Paulie
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- May 19, 2007
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No. Its not a bobble. Its because he has to keep holding onto the ball as the ball hits the ground. If the ball and been in his hand when he stood up, then its a TD. Because it leaves his hand as it hits the ground, its an incomplete pass. That's the rule, apparently.
I was watching the game when it happened. The commentators said afterwards that it was an incomplete pass.
Frankly, I think it's a inconsistent when that is not a TD but when the ball carrier is running the ball into the end zone, all it has to do is break the plane of the goal line and the play is over, even if he fumbles it a moment later. I think the argument for the incomplete pass is that he never had possession.
That is the way I understand the rule. I don't agree with it, but that is consistent with how it has been interpreted the last two seasons.
There is a continuation of the play as you hit the ground. The old, "ground can't cause a fumble" does not apply. You have to control the ball through the entire process, not just a part of it.
Here's the rule on possession:
"Possession: When a player controls the ball throughout the act of clearly touching both feet, or any other part of his body other than his hand(s), to the ground inbounds."
And here's the rule on a touchdown:
Touchdown: When any part of the ball, legally in possession of a player inbounds, breaks the plane of the opponent's goal line, provided it is