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Article Link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2639506-how-the-nfls-catch-rule-became-the-worst-rule-in-sports
Questions:
1. What can the NFL do to "fix" the rule?
2. Is the catch rule hurting the NFL and its officiating in anyway?
3. What do you think the NFL rule for catch or no catch should be?
4. Should all catches be reviewed from the booth, or only when the challenge flag is thrown?
I really think a catch is a catch, and the way the league determines a catch is the player having possession of the football throughout the catch, going to the ground. It doesn't seem there is a way to "fix" the rule because it is the rule. If they NFL wants, they can change the rule to make officiating the play a bit easier, to make sure they get the correct call. But I don't see how they need to change it if they can go to the booth after they play to make sure. All touchdown catches are and should be reviewed, but if it is not a touchdown, the ruling on the field should change, only if the challenge flag is thrown, should it be checked in the booth.
ReplyDeleteI think the NFL should change this rule. This is because it is pointless when it comes to certain plays, and creates extra controversy for players (who most of which barely even know this rule). It adds an extra limitation to the game, and hurts officiating when the decision could go 50/50.
ReplyDeleteTo make the rule more clear, the NFL could publish video's showing when specifically a ball is caught or not. Of course, that could not do anything and result in further confusion, but it is a start. Although the confusion hurts people and players, if the officials understand the set definition at hand, then I see no problem with the rule. As long as all officials are equal with how they treat the rule, there is no problem. I think the best way to call a catch or not is if it does not touch the ground before it is in the hands. Simple as that. If they could find a quicker method to review catches, I see no problem with using technology. But as of now, not all catches should be reviewed.
ReplyDeleteAll catches should not be reviewed. That would be a waste of time that would interfere with the flow of the game and would make the game a lot less likable because of that. I think that when the coaches throw the challenging flag that is when and only when the catches should be reviewed. There shouldn't be a limit on the amount of catches a coach can challenge, allowing for them to challenge the questionable catches during the game. If it is a big game and it is a very controversial catch, then should the catch be reviewed always. But all in all, the coaches should have the power to decide when they think it is appropriate to challenge a catch. That would best help the game flow more swiftly and help the refs stay focused on the game and not whether or not every single catch needs to be reviewed.
ReplyDeleteThe rule is hurting officiating, because it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate a catch from a non-catch. Officials are becoming hated and infamous based on a difficult call that most people would not be able to make. This leads to the question about reviewing catches in the booth. No other sports review every call, but most review every goal, touchdown, homerun, etc. The only reason I could see football being different is that a fumble off a catch versus and incomplete pass can influence the game in a huge way, but in a comparison like baseball, not every catch is reviewed, and the "transfer" rule could make a large difference in the game because of how few runs are scored per game. Overall it wouldn't be logical to review every catch and the rule is hurting officiating.
ReplyDeleteI have never been so confused on an NFL rule before. To me, if someone catches a football, then they should be given credit, regardless of whatever else happens. I think that former Buccaneers player Bert Emanuel put it perfectly when he said, “When you slow it down and put in instant replay, and you try to analyze a catch frame by individual frame, I think you take something away from its essence”. Technology can be incredibly helpful in our daily lives, but I think that the NFL is using the frame by frame system in a way that it was not intended to be used. I think that the NFL should simplify its rules and only review calls when they are in the final two minutes of either halves and when a challenge is issued, and should lean towards counting catches instead of overturning them. As a fan, I think that almost nothing is worse than when a play gets overturned over what seems to be a small technicality. I think that the NFL is hurting their bottom line by taking so long to review and replace rules like this one. The NFL can not play around with their rules, as they are already involved in several controversies and I would have a hard time believing that teams would want to lose more viewers. Streamlining the rulebook would begin to help the league out.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the rule on what is and isn't a catch is something that is hurting NFL football. One instance where this is evident was when Dez Bryant caught a pass, and tried to extend for a touchdown, loosing the ball in the process. This was later ruled an incompletion due to Dez loosing the ball. Any one seeing this play would agree that this acrobatic play was a catch, but because of the rule the play was deemed an incompletion. I feel that the refs should be the ones to determine if the catch is made. The booth should be used to see if feet are in. This is because a catch cannot be defined in a rule books because of all the variables that go into it. This call should be up to the digression of the refs.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the rule should not be changed because this rule does its best to determine whether or not the catch was fair, and includes a review to fully determine the outcome of a play. If the ball was properly caught, then there shouldn't be any problem with the play, and vice versa. Many sports, such as soccer, have gravitated towards using technology to determine the outcome of certain events, and while it may seem to get in the way of the game sometimes, it does *almost* guarantee the best and most fair outcome.