PatsFaninAZ
In the Starting Line-Up
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2006
- Messages
- 4,091
- Reaction score
- 0
Did anyone see the play during Denver/SF, were the SF receiver catches the ball, takes a few steps while being tackled, and then loses the ball on the way down. The issue that the announcers and the coaches thought was being reviewed was whether the ball was out before the knee touched the ground. It looked like the knee touched first, but the official, after review, surprised everyone and called it an incomplete pass. The announcer (maybe Randy Cross) said it was a bad call because the reveiver had definitely made a football move.
We had this same play earlier in the game, and the issue was whether it was a fumble or not, and on replay it was called an incomplete play. There was much condemnation of the play, with talk radio saying the officials were boneheads. I posted after the play that the rule is basically this -- if the defender begins to initiate the tackle simultaneous with the catch, the player must retain the ball all the way to and through the ground. It doesn't matter if he makes one "football move" or 10. If you catch first, then the tackle starts, you just need to make the football move, but the NFL, to reduce the number of fumble/no fumble decisions has basically decided that you need to retain possession the whole way on simultaneous catch/tackle plays, no matter how many steps or "football moves" you make.
The SF game was yet another example -- the guy took like 4 steps. I've seen the same play I think 4 times so far this year, and Hochuli explained it in detail once (on a play where the ball was caught, the receiver ran, and then fumbled while being tackled, he explained that it was a fumble not an incomplete pass, because the "football move" rule applies in non-simultaneous tackle situations).
We had this same play earlier in the game, and the issue was whether it was a fumble or not, and on replay it was called an incomplete play. There was much condemnation of the play, with talk radio saying the officials were boneheads. I posted after the play that the rule is basically this -- if the defender begins to initiate the tackle simultaneous with the catch, the player must retain the ball all the way to and through the ground. It doesn't matter if he makes one "football move" or 10. If you catch first, then the tackle starts, you just need to make the football move, but the NFL, to reduce the number of fumble/no fumble decisions has basically decided that you need to retain possession the whole way on simultaneous catch/tackle plays, no matter how many steps or "football moves" you make.
The SF game was yet another example -- the guy took like 4 steps. I've seen the same play I think 4 times so far this year, and Hochuli explained it in detail once (on a play where the ball was caught, the receiver ran, and then fumbled while being tackled, he explained that it was a fumble not an incomplete pass, because the "football move" rule applies in non-simultaneous tackle situations).
