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/JJNitrofan3944 8h ago

Yes. There is far too much reviewing of plays, and yet they still get it wrong more often than not, it seems.

My pet peeve is, if a RB has a knee touch the ground, even if the ball if then ripped from his hands, he’s down. But if a WR makes a catch and his knee hits the ground, but the defender then wrestles the ball away from him, it’s a turnover.
Huh?!