Changes to the NFL catch rule could result in more fair catches next season and far less confusion about what is and isn't a completed reception.
Troy Vincent, NFL vice president, confirmed Tuesday to The Washington Post that the competition committee is proposing that a catch would be deemed complete when the receiver has control of the ball and remains in bounds. The rule change also would eliminate the "going to the ground" distinction and set high standards for the use of replays by referees to overturn calls.
Vincent said the decision was based on previous controversial calls using what might be called reverse engineering.
"We worked backward," Vincent said, the Post reported. "We looked at plays and said: Do you want that to be a catch? And then we applied that to the rule."
Vincent said the changes wouldn’t simply involve how rules should be applied but will entail actual language changes.
"Slight movement of the ball, it looks like we'll reverse that," he said The Washington Post. "Going to the ground, it looks like that's going to be eliminated. And we'll go back to the old replay standard of reverse the call on the field only when it's indisputable."
The catch rule, as it’s currently applied, led to some controversial calls last season. Football fans weren’t necessarily optimistic, however.
The NFL experienced both controversy and low ratings last season — and not just because of the catch rule. Fans turned their backs on games to protest players who chose to take a knee during the national anthem. This practice was started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, and spread throughout the NFL.
As a result, even the Super Bowl suffered. Super Bowl LII saw its lowest ratings in nine years.
Owners will review the catch rule and other proposed changes next week in Orlando, Florida.
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