Nobody is talking about the NFL’s new catch rule. That’s a really good thing.

Everyone has an opinion about the NFL’s new helmet rule. It dominated conversation for much of August when coaches, players, and fans all got a chance to see it in action for the first time during the league’s slate of 65 preseason games.

But few have shared what they think of the NFL’s new catch rule. That’s a huge positive for the league — especially after the old version was the most confusing and misunderstood section of the rulebook.

Heading into the 2018 season, the NFL changed its oft-debated catch rule, making the standards of a reception much more simple. Now, there will be just three boxes for receivers to check:

The significant change is to the third standard, which previously said players had to either “become a runner” or complete the process of the catch as they go to the ground.

Under the old rules, Dez Bryant’s catch in a 2015 playoff game was correctly ruled incomplete:

By the new standards, Bryant made a football move when he took a third step and when he reached toward the goal line. Without a shadow of a doubt, the play would be a completed pass under the new rule.

There were a lot of receivers who voiced their displeasure when the old version of the catch rule cost them big plays. Even 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who makes a living off preventing receptions, said the rule needed to “be more straightforward and to the point.”

“I think the rule is back to being fair,” Denver Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders told SB Nation after the team’s final preseason game. “As long as it’s fair, I’m OK with it.”

Sanders was a first-hand victim of the former version of the rule. The receiver saw a 44-yard gain nullified in 2017 after officials determined — despite the fact that Sanders had control and took four steps — he didn’t complete the process of the catch.

“Last year I got [robbed] on a couple calls,” Sanders said. “I had two feet in, I had control of the ball, and the guy popped it out at the second. It probably should’ve been a fumble instead of an incomplete pass. So I like what they did to the rule.”

Another victim of the old rule was Steelers tight end Jesse James, who appeared to make a game-winning touchdown grab against the Patriots in a pivotal December game. But like Sanders, officials ruled he didn’t complete the process of the catch while going to the ground.

“It’s good to have a little bit more clarification to make it easier for the officials to make the right call,” James told Steelers.com after the new rule change was passed. ”As long as the officials are calling it fair throughout, week-to-week, game-to-game, team-to-team. As long as it’s all called fair it works for me. It’s football. It’s never going to change. There is human error all over the place. To make it simpler for the officials is always good.”

The rule is simpler, fairer, and a good example of common sense in action. It’s much more clear than the lengthy explanations for what currently constitutes a catch in college football.

Receptions are going to be called receptions, and preseason provided zero catch controversy. That’s a welcomed change.