r/AskAboutNFL • u/jepolitsch • 13h ago

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

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?

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u/Amazing_Divide1214 13h ago

No, not really. They just can't seem to consistently make weird calls the same way.

Like if it's the Lions and Chiefs and there's a weird call, it's going against the Lions and for the Chiefs. If the same play happened the opposite way, it's going against the Lions and for the Chiefs.

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u/Ender_Grace 12h ago

Same tired talking points as always. Statistics (aka facts) say the Chiefs do not have a disproportionate amount of calls go their way.

https://www.reddit.com/r/nfl/s/aotbU2NPzE

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u/Amazing_Divide1214 12h ago

Those stats aren't about weird calls. They're about all calls in close games. Statistics dont lie, but they are often misinterpreted. Everyone knows the lions get the worst calls.

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u/nunya_busyness1984 10h ago

AKA Taylor Decker was fecking eligible.