NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he wants to form a committee of football experts to help him codify what is a catch and what is not.
And he has at least one rather enthusiastic volunteer.
“That’s cool!” Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant told Jarrett Bell of USA Today. “They need to invite me. Tell them they need to call me, so I can have my input.”
It’s not a coincidence that Bryant has input to share now, as the Cowboys prepare to play the Packers. After all, his was-it-or-wasn’t-it grab in the playoffs is one of the primary examples of the confusion that reigns when confusing rules are applied by officials who are probably doing their best but are simply overwhelmed.
Bryant’s apparent catch was reversed on replay, the kind of interpretive call which has been inviting scrutiny for months since.
“That’s football,” Bryant said. “But I’ll tell you this: I dwelled on that [expletive] for about a good two months. It was hard for me to watch [the rest of] the playoffs, just because, . . .”
Goodell said last week during an NFL owners meeting that he formed a committee including current and former General Managers and former players, to study the catch rule. Their suggestions will be forwarded to the competition committee.
And Bryant doubtless has some definite ideas on how they could fix the current mess.