>It¡¯s a catch. Wait
http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-brandon-park er-jersey ,
there¡¯s a catch to the catch.While coaches, players, fans and broadcasters
become puzzled or annoyed by the NFL¡¯s ¡°catch rule,¡± the people in charge of
developing and refining it through the years also have struggled. They simply
couldn¡¯t find language to simplify it, leading to the inconsistency and
controversy seen for seasons.Especially this season.When such NFL personages as
Mike Tomlin and Sean Payton, both with strong ties to the powerful competition
committee, seek re-examination and possibly changes to rules, it moves the issue
front and center, just as much as the call on Pittsburgh tight end Jesse James
did last weekend.¡°I think that we all can acknowledge that all of this needs to
be revisited,¡± Steelers coach Tomlin said. ¡°It¡¯s not just that play. We¡¯re
having similar discussions week in and week out, so as a member of the
committee, I acknowledge that we¡¯ve got our work cut out for us this offseason
regarding a number of those things.¡°I¡¯m just done talking about it, to be quite
honest with you. You all know what we teach. Catch the football.¡±Some players
do, yet discover they didn¡¯t. They¡¯re confused by some of the calls. Even worse,
they aren¡¯t sure they understand the rules.It should be simple, right? Receive
the ball, hold onto it, get tackled and never have it move when you get to the
ground.Except there are instances when it can move as long as control is
maintained. It¡¯s just another example of an NFL rule book with so many tangents
that it would crush even the heftiest offensive lineman if it fell on top of
him.¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t even know what the language is at this point
Authentic
Ryan Switzer Jersey ,¡± said Bears tight end Zach Miller , who lost
a TD reception by not ¡°surviving the ground¡± on a play in which he was injured
and sidelined for the rest of the season. ¡°I don¡¯t think a lot of people ¡ I
don¡¯t even know if the rule-makers do at this point know what the language is.
But they have it there and it¡¯s in place and they¡¯re trying to follow it as
closely as they can. I just don¡¯t know if it¡¯s what it needs to be.¡±Even the
current head of league officials, Alberto Riveron, and the man he succeeded,
Dean Blandino, agree that getting the language right is difficult. Many others
would add getting the call right is more difficult.Two years ago, the league
consulted with a group of players that included Hall of Famers Steve Largent and
Tim Brown, plus current NFLers.¡°And we went over this rule, a lot of the catch
and no-catch situations, and at the end of the day �we had them in for two days
â€?they decided the best way to keep the rule is where it is right now,¡± Riveron
says. ¡°But that does not stop us from going over it again and taking suggestions
from any of the clubs.¡±Those suggestions definitely will be coming. They already
have begun.Blandino got them during his tenure, too. Now an analyst for Fox,
he¡¯s hardly surprised that the spotlight is on the catch rule again.¡°Every year,
plays come up �Calvin Johnson or Dez Bryant or the play Sunday �that look like
catches and people think should be catches,¡± Blandino said. ¡°People don¡¯t think
those passes should be incomplete.¡°The committee tried to write a rule to make
that a catch and allow officials to call it consistently and it¡¯s almost
impossible. It was definitely one of the more difficult things to explain. You
can explain the rule and reasoning and logic behind it, but a lot of people
don¡¯t agree with it, that that should be the rule.¡±Oddly, the no-catch rule
seems to bring little attention or controversy in the college game, even though
the law is the same.¡°The difference between control and possession¡± is how it is
explained by Terry McAulay
http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-quenton-nelson -jersey ,
a former NFL official who has worked Super Bowls and now is coordinator of
officiating for the AAC. ¡°He clearly had a control for much of the play, (but)
he didn¡¯t have it long enough, the control was lost when the ball hit the
ground, and by rule, and I¡¯m speaking only college, he never established
possession. Whether he was down or not, whether the ball crossed the plane of
the goal line is irrelevant because he¡¯s not a player in possession yet.¡±McAulay
surmises that the divergent level of skill from the college game to the pros is
why the catch rule comes into play so much more in the NFL.¡°I think the
difference is the athleticism of the players involved,¡± he said. ¡°The NFL player
appears to be able to do many more things once he gets his hands on the football
than the college player, who is so focused just on bringing it in and making the
catch.¡°Now we do see this every once in a while in college, but not nearly as
often as we do in the NFL.¡±With the playoffs approaching, there¡¯s little doubt
the catch/no catch will come up again, perhaps even in a critical situation, as
it did at Heinz Field on Sunday.There also seems to be little question that the
outcry about the rule will lead to �at the very least �a re-examination of
it.¡°It will definitely be on the agenda,¡± Blandino predicts. ¡°Mike is on the
competition committee, and any club can bring it up. They will do what they
always have done: look at different examples from the season, and talk to game
officials. Maybe they will talk to players and obviously get coaches¡¯ input, and
then make a recommendation.¡°Maybe they tweak the language a bit, but there¡¯s not
been a change since Bert Emanuel in 2000, and the ball touching the ground and
having to come loose.¡±Miller knows how the public generally feels about the
catch rule.¡°I don¡¯t know where this is going
Jason
McCourty Jersey Elite , where it¡¯s already been. I feel like we
probably need to brin Chris Herndon says his arrest last weekend for driving
while intoxicated does not reflect the person he is.
