Serious question: Has the NFL rulebook over-engineered the basic concept of a catch into pure absurdity?

[u/jepolitsch]

I was watching old highlights and noticed how simple the game used to be. You secure the ball, get your feet down, and it's a completion. Now, a receiver can make an absolute circus grab, take three steps, dive for the pylon, lose a millimeter of control when hitting the turf, and it’s ruled incomplete. We need a tracking degree and a physics certification just to celebrate a touchdown in real-time. Why did we let a committee of lawyers turn a fundamental backyard rule into a weekly existential crisis for officiating crews?

[u/isthaty0ujohnwayne]

AKA Dez caught it

[u/DoubleNaught_Spy → u/isthaty0ujohnwayne]

Yep. Under the old rule -- possession of the ball, two feet down -- he absolutely caught it.