In my younger years, I wanted to know everything. If something came up, and I didn’t know the answer, I had to know it. My competitive nature to learn has been the one thing that has separated me from my peers in virtually everything I do. Along the way though I didn’t agree with everything I learned, and at some point I developed a sense of objectivity that often brings me back to this blog time and again. Call it a heightened B.S. meter.
Yesterday, the Lions played the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field and my B.S. meter went off.
After being dominated statistically for almost the entire game, the Lions found themselves with a chance to win a game with seconds left – which is a rarity for them. What is even more remarkable, is that Matthew Stafford was knocked out of the game with a concussion, and journeyman quarterback Shaun Hill had a chance to deliver.
Nope.
The official nearest to the play (the linesman in the video) signaled touchdown, while the back judge (who isn’t even in the initial frame) signaled incomplete. It would make sense that the closest official to the play with an unobstructed view would call it, but that’s not what happened. The linesman was overruled by the back judge, and the ruling on the field was an incomplete pass. It was reviewed and it was determined to be an incomplete pass.
I can understand missing that play live. Calvin Johnson is a very large individual moving at a high rate of speed, missing it on replay however angered me. However, many people defend the call. Here is what Cris Carter had to say about it:
“In the endzone, the rules are different than in the field of play. . . In the endzone, it is either one knee,. . . or two feet, and you have to physically be able to hand the ball to the referee.”
I have several issues with this, but lets start with the obvious. If you pause the video at :31 and :35, you will see Calvin Johnson’s fingers on his left hand start in the endzone, then slide over the back line of the endzone. This happens before the ball makes contact with the ground. Once a player in possession of a ball leaves the field of play, the play should be whistled dead and considered over, right?
My second issue is that Cris Carter’s interpretation of the rule conflicts with what referee Gene Steratore says, “We don’t play with the two feet or one knee or anything of that scenario. We’re talking now about the process of the catch.”
Cris Carter explained that he knew the rule because of what he was told. So if Cris Carter interpreted the rule wrong, a guy who played football and now analyzes it for a living, isn’t it interpreting the rule correctly, then isn’t the rule a little ridiculous to begin with?
The entire wording of this mysterious rule regarding the process of the catch is as follows, “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. 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.”
There’s one small problem with the NFL’s particular interpretation of this rule on this play, and it occurs at :30-:31. The rule states me must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground. That is pretty black and white. But by the definition provided in the NFL Digest of Rules, possession is, “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.”
Wouldn’t possession after his very athletic posterior made contact with the ground end the process of the catch? The rule book says nothing about keeping the possession of the ball through the entire catch like Cris Carter and Gene Steratore claim, it only states that the player should maintain possession after the person makes contact (which we have already found out is anything but the hands) with the ground. Not to mention the fact he rolled onto his side. How many points of contact do you need to verify it with the ground? Sheesh.
So I guess technically, Calvin Johnson’s butt is the story here. They should probably examine it a little closer.
