During a recent appearance on PFT Live, NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said that aspects of the league’s rules governing what constitutes a catch will be discussed by the group again this offseason and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered some thoughts on the topic Monday.
Goodell was a guest on Colin Cowherd’s FOX Sports Radio show and was asked if he’s somewhat concerned that fans watching games are confused about whether they see a catch or not.
“I’m not just somewhat concerned, I am concerned,” Goodell said. “We just had five Hall of Fame receivers and several coaches come in just two weeks ago to focus on the catch/no-catch rule. You want there to be clarity from an officiating standpoint and a coaching and player standpoint. . . . I think here you might have clarity in a large element of it, but what happens is that it’s not the rule that people really want.”
Goodell said one of those Hall of Fame receivers once said to him that “fans want catches” while Goodell said he is looking for “more clarity and frankly more excitement” rather than lengthy reviews breaking down each play to see if it passes muster. Goodell said that he sees particular confusion when it comes to players going to the ground, so that may be where the league looks to tweak a rule that has long been problematic.