Former NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino isn’t so sure that the NFL’s proposed new catch rule is going to do away with controversies.
Blandino said this morning on PFT Live that the catch rule as currently written has a “bright line” for the officials on the field -- even if fans watching at home often find themselves baffled by the calls. Blandino is concerned that the new catch proposal is going to lead to more replay reviews.
“Is that going to be harder for the official in real time to make that call consistently? And are we going to have more plays go to replay? Because it feels like this new rule is geared more toward replay than real time officiating on the field,” Blandino said.
The NFL’s focus on changing the catch rule came after several big catches were overturned on replay last year. If the new catch rule leads to more replay delays, a lot of fans may find themselves in 2018 wondering why they were so eager to see the old rule overturned.