Committee says Bryant '14 playoff play should be a catch in the future

[Fire Me Boy!]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...me-ruled-catch

INDIANAPOLIS -- Dez caught it.

The NFL competition committee has reached a "unanimous" agreement that some of the league's most debated catch controversies should be ruled complete in the future, according to committee member and New York Giants owner John Mara.

They include plays involving Dallas Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant in the 2014 playoffs and Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson in 2010, Mara said, and have prompted a discussion during meetings here at the scouting combine geared toward rewriting the rule for the 2018 season.

"I think where we are unanimous," Mara told ESPN on Tuesday, "[are] plays like the Dez Bryant play in Green Bay, going to the ground, [and] the Calvin Johnson play from a couple of years ago. I think all of us agree that those should be completions. So let's write the language to make them completions."

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has directed the committee to study the issue, prompted by yet another controversial incompletion ruling against Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jesse James late in the 2017 season. Mara said the committee is not in complete agreement on the James play and acknowledged that past efforts to tweak the rule have failed.

What is different in 2018, in addition to Goodell's insistence on change, is the consensus to find a way to avoid inorganic rulings caused by the requirement to maintain control throughout the process of going to the ground.

"The Jesse James play, I think should be a completion," Mara said, "but I'm not sure we're unanimous on that. But plays where guys seem to make the catch and then make a football move with it, I think most of us agree those should be completions. Now it's just a question of coming up with the right language."

Typically, the competition committee continues rule-change discussions through the spring and makes proposals to owners at league meetings, scheduled this year for March 25-28. Mara said he couldn't be sure that a new catch rule would be ready by then, but said, "We're going to try."

He added: "It's easy to say the rule has got to be changed, but coming up with the right language is a challenge."

Meanwhile, Mara said the committee has discussed the possibility of adding a targeting rule to enhance player safety. But Mara downplayed the possibility of proposing a rule that mirrors the college version, which mandates ejection for a player who hits a defenseless opponent in the head or neck area.

"We've had a lot of discussion about it," Mara said. "I'm not sure we'll ever get to the college rule. But there's been a lot of discussion about it, and we'll have some more."

The competition committee is also discussing changing the penalty for pass interference to 15 yards instead of the current spot foul.

"There's a lot of debate on that," said Packers president Mark Murphy, a committee member. "Obviously it's a huge penalty -- 40-, 50-yard penalty at times. It seems to have worked in college. I think there's a concern that our defensive backs are so skilled that the end of the games we'd just have a series of 15-yard penalties. You don't see that in college."

A source tells ESPN the chances of a revised pass interference rule being enacted this season is a long shot.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by TribalElder

They typically admit they were wrong


Way after it ever matters or makes a difference


The NFL is crooked as hell with their replay bullshit

The Chiefs game in Arizona a few years ago was one of the biggest pile of shit I've ever seen. There was literally 21 points in mistakes that cost KC a playoff berth that year. The sport is a ****ing joke.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by TribalElder

They typically admit they were wrong


Way after it ever matters or makes a difference


The NFL is crooked as hell with their replay bullshit

How are they crooked with their replay?
Posted via Mobile Device

[jjchieffan]

How about Kelces (non)TD catch that was ripped out of his hands after he had both feet down in the end zone? Will anything change on that?

[TribalElder]

Originally Posted by -King-

How are they crooked with their replay?
Posted via Mobile Device

How is forward progress non reviewable

There is zero transparency in decisions as to why or what rule determined the outcome

Inconsistent rulings although I don’t recall a specific example.

How many times have they gotten it wrong on the field and forced a team to use a challenge to correct the call. Yes, that’s the point of replay etc but replay isn’t used as a tool to get the call correct in my opinion, it’s a gamble that costs teams timeouts if New York says so.

Overall I think the officiating itself has made me think the worst of the NFL, replay is just one part of the overall problem of officiating and officiating bias

[ChiefFanForHire]

Originally Posted by Pasta Giant Meatball

The Chiefs game in Arizona a few years ago was one of the biggest pile of shit I've ever seen. There was literally 21 points in mistakes that cost KC a playoff berth that year. The sport is a ****ing joke.

Everyone complains about the Kelce "fumble" that decided that game (as they should)

But the most disgusting call was OP against our own WR near the end of the half. When the Ari. CB tried to bump him 5 yards in, fell down on purpose hoping to draw a flag, didn't get one, Smith scrambles long enough to keep the play alive and throw a easy TD to the wide open receivier - AS SOON AS THE REF SEES ITS GOING TO BE AN EASY TOUCHDOWN - FLAG!!!!!!

You literally see him reach in and throw it in the same exact seconds the ball in landing in our WR's hands - 100 percent totally blatant bullshit.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by ChiefFanForHire

Everyone complains about the Kelce "fumble" that decided that game (as they should)

But the most disgusting call was OP against our own WR near the end of the half. When the Ari. CB tried to bump him 5 yards in, fell down on purpose hoping to draw a flag, didn't get one, Smith scrambles long enough to keep the play alive and throw a easy TD to the wide open receivier - AS SOON AS THE REF SEES ITS GOING TO BE AN EASY TOUCHDOWN - FLAG!!!!!!

You literally see him reach in and throw it in the same exact seconds the ball in landing in our WR's hands - 100 percent totally blatant bullshit.

Hah. I remember that.

It was the TE, IIRC. I'm seeing Fasano in my head.

[AssEaterChief]

Originally Posted by -King-

How are they crooked with their replay?
Posted via Mobile Device

Pretty simple…you know when they "review" a play they talk to the people in New York who make the decision for them right?

How is that not crooked that the officials present do not actually make the calls themselves..