NFL Rules ruining the game (1 Viewer)

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

From Juniors to CFL, Calvin Johnson's Non-Catch Was a Catch1CommentsSay Something »9/14/2010 1:51 PM ET By Michael David SmithAText SizePrint this page|EmailShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DiggShare on LifestreamMichael David SmithNFL WriterUnder NFL rules, Lions receiver Calvin Johnson did not catch the pass in the end zone late in Sunday's loss to the Bears, even though he had the ball in his hand as he went to the ground. But under the rules of almost every other football league across North America, Johnson's catch was a touchdown.The Detroit Free Press did a great job of rounding up comments from the Canadian Football League, Arena Football League, Lingerie League, college officials and even the Western Suburban Junior Football League (where I was once a player on the Plymouth Steelers). Officials from all those leagues said that under their rules, Johnson caught the ball.Some of the quotes from the Free Press: "Our on-field official hopefully would have called it a touchdown," said Tom Higgins, the CFL's director of officiating. "In college football, yes, that's a touchdown," said Mike Kavulich, a college official."At our level, that's a catch," said Mark Uyl, assistant director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association who oversees officiating."Yes it would have been a TD in our league, and it would have been a TD in every other league in the United States," said Leonard Isaac, rules chairman for the Western Suburban Junior Football League in Michigan."It would have indeed been a catch in our game," said Jerry B. Kurz, Arena Football League commissioner."Yes, in the LFL, that would constitute a catch and touchdown," said Stephon McMillen, Lingerie Football League media director.The only league that says it would go along with what the NFL did is the United Football League, which follows the same convoluted rules about possession that the NFL follows. It's time for the NFL to clarify the rules and the UFL to follow suit, so that across North America every football fan knows that a catch is a catch.Read More: Lions NFC North Calvin+Johnson, detroit+lions+notebook

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

Al Capone is turning over in his grave with pride at this hour as the Detroit Lions and their heartbroken fans try to recover their football souls after being robbed of a win Sunday in Chicago. You can try to cut this up any way you want, but the bottom line is the officials on the field and in the review booth blew the call when Lions receiver Calvin Johnson appeared to have hauled in the game-winning touchdown with 24 seconds remaining.They all should be fired immediately. If the league had any footballs they would overturn the Bears victory by using their own written word in the NFL rulebook. Here is the 2009 version of the NFL continuation rule the mindless and spineless zebras used against Johnson making the catch.My response follows each paragraph."A player is in possession when he is in firm grip and control of the ball inbounds. To gain possession of a loose ball that has been caught, intercepted or recovered, a player must have complete control of the ball and have both feet completely on the ground inbounds or any other part of his body, other than his hands, on the ground inbounds.(Huge opinion: Johnson had both feet on the ground with possession.)"If the player loses the ball while simultaneously touching both feet or any other part of his body to the ground or if there is any doubt that the acts were simultaneous, there is no possession. This rule applies to the field of play and in the end zone."(Huge opinion: Johnson never bobbled or lost control of the ball until both feet, his knee and the other hand touched the ground.) "A player who goes to the ground in the process of attempting to secure possession of a loose ball (with or without contact by a defender) must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone.(Huge opinion: He had secured possession of the football before he touched the ground so this does not apply.)"If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, there is no possession. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, it is a catch, interception or recovery."(Huge opinion: This part of the rule validates his catch as a touchdown.)Here is the NFL rulebook on what defines ball possession of the ball:"Possession: When a player controls the ball throughout the act of clearly touching both feet, or any other part of his body other than his hand(s), to the ground inbounds." AP PhotoDetroit's Calvin Johnson catches the ball in the end zone while being defended by Chicago's Zackary Bowman.(Huge opinion: So, once Johnson touched both feet, it's a touchdown. Do officials carry a rulebook with them like my Little League umpires used to do?)Now, if a runner can cross the plane of a goal line with possession of the football for a touchdown, then once Johnson put both feet on the ground with possession, it should have been a touchdown.Here is the league rule on touchdowns:"Touchdown: When any part of the ball, legally in possession of a player inbounds, breaks the plane of the opponent's goal line, provided it is not a touchback."(Huge opinion: What I have seen on video 50 times and what this rule says along with every other NFL bylaw proves there is an injustice here that deserves some recourse on the NFL paid officials who blew this call.)This is not another Jim Joyce situation we had in baseball back in June. The officials on the field and in the booth had the advantage of using instant replay. They don't deserve to work another game in the NFL. When you only play 16 regular-season games, officials can't take away games by their own incompetence. Someone has to pay the price for this travesty. If someone preaches any more forgiveness in sports to me for not being perfect when you have a rulebook and video replay to right your wrongs, I will scream.A win Sunday would have meant the world to a franchise looking for something to build on. I will say even if Johnson's catch would have been the game-winner, it still would not have helped this team long term. The unknown health and football future of Matthew Stafford is a bigger blow than any blown call means to the Lions organization. The suffering will continue for all as we watch left tackle Jeff Backus allow defenders to continually knock his quarterbacks out of games.For coach Jim Schwartz to defend Backus as one of the better offensive linemen in the game shows he may not be the judge of talent we think he is or the head coach who takes them to the next level. For a man who came to Detroit to infuse defense, his team's first-half defensive game plan was picked apart by an offensive coordinator the Lions previously fired in Mike Martz.The good thing is the defensive line looks like it belongs in the NFL. Easy to coach a guy such as Ndamukong Suh, who can just run over people. The back seven on defense, outside of Louis Delmas, look like they belong at home with us. Also hidden in the game-ending emotion was an offensive game plan against the Bears that was conservative and outright foolish. To not use Johnson more the entire game is a coaching staff not ready to win games.The only good thing about the replay drama is that it buried what still is bad about the Lions.Related topics: Calvin Johnson

