The league’s proposed new catch rule will result in some plays that previously were incomplete passes, now being complete passes. But a less-discussed change is that there will be more fumbles: When the ball pops out after a catch, that’s a fumble, not an incompletion.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn has thought about that and says he’ll have his defensive players ready to pounce on the ball more often after a catch and fumble, on plays that previously would have been incomplete passes.
“Defensively we have to think, ‘That ball’s on the ground, go get it,” Quinn said today on PFT Live. “There will be more completions and there probably will be more fumbles too.”
Quinn is right: The new catch rule would turn some plays that have in the past been incompletions into complete passes that are then fumbled. Fans clamoring for a change in the catch rule may not be so happy about it when their team loses the ball on a play that previously would have been ruled an incomplete pass.