One of the biggest issues in the National Football League is the ruling over what exactly is a catch. Over the past few years the League has made various tweaks and changes in an attempt to clairfy just exactly what they call a catch.
During their annual meeting, the NFL has once again made an attempt to “simplify” the catch rule.
In a decision that was approved in a unanimous decision, the competition committee defines a legal catch as:
a player controling the ball
two feet or some other body part on the ground
and a football move which is defined as:
a third step
reaching for or extending toward the line with intent to gain
or the ability to perform the act
The committee eliminated the “going to the ground” portion of the rule.
The NFL hopes that the new ruling will eliminate some of the questionable calls that have occurred in games in recent years.
Other changes to the NFL rules:
While the NFL has yet to adopt a targeting rule, the League has broadened the rule involving hits using a player’s helmet. Any player who uses the crown of his helmet to initiate a hit will receive a penalty. If the hit is severe enough, the officials can eject the player from the game. The cites player safety as the reason for the changes.
The League announced that from 2016 to 2017 there was a 13.5 percent increase in diagnosed concussions.