 

[Hipple Long Ware & Peete]

funny comment on the last piece.

Finally...a good Huge article!I sent it to Roger.roger.goodell@nfl.com

 

[az_prof]

I wonder if we couldn't get a petition going to the NFL to simply rules and to improve quality and pay for refs. I am sick and tired of stupid rules and stupid refs ruining the games.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Raiders got no such sympathy for the Louis Murphy drop. It happens to the Lions and everyone

cry me a river.

 

[nightmare]

Not a catch. It's not that close of a call for all this hoopla.

 

[Bad Mojo]

I was outraged

Catch, 2 feet down, PLAY OVER TD...

THEN one butt down, ball in possession..PLAY OVER TD

then one hand down...all this with the ball IN CONTROL...TD

Seeing with own eyes> Pompous Blowhard Self Important Officials

I Would have lost if TD counted

 

[Bad Mojo]

Oh I see, "It's a Process"

Let get George Carlin out of the grave..he may want to rethink his Baseball-Football skit

 

[Ilov80s]

Not a catch. It's not that close of a call for all this hoopla.

If you look at the rules, it really is a catch. He had possession in the endzone and got two feet down inbounds- according to the rules, that is possession. Possession in the endzone is a TD. If you want to argue further, Calvin going to the ground was not a part of the act of catching the ball. He had already caught it and gotten the prerequisite 2 feet down in bounds. He has possession of the ball in the endzone. The collision with the DB and the fall came after the catch. Also, the refs have left out the contradicting article Item 3 which states "If a player catches the ball while in the end zone, bothfeet must be completely on the ground before losing possession, or the pass is incomplete." This would also imply that if a player gets both feet on the ground and then loses possession, it is complete.

 

[MG345]

Not a catch. It's not that close of a call for all this hoopla.

If you look at the rules, it really is a catch. He had possession in the endzone and got two feet down inbounds- according to the rules, that is possession. Possession in the endzone is a TD.

Not anymore. I am not sure how you can say CJ wasn't going to the ground DURING the catch, it is pretty clear he was and I don't think many people would argue that. It is honestly a good rule, but hard to ascertain in this instance where the catch ends. Not that big of a deal, and I would rather have it this way. Sucks for the Lions and CJ, but overall nothing to get that upset about.

 

[Priestly]

If you look at the rules, it really is a catch. He had possession in the endzone and got two feet down inbounds- according to the rules, that is possession. Possession in the endzone is a TD. If you want to argue further, Calvin going to the ground was not a part of the act of catching the ball. He had already caught it and gotten the prerequisite 2 feet down in bounds. He has possession of the ball in the endzone. The collision with the DB and the fall came after the catch.

Also, the refs have left out the contradicting article Item 3 which states "If a player catches the ball while in the end zone, both

feet must be completely on the ground before losing possession, or the pass is incomplete." This would also imply that if a player gets both feet on the ground and then loses possession, it is complete.

The problem is that accroding the rules, Johnson did NOT establish possession. You cannot establish possession "mid-air" while making a diving catch. You must land inbounds(2 feet, a butt, etc.) AND retain possession of ball after coming to the ground. It's not as simple as getting both feet down inbounds when it comes to making a diving catch. The rule is there specifically to define a catch in this particular situation. Anyway, I don't know why everyone is blaming the refs, they made a good call. In fact, just moments eariler in the SAME game, Forte made a similar diving catch in the endzone where he DID hold on the ball and it was correctly ruled a TD:Forte TD Catch

It would have been a huge reffing goof to call the Forte play a catch, and then MINUTES later call the Johnson play a catch as well, when one player clearly had possession of the ball after he came down in the end zone, while other didn't. That lack of consistency would actually validate all this complaining about bad reffing. Do not blame the refs, I wouldn't even blame the rule. If you must blame someone, blame Calvin Johnson. He didn't finish the play. Much like how good receivers rely on their muscle memory to drag their feet near the sidelines, or bring the ball into their bodies while falling... unfortunately for the Lions, Johnson's muscle memory seems to consist of him throwing his hands up to celebrate first and foremost.