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article it seems as if the catch rule is hurting the NFL dramatically. This is because it seems as if many calls are being made against players that really shouldn't be called against them. For example, in the 1999 NFC Championship game Emanuel made catch which got called back because the tip of the ball hit the ground even though the ball was in control of the receiver. This call ultimately caused the Emanuel and the Buccaneers to lose the game and not make the Super Bowl. Causing there to be lots of back lash on the referees in the league. This is because they were upset with the call that they made because it looked like a clean catch. Although, it wasn't according to the rule book which is why changes need to be made to it. In order to make changes, NFL organizers, team representatives and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, need to meet and come to an agreement on what the catch rule should be. Personally, I believe that a catch is when the receiver has full control of the ball, even if it touches the ground (can only touch the ground to a certain extent-not too much). Lastly, I believe that only catches within question of the officials and coaches (challenge flag) should be reviewed. This is because reviewing every catch is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI think that the NFL catch rule is a serious problem in the NFL today. This is because at this point, nobody knows what a catch is. I was watching the Seahawks game about three weeks ago and a wide receiver took 6 steps and lost the ball and called it incomplete. I think that the NFL needs to go bye the eye test and not official rules. Basically, a catch is a catch. Obviously, it should still be 2 feet inbounds, but if a receiver takes 5 steps and juggles the ball for a split second it should be a catch. I think that the NFL catch system is extremely controversial and can cause a lot of problems. Like the NFC Divisional game between the packers and cowboys a few years ago. However, Dez dropped it (<--- Jake Leon)
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ReplyDeleteI think one of the appeals to watching football is the high pace of action throughout the game, so I don't think every catch should be reviewed. I think reviewing every catch would significantly slow the game down a significant amount and viewership would decrease. I also think it would throw off the whole Sunday schedule in terms of Sundays would also be effective to take in to account the longer games. I think the rule is so controversial that it is hurting officiating. I think either
way the ref calls it, people will argue against the call and there will always be an unsatisfied or even angry party in the situation. The rule is so broad that this is inevitable.
I think the biggest problem with the Catch Rule is how not transparent the rule is. There is always going to be some indecisiveness when the officials make the final decision about whether it is a catch or not. I think the only way the NFL can make this situation easier to resolve if they have a clear stance on whether something would be a catch or not, but that might lead to officials making questionable decisions because the rules don't offer that much discrepancy. It might, however, increase the pace of the game and that would appease most fans, but when they make bad/questionable call fans will still be upset about the call, there's nothing they can do to avoid that. In the end, I don't know if there's a solution that will please the refs, players and fas but up until now the NFL has been annoying both players and fans with their strange ruling on these calls.
ReplyDeleteI think that all catches should be reviewed from the booth. The catch rule has always created controversy among many fans, teams, and even players. They should always review all catches as even the slightest mistake might end up being a game changing decision, that could've been overturned with review. The reviewing would have to be done on the side by referees because if it was done in-game than the pace of Football would significantly decrease, and thus, people would stop watching. If they league provides video evidence of controversial decisions that could definitely help the amount of people who argue against calls. Overall, I feel if the NFL wants to increase fan happiness this would be the way to go.
ReplyDeleteThe NFL rule for catch or no catch should be if the player has full control over the ball before it touches the ground, the ground should not play a part in helping the player secure the ball. This rule would be both fair and would help wide receivers and referees alike distinguish between what is a completed and not completed catch.
ReplyDeleteI think this rule does not need to be changed, there is a reason that there are rules, so that every call is fair and to determine whether what happened is accurate. If they feel they need to change this rule because it has causes tension and controversy within players then they should change it if they feel it would create less problems and the outcome would be more accurate.
ReplyDeleteI don't think all catches should be reviewed unless it looks like the catch is really controversial and it's actually hard to tell if he actually caught the ball or to check if there in bounds. I think a catch is a catch as long as a player as the ball completely through the catch until he hits the ground. As long as a player has possession then it's a catch. The definition of possession is where the controversy come in. It's hard to tell when someone has possession because everyone has different definitions of possession.
ReplyDeleteThe NFL could make the booth reviews public or have a dedicated part of the NFL website to booth reviews. With that being said I think plays should only be reviewed with the flag thrown. If every play was reviewed it would interfere with the pace of the game and cause the fan base to slowly dwindle down. I think a catch needs a clear definition and until then I think as long as the Football is in the players arms and secured that it should be ruled as a catch
ReplyDeleteShould all catches be reviewed from the booth, or only when the challenge flag is thrown?
ReplyDeleteI feel like the only time when referees should review a play/catch is when there is definite question among the officials. This will only speed up the pace of the game and save the referee's time. There would be no point in looking over a catch there was no question to. An example of when it would be the appropriate time to review a play would be to determine if the ball was dropped or not, wether or not the player was in bounds, if he was in possession of the ball, etc.