he applied a rule that didn't exist yet.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

I wish it would go back to how it used to be. Two feet and clear possession, or a knee down with clear possession.

 

[percyhoward]

Lol.... they rewrote the rule to makes Dez's catch not a catch????? I guess that is how they are going to justify that BS call???? The whole thing is ridiculous.

Revisionist history. They're trying to convert Dez's catch into an incompletion in the eyes of the public. It looks ridiculous now, but years from now when people look back on the play, they'll think of current rules and wonder how anybody could have thought it was a catch.

 

[CrownCowboy]

We all hate it, we all know the truth, we all get sick every time we revisit this topic. My take; 2015 is on the doorstep lets turn the page and get ready for the upcoming season. I will tell you this the city is buzzing with anticipation of the upcoming season!

I hear ya.

But what if it happens again?

The league's behavior regarding Dez's catch and the aftermath is really making it hard for me to get as excited about the upcoming season as I normally get. The excuses and rationalizations and now rule change or whatever is really beyond ridiculous at this point.

I'd have more respect for the league if they would just come out and say that they purposely stuck it to the Cowboys rather than all of this crap.

 

[Silver N Blue]

I hear ya.

But what if it happens again?

The league's behavior regarding Dez's catch and the aftermath is really making it hard for me to get as excited about the upcoming season as I normally get. The excuses and rationalizations and now rule change or whatever is really beyond ridiculous at this point.

I'd have more respect for the league if they would just come out and say that they purposely stuck it to the Cowboys rather than all of this crap.

I understand how many "rule" changes have been associated with boys players....it will happen again hopefully not when it matters and not to the boys.

 

[DandyDon52]

They can still rig games with this rule"change". Mission accomplished

exactly ! lol
u know i have seen other plays overturned that clearly should not have been , and others like the cobb catch upheld but should have been
overturned.
So something is up with these calls.
They have replay with different angles, so how was the cobb catch a catch??
The dez catch was convoluted, and their wasnt incontrovertible evidence to overturn it, but they did anyway.
If it is clear then overturn it, and if not clear then call stands, should be simple but still many calls each week will have people
scratching their head and saying *** ??

Looking at the dez play many times, it is hard to say catch or not, using the rules, so it should have stood as called.
I would say same thing if it had been ruled inc.,

 

[percyhoward]

They changed a poorly written rule into a more confusing one, just so the rule fits the overturn.

If this is indeed the official rule change, then it's obviously been tailored to this one play, which is going to cause a lot of confusion and controversy until they address it sensibly. A player can gain yards, reach a line of gain, fumble, throw passes, and do just about anything while not being upright.

But now, for the first time, he can't catch a pass. The Dez Bryant Rule. Lunacy.

 

[cowboyblue22]

this catch rule along with pass interference will always allow the league the ability to change the outcome of games to get the results they want and if any one don't think this happens just really pay attention in games.

 

[ABQcowboyJR]

If this is indeed the official rule change, then it's obviously been tailored to this one play, which is going to cause a lot of confusion and controversy until they address it sensibly. A player can gain yards, reach a line of gain, fumble, throw passes, and do just about anything while not being upright.

But now, for the first time, he can't catch a pass. The Dez Bryant Rule. Lunacy.

This rule change was not thought out well at all. I completely agree with you.

 

[erod]

This isn't a rule change. This is a weak attempt to explain a bad call after the fact.

 

[samilpa4life]

The Dallas Cowboys' 26-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on Jan. 11 was shrouded in controversy after wide receiver Dez Bryant appeared to make a game-saving grab that could have propelled the Cowboys to the NFC Championship Game.

However, the NFL rule regarding the status of a catch prevented the play from being upheld, since Bryant was deemed not to have made what the league referred to as a "football move."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...letter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=nfl

 

[erod]

This isn't even a rule change.

It's a weak attempt to try to explain a boneheaded mistake by the league office last year when they incorrectly changed the correct ruling on the field.

 

[samilpa4life]

This isn't even a rule change.

It's a weak attempt to try to explain a boneheaded mistake by the league office last year when they incorrectly changed the correct ruling on the field.

so it would be a catch with this "new rule" ? the ball did not hit the ground

 

[erod]

so it would be a catch with this "new rule" ? the ball did not hit the ground

Yeah, it did. C'mon, that argument has always been silly.

But he had three feet down, made a clear football move, and the league has admitted that if he had broken the plane, it would have been a touchdown.

Had it been the Packers........? I wonder.