The New York Jets rookie tight end declined comment after practice Tuesday on
details of the incident in which New Jersey State Police say Herndon crashed
into another car on a New Jersey highway early last Saturday morning.
¡±I can¡¯t really speak much on it now,¡± the fourth-round draft pick from Miami
said. ¡±It¡¯s still a pending legal matter, so it¡¯s not up to me to have a
conversation about it right now.¡±
Herndon was asked if there was anything he wanted Jets fans and others to
know.
¡±This is not who I am,¡± Herndon said while shaking his head. ¡±But like I
said, I can¡¯t really speak much on that.¡±
According to New Jersey State Police, the 22-year-old Herndon was driving his
Nissan Armada westbound in Rockaway Township, about 35 miles west of New York
City, when he crashed into a Toyota Land Cruiser that was towing a trailer
carrying another vehicle.
When troopers arrived, they arrested Herndon on suspicion of DWI and took him
to a nearby state police barracks for an alcohol breath test. The test revealed
a blood-alcohol level over New Jersey¡¯s limit of .08, according to State Police
Sgt. Lawrence Peele, though he didn¡¯t say what the level was.
Herndon was released pending a court date in Rockaway Township. He also was
given a summons for careless driving. Both Herndon and the driver of the Land
Cruiser suffered minor injuries.
¡±I don¡¯t feel too bad (physically) right now,¡± Herndon said. ¡±I¡¯m just
dealing with everything and trying to stay focused.¡±
This was the latest in a string of off-field issues for the Jets, who had had
seven arrests in the last 13 months. Despite that, coach Todd Bowles isn¡¯t
concerned that the team might be too lenient with its discipline with
players.
¡±Our disciplinary process is fine,¡± Bowles said. ¡±There¡¯s nothing wrong with
the disciplinary process. The arrests are going to happen, and you deal with
them as they come.¡±
Linebacker Dylan Donahue was arrested in February for DWI after New Jersey
police said he crashed into a small bus while driving the wrong way inside the
Lincoln Tunnel. Donahue was also arrested for DWI in May 2017 in Montana, and
voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation facility in Florida in March.
Linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin was arrested in June 2017 and charged with
misdemeanor assault after being accused of punching a man at a Manhattan
nightclub. The case was later dropped.
Cornerback Rashard Robinson was accused in December of possessing
marijuana-laced candy in Morris County. He was arrested and charged with drug
possession and carelessly driving a 2018 Mercedes Benz.
Wide receiver Robby Anderson arrested in May 2017 at a Miami music festival
and charged with felony resisting an officer with violence ¨C but the charge was
later dismissed. He also had felony charges against him dropped from an incident
in January after he was arrested in Florida for allegedly fleeing from police at
105 mph and then threatening the officer¡¯s family.
¡±It¡¯s not a Jet problem or a league problem,¡± Bowles said. ¡±It¡¯s a nationwide
problem. We deal with them on a daily basis as they come. ¡ Things happen in
your 20s, and you treat them on an individual basis and you move on.¡±
Bowles said the team regularly addresses the players about off-field
issues Chiefs
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each as they happen.
¡±I¡¯m not here to sit here and say I approve of it, because I don¡¯t,¡± Bowles
said. ¡±Is it a problem? Yes. To lay all this on Chris, no, we aren¡¯t going to
lay all of it on him. He¡¯s got to take responsibility. We understand that and we
deal with it in house, but I¡¯m not going to sit here and be a spokesperson and
say it¡¯s OK to drive drunk, because it¡¯s not.¡±
Bowles would not rule out having a zero-tolerance policy regarding
discipline, but nothing was imminent.
¡±We could have a different policy,¡± Bowles said. ¡±I¡¯m not going to say never.
But things change accordingly. There is nothing wrong with our policy right now.
If you sign a contract and you¡¯re making $10, $20, $30 million, if that doesn¡¯t
stop you or anything else, what else is going to stop you?¡±
As for Herndon, Bowles said there was nothing in the team¡¯s research on him
before the draft in April to indicate the tight end would have any type of
off-field issue.
¡±He had not had a problem,¡± the coach said. ¡±He does not have a glitch in his
evaluation or anything. There¡¯s nothing to bring up. These things do
happen.¡±
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Associated Press writer David Porter in Newark contributed.
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