Total Pro Sports
The NFL is once again going over its most confusing rule. The league is now moving toward a three-step standard to define a catch. Coaches, players, and fans are still unsure what that really means.
The issue came up again last week during the Ravens vs. Steelers game. Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely appeared to score a late touchdown. Officials first ruled it a score, but replay quickly overturned the call. The touchdown was taken away, and frustration across the league flared up again. In that same game, Ben Cleveland was later suspended for three games for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh made his frustration clear after the game. “It’s about as clear as mud right now,” he said Monday. However, the catch rule is still confusing, even after the latest change.
NFL officiating executive Walt Anderson tried to explain the catch rule on Sunday morning. He said the league now focuses on control and footwork. “There’s three elements that have to be satisfied,” Anderson explained.
He broke it down step by step. A receiver must first control the ball, then take two steps or get a body part down. After that, a third element is required. For most receivers, that means a third step while still controlling the ball. “Before that third step gets down, the defender is able to punch the ball out,” Anderson said***. “That’s why the pass is incomplete.”***
On the Isaiah Likely play, that third step never happened. Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. knocked the ball loose before Likely planted his foot. NFL Officials ruled the pass incomplete and pointed to the missing third step as the deciding factor. They said the third step counts as an act common to the game.
Many believe the league has quietly changed how it applies the rule. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio called it out directly.
“Here’s the bottom line, Whoever is making the decisions about replay review in the league office has decided to hinge the catch decision on getting three feet down, and to disregard the rest of the rule as it relates to performing an act common to the game, or having enough time to do so.”
Florio went further, saying the league is now ignoring language approved by ownership. “The league office has gone rogue as to the catch rule,” he wrote.
The controversy feels familiar to many fans. People still remember Dez Bryant’s no-catch against Green Bay in the 2015 NFC Divisional Round. That play changed the game and made it a long debate among all.
The NFL says it wants to make the rule clearer. Critics believe the league is only making things more confusing.
