# NFL Week 3 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [September 20, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273 "2012-09-20T15:26:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 20
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/382 "2012-09-26T21:23:33Z")
Reviewing the posted rules again, as far as the rules go, ‘control’ is clearly something that you can have even without a complete/intercepted pass (otherwise how could you possibly need to ‘maintain control’ throughout some period beforer achieving a completion?), and in fact is clearly something you can have while in the air (as the rule implies that gaining control and touching the ground can happen separately). Together with the second sentence of the simultaneous catch rule, the only sane reading is that if a player gains control of a pass while in the air, then an opponent also gains joint control before hitting the ground, and the first player maintains control after hitting the ground and having enough time for a football move, then the first player is awarded the catch. However, I don’t think I gave the NFL enough credit when I described their thinking before. What I think they were trying to do is find a way to throw a bone to the outraged public, while also being able to avoid the horrible precedent of overturning a game result after it was complete (or even questions about whether a result could or should be changed). Therefore, they found a completely unreviewable call to admit was wrong, while maintaining that the reviewable call was correct (again, despite the clear language of the rules). ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/383 "2012-09-26T21:35:55Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I heard a rumor that there were something like 14 other football games over the weekend besides the SEA-GB game. Any of you guys know anything about that? It was a terrible weekend. I heard as many as 50% of the teams lost. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/384 "2012-09-26T22:01:05Z")
Until the Seattle game I was really enjoying the replacement refs. I liked the big hits and physical play, it reminded me of real football from years ago. I could have gone without some of the imaginary flags that were called but for the most part the receiver and DB battles were amazing. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/385 "2012-09-27T00:11:12Z")
I actually agree - I noticed how many fights between the receivers and DBs should’ve been called as per normal NFL procedure but I didn’t actually object to them. I’d rather see the game called in the more hands-off way that we’ve been seeing - assuming you could seperate that from the general incompetance and stunted game flow. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/386 "2012-09-27T03:29:51Z")
My problem is: what is a catch? It apparently runs the gamut from starting to control the ball to needing to control the ball, land and make a football move. I looked up the rule and guess what dopers - the word catch is not even in the rule! And it is not a simultaneous possession. [The player who first controls and continues to maintain control of a pass will be awarded the ball even though his opponent later establishes joint control of the ball.](http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/forwardpass) Who had CONTROL first? Interception. End of discussion ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/387 "2012-09-27T04:11:44Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > … the word catch is not even in the rule! But note that your link is to a “digest” of the rules, not the actual text. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/388 "2012-09-27T04:25:42Z")
The official rule (not digest) is [here](http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/11_2012_ForwardPass_BackPass_Fumble.pdf). (PDF) > [@](#): > > Item 5: Simultaneous Catch. If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball. And the part of the rulebook dealing with catches is chock full of the word “catch.” ---
**Author:** ![President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/President_Johnny_Gentle)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/389 "2012-09-27T04:37:52Z")
NFL has announced a deal! Real officials are back for the Ravens-Browns game. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/390 "2012-09-27T13:03:19Z")
A friend sent me a link asking the question, “What if Google went on strike? What would ReplacementGoogle be like?” [http://www.replacementgoogle.com/](http://www.replacementgoogle.com/) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/391 "2012-09-27T20:43:46Z")
> [@President\_Johnny\_Gentle](#): > > NFL has announced a deal! Real officials are back for the Ravens-Browns game. Did anyone sense a some-franchises-are-more-equal-than-others vibe from the way this all played out? There were comments on SportsCenter, and other places, about how some owners have more clout to influence the negotiations than others. And this wasn’t just a bad call. This was a bad call against The Packers, those storied stalwarts of Vince Lombardi and Lambeau Field. If the situation had been exactly reversed, with Green Bay winning on a disputed catch, does anybody think the uproar would have been the same? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/392 "2012-09-27T20:48:08Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Did anyone sense a some-franchises-are-more-equal-than-others vibe from the way this all played out? No, I didn’t see that at all. And upthread, you can find people arguing that Green Bay was actually worse off because they don’t have a billionaire owner who could give the NFL hell over this botch job. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/393 "2012-09-27T21:08:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No, I didn’t see that at all. And upthread, you can find people arguing that Green Bay was actually worse off because they don’t have a billionaire owner who could give the NFL hell over this botch job. I heard those arguments, as well. There seem to be two sorts of inequality at work. One is financial/political, the clout within the NFL, which I usually hear with regards to Jerry Jones and Robert Kraft. There’s also the tradition/emotion aspect, which favors teams like the Packers. You didn’t answer my final question; do you really think the reaction would have been as extreme if the situation had been reversed? Personally, I think it would have increased pressure for a settlement with the refs (but whether it would have happened as quickly as it did is hard to say), but I don’t think it would have been round-the-clock coverage quite so much if it had been the same call made against the Seahawks. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273/394 "2012-09-27T21:17:40Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > You didn’t answer my final question; do you really think the reaction would have been as extreme if the situation had been reversed? I thought my answer made it clear I don’t think it mattered which teams were involved. Any Monday night game that ended like that would have caused an uproar. Excepting Packer fans, I have not seen a single reaction to this fiasco that made me think ‘You’re only saying that because it happened to the Packers.’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nfl-week-3/635273.md?page=19)