#DezCaughtIt – Still a Catch and Still a Mess of a Rule

Two years ago, during a divisional round match-up between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers, #DezCaughtIt was born. Two years later, the rule is still a mess

#DezCaughtIt, a battle cry to Dallas Cowboys faithful, is sure to see a resurgence this week. It was roughly two years ago the Dallas Cowboys marched into Lambeau Field and got jobbed on a game-changing call, effectively ending the Cowboys’ hopes of bringing home a sixth Lombardi.

To make matters worse, the call, layered in subjectivity and personal interpretation, was actually a reversal from the initial call of a completed pass. The “undeniable evidence” (sarcasm intended) seen by the striped shirts and cheese eaters that day, failed to convince Cowboys Nation – thus #DezCaughtIt was born.

The Catch Rule

There are multiple reasons the catch rule is a mess. But the primary is the vagueness and subjectivity involved in interpreting and applying it. The NFL has largely stuck to their guns and kept the rule intact. But that doesn’t mean it’s the same either.

Here’s a link to the rule, but it essentially states the following: A completed pass is when the player secures the ball inbounds and becomes a runner.

The biggest change this year to when #DezCaughtIt, is changing “making a football move” to “becoming a runner”. Different words, same lack of clarity.

A catch should not be a difficult thing to determine. Control + Two Feet = Catch.

The NFL now says “a player has the ball long enough to become a runner when, after his second foot is on the ground, he is capable of avoiding or warding off impending contact of an opponent, tucking the ball away, turning up field, or taking additional steps.”

Many would argue that Dez Bryant did, in fact, do enough to become a runner. Two feet down, the ball changed hands, he turned, and took a third step while extending the ball for the end zone. The fall was anything but natural and was a clear attempt to get six points. He very easily could have tucked the ball instead but his “football move” was to turn, step, and lunge.

If this part of the process is unnecessarily complex enough,  it gets worse when the NFL breaks down what happens if the player didn’t establish himself as a runner —

"“[Player] must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with 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, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.”“If a player has control of the ball, a slight movement of the ball will not be considered a loss of possession…”"

The NFL has tweaked the language season after season in an attempt to clarify. Additionally NFL referees have quite clearly erred on the side of “catch” over “no catch” these past two seasons. But the potential still exists for more of these incomplete catches to occur.

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There are multiple arguments to be made as to why #DezCaughtIt and mostly assumptions as to why he didn’t. One could argue my biased perspective is nothing but assumptions themselves, and quite frankly, they’d be right. That’s why the rule is so ridiculous.

A catch should not be a difficult thing to determine. Control + Two Feet = Catch.

The good ‘ol days, right?

Common sense seems to be the only thing lacking from the complicated catch process. Speaking of common sense, The NFL’s VP of Officiating had this to say about common sense,

"“This isn’t an all-inclusive list, Blandino said. “Let’s say a player controls the ball and he stumbles for 10 yards and he doesn’t necessarily tuck the ball away. Well, I think at that point common sense would dictate that he had the ball long enough.”"

Not only are NFL officials asked to interpret a player’s movements and intent of those movements, but they also must weigh them against the rule book, and inject a dose of common sense in the process. I can’t imagine why things have gone wrong.

#DezCaughtIt

Unneeded interpretation and subjectivity are the worst part about officiating sports. And the NFL’s catch process oozes with both. Instead of just saying “two feet down with control of the ball” the NFL drops this turd sandwich on us and expects us to redefine what is so clearly a catch.

For that reason I’ve insisted on calling it, an incomplete catch. Because to call it anything other than a catch is absurd.

Watch the video, Dez grabbed the ball out of the air, took three steps, changed hands, lunged for the end zone, put a hand down, an elbow down, and never lost the ball. The ball moved when he hit the ground but he never lost the ball.

In fact, the ball movement was so far after making the catch, it didn’t seem possible the completion status was still up for debate. It looked like the ball might have touched the ground but video didn’t show it so it. It certainly didn’t provide indisputable evidence to overturn the call on the field.

Important Note: I’m on record saying even if the officials had ruled that #DezCaughtIt, the Packers still would have won. The Cowboys pass rush was doing nothing to stop the red-hot Aaron Rodgers and with about 4:00 minutes on the clock, I  felt convinced the Packers were going to march down the field for a game winning drive.

It’s important to admit this to ward off any “hater”, “sore loser” or “excuse maker” talk. The Cowboys lost that day for multiple reasons: 1. Couldn’t get to a crippled Aaron Rodgers 2. DeMarco Murray fumbling the ball away on a sure TD run 3. James Hanna not recovering a fumbled kickoff and the list goes on.

Next: The Impact of Randy Gregory's Suspension

Nope, this is about an unnecessarily complicated catch process. Subjectivity and personal interpretation guide the rule and completely eliminates any common sense. It was a problem when #DezCaughtIt and it’s still a problem today. Happy two year anniversary Cowboys Nation!