Hey, do you know what a catch is in the NFL? If you answer “yes” to that question, you’re a dirty, dirty liar. That’s because nobody knows what the hell a catch is in the NFL. Nobody. Not even the NFL.
During the league’s recent December meeting, Roger Goodell was asked if the NFL would take steps to improve and clarify the league’s incredibly confusing and illogical definition of a catch. The commissioner’s response was a good sign for football fans.
“The answer to that is yes. The Competition Committee has looked at that, but I’ll go one step further with you. A couple weeks ago, I asked several football personnel, including former GMs, current GMs, current individuals, former players, former officials, to come together and try to see if we can study this and come up with some proposals for the Competition Committee to consider.
“We want clarity to that. We want to find a better solution if it’s out there.”
Along with officiating and head injuries, the ever-morphing catch rule is one of the biggest and most frustrating on-field issues plaguing the NFL recently. Every time fans think they have somewhat of a grasp on what is and isn’t a catch in today’s game, it seems like another incident comes along to prove us wrong and scramble our brains all over again.
From Calvin Johnson to Dez Bryant to — most recently — Devonta Freeman and Odell Beckham, too many receivers have fallen victim to the league’s ambiguous rules, so hopefully Goodell can get something right and teach us all what a dang catch is once and for all.
