PLANO, Texas — Walt Coleman doesn’t see the revamped catch rule as a big change for NFL game officials because the veteran referee believes they’ve already been calling catches the new way.
If anything, Coleman figures there will be fewer reviews of their rulings.
“Most of the calls that seemed to create the most controversy, we ruled them correctly and then they were overturned on replay,” Coleman said Friday as officials gathered for their annual preseason meeting in the Dallas area. “From our standpoint, we’re just going to continue to officiate the plays like we have.”
League owners unanimously approved the changes in April – more than three years after Dez Bryant’s infamous catch that wasn’t in Dallas’ playoff loss at Green Bay, and just a few months since Jesse James of Pittsburgh had a late go-ahead touchdown taken away in a loss to New England that damaged the Steelers’ hopes for the AFC’s top seed.
Essentially, the new rule eliminates the ground as a factor on catches while establishing three main criteria:
• having control of the ball;
• getting two feet down or another body part;
• making a football move, such as taking a third step or extending the ball.
On the plays involving Bryant and James, the ball moved slightly after hitting the ground as they extended it forward, even though they never lost control of it. Both were ruled catches and overturned on review.
“I don’t think it was one thing,” senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron said. “I think we got to a point where fans, the office, coaches, players, wanted to see more exciting plays. How do we make this particular play a catch? How do we take the Dez Bryant play and make it a catch?”
Riveron said the competition committee consulted with coaches, former players, game officials and supervisors, among others, to reach the rule change that was approved.
The committee cited overturned receptions by James and tight end Zach Miller of Chicago last season among the dozens of plays they reviewed “dozens of times,” according to committee chairman Rick McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons.
DeMARCO MURRAY, the 2014 Offensive Player of the Year announced his retirement, four months after being released by Tennessee.
Murray, 30, lost his job to Derrick Henry last season and was due to make $6.25 million in 2018 when the Titans let him go. He ran for 659 yards and six touchdowns last season, dealt with a knee injury late in the year, and missed the Titans’ final regular-season game and two playoff contests.
The Titans acquired Murray in a March 2016 trade with the Eagles. Murray had spent one year with Philadelphia after playing four seasons with the Cowboys. Murray was playing for Dallas in 2014 when he won the NFL rushing title and Offensive Player of the Year.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.