Except he may possibly have made a second football move, which necessitates having possession of it for the original move, so he never caught it in the first place.
I assumed incorrectly since there was contact post catch and his hips were down before the ball touched down it would have been a catch and down by contact at any other point on the field.
I listened to Pereria and the explanations, and I still don’t get it. I don’t think Megatron did either, because it seemed pretty clear to me he caught it, he landed, his body was down with possession, and it would be a touchdown before the rule change. Now, I just don’t get it.
That used to happen (still happens?) with the Raiders all the time. HA-ha. Also, the Raiders got stomped today. HA-ha again.
Anyway, I went to espn.com to see how the Niners were doing, and saw that they had scored a touchdown and were leading 6-0. Yay! Then I went to the bathroom and when I got back, they had no touchdown, only a FG, and were leading 3-0. Anyone know what happened?
ETA: Also, the game I am watching is Eagles v. Packers. I don’t know what to do, you guys. I hate the Eagles for paying that shithead Michael Vick. I hate the Packers for being the Packers. It is a conundrum.
I don’t know, guys, that catch rule has been in place for years. This was an extremely bummer example of it, but for years now I would have said that that was not a catch.
What about every other place where a running back reaches out, gets the ball over the line, and loses control of the ball afterwards? Also, what about the ground not causing a fumble? Does it result in a completion in the field of play and an incompletion in the end zone?
The man had possession of the ball, right? The catch was made, right? Two feet down, even hit the ground with his hip. The ball broke the plane, right?
None of those things have anything to do with why that play was called the way it was, except that no, he didn’t have possession according to the rules.
Running backs stretching over the goal line aren’t catching passes. The ground didn’t cause a fumble on this play because there was no fumble on this play. And the ground can cause a fumble, in any event.
Sam Bradford has his first NFL Touchdown on a fourth down at the end of a half to tie it up. The kid will throw a ton of picks this season, but he looks pretty darn good; crisp, accurate passes. Even his interception was really more of a bad decision than bad throw.
Running backs stretching out already have possession, usually from a handoff.
The ground can cause a fumble if he wasn’t touched by a defender, but this wasn’t a fumble. The ground caused an incompletion. Surely you’re not trying to mount a “ground can’t cause an incompletion” defense?
Yes, the man had possession of the ball at first, including having two feet and a hip down. But that’s not what determines a completion. You must maintain possession through the act of coming to the ground, and this has been the standard for years. He didn’t hold on long enough.
I know this rule really well because Shockey helped create it as a Giant. Around 5 years ago, against the Seahawks. He caught it in the end zone while in the air, one of his feet just barely grazed the top of the turf before he got hammered and the ball popped out. After a challenge, rules a TD. It was a chintzy TD, so eventually (that offseason, I think) they put in the rule that you have to maintain possession through going to the ground, meaning you basically have to stand up with the ball in your hand to have it count.
I think Megatron kind of intentionally let it go, similar to what Plaxico Burress did as a rookie when he caught the ball, got up and spiked it even though he hadn’t been touched by a defender yet. Bonehead move, but since he learned it the hard way he’ll never do it again.
Nightmare scenario for Kevin Kolb today. He’s utterly ineffective in the first half and is incredibly lucky not to throw two interceptions, then he gets knocked out of the game with a concussion, and now Vick has lead Philadelphia to their only good drive of the day, culminating in a touchdown.
Looking at it again, I can see the argument that the Lions player caught the ball, put two feet down for the catch, then deliberately lunged as a “second act” after the catch. Close call, but the the call on the field has to stand on review. If the player was falling down as a single act of the catch, then it’s incomplete.