The latest episode of “The NFL Doesn’t Know What a Catch Is” is a scintillating one, this time to the advantage of the Cowboys. As Dallas drove downfield against the Seahawks, Matt Cassel dumped the ball off to Darren McFadden, who caught the ball, took a few steps, looked to tuck it under his arm, then fumbled it away to the Seahawks. Or so we thought.
The Cowboys finally come out on the right side of the NFL’s dumb catch rule
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The turnover was reviewed, and despite what rationally should be considered a catch, the NFL’s subjective and ambiguous catch rules, which require a player “establish himself as a runner,” struck again. The play was overturned.
The reactions to the play naturally varied.
Catch or no catch: McFadden catches the ball, starts running, takes a few steps and loses control without getting touched. #flipacoin
— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) November 1, 2015 I don't think that's a catch, but I'm totally not gonna be surprised when this is upheld. This rule finds a way to kill the Cowboys, always.
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) November 1, 2015 A few former referees agreed with the call based on how the rules are written, for what it’s worth.
He never controlled the ball long enough to become a runner, so the ruling in the #SEAvsDAL went from fumble on field to an incomplete pass
— Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) November 1, 2015 Good decision to reverse to incomplete pass...that's more with the consistency that's necessary!
— Jim Daopoulos (@RefereeJimD) November 1, 2015 So, maybe consistency is the goal. I can understand that, in theory. However, the bottom line is simply that no one seems to knows what constitutes a catch anymore.
I've been watching the NFL for almost 40 years, so I feel confident in saying that I have no idea if that was a catch or not.
— Brian McIntyre (@brian_mcintyre) November 1, 2015 Hey guys I can't explain what constitutes a catch...it appears to change each week. Very frustrating to fans and officials...steps,don't no!
— Jim Daopoulos (@RefereeJimD) November 1, 2015 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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SB Nation presents: The NFL needs to tell us what a catch is
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