WHAT IS A CATCH?
Observers too often are fooled by a receiver having two feet down or what seems like possession for an eternity. If the receiver falls after the catch, he must hold on to the ball after hitting the ground or it is an incompletion. “The ground can’t cause a fumble unless the runner is not down by contact, but the ground can definitely cause an incompletion,” Pereira said. “If the ground jars the ball loose, it’s not a catch.”
~Mike Pereira, the former NFL VP of officiating
http://nypost.com/2011/09/07/nfl-official-explains-tough-rules/
>>Pereira said. “If the ground jars the ball loose, it’s not a catch.”<<
Yep.
But a lot of people think it is still 1960 in these parts.
The problem is he didn’t hit the ground after the catch. After the catch he took two complete steps so the catch was over and he was then running. What if he ran ten yards after the catch then it pops out the same way, would that still be an incomplete pass? Of course not. Taking two steps ended the catch part of the play, he was then running after the catch. First and goal.
He took two steps before falling.
As I saw it...Bryant’s left foot comes down on the five yard line...Bryant carried the ball 4.5 yards to the goal line. That should have been his, ‘football’, move...It should have been ruled a catch...If not a catch, a screen play from the end zone where the catch is made...the receiver then runs the length of the field, falling down just before the goal line and the ball comes loose as it hits the ground...under the logic used to rule Dez’s catch an incomplete pass, one would have to rule that the screen play pass was an incomplete pass as well...