Report: NFL could nix ‘ground’ part of catch rule, eliminate spot-foul PI

Catapulting forward on the push from commissioner Roger Goodell to adjust the catch rule, the NFL competition committee is considering eliminating the “going to the ground” portion of the rule, according to an NFL Network report.

Goodell has made the catch rule a major focus this offseason, seeking greater clarity after opening dialogue with former and current players and coaches.

The current rule stipulates that if a player is going to the ground while making a catch, he must “maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground” in order to complete the catch. If he is going to the ground out of bounds, any loss of control results in an incomplete pass. If he is in the field of play, the ball may not touch the ground during or after a loss of control.

A member of the competition committee, Giants owner John Mara told ESPN on Tuesday that he thinks the group is “unanimous” that a few high-profile plays in recent memory — Dez Bryant’s overturned catch in the 2014 playoffs and Calvin Johnson’s overturned, would-be game-winning touchdown in 2010 — should be catches.

However, the committee seems to be less in agreement about the controversial overturned touchdown involving Steelers tight end Jesse James in Week 15 of 2017. On the play in question, James caught the ball while falling to his knees before extending to the goal line, with the ball jarring free from his grip after hitting the ground in the end zone.

“The Jesse James play, I think should be a completion,” Mara told ESPN, “but I’m not sure we’re unanimous on that. But plays where guys seem to make the catch and then make a football move with it, I think most of us agree those should be completions. Now it’s just a question of coming up with the right language.”

Among other rule changes being considered, according to NFL Network’s Judy Battista, are the removal of spot-foul penalties for defensive pass interference, more stringent enforcement of illegal contact penalties, more ejections for fighting and the possible addition of a targeting rule.

Current defensive pass interference is assessed at the spot of the foul, leading to an average penalty of more than 18 yards in 2017. The potential change would cap it at 15 yards per occurrence, which is how the foul is officiated at the college level.

The committee is also expected to approve a change that allows teams to hire a coach whose team is still active in the playoffs. Similar proposals have failed in the past, but there is renewed support for such a change after Josh McDaniels reneged on a verbal agreement to be the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts earlier this month, several weeks after the Colts had concluded their original search.

–Field Level Media