It’s known as the Calvin Johnson rule. Green Bay Packers fans got a first-hand look at it when the team faced the Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round of the playoffs, last season.
Dez Bryant. Pass incomplete.
Dallas fans. Incessant whining and crying.
This week, the NFL sprung into action. Did they change the rule? Did all of that whining and crying by Cowboys fans pay off?
No.
The competition committee merely rewrote the rule to make it clearer.
Here’s the revised wording.
A player is considered to be going to the ground if he does not remain upright long enough to demonstrate that he is clearly a runner. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball until after his initial contact with the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
That seems pretty clear to us, although we’re not ignorant. We actually understood the rule the way it was previously worded.
Here’s the wording of the “old” rule.
If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contactby an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.
Obviously, there’s not a huge difference.
The intent is entirely the same, although this new and improved version of the rule may be a little easier to understand.
Especially if you’re a moron. Or a Dallas Cowboys fan.