The NFL’s Competition Committee is recommending that the owners make no changes to the so-called Calvin Johnson rule regarding catches while the receiver is going to the ground. The man who used to oversee NFL officiating says that means we should expect a lot more calls that leave players, coaches and fans shaking their heads and wondering why no one knows what constitutes a catch.
Mike Pereira, the NFL’s former V.P. of officiating, wrote at FOXSports.com that no one has a good answer for exactly what deserves to be considered a catch, and that isn’t changing.
“Long story short — it is still a mess,” Pereira wrote. “And guess what, folks? It will still be a mess for a long time.”
Although the owners have the authority to change the rule on their own, it’s safe to say they won’t: The owners delegate these things to the Competition Committee, and the Competition Committee decided to punt, rather than try to clarify a controversial rule that cast a shadow over the league all season long.
So Pereira says we should all just get used to the fact that we’re stuck with the Calvin Johnson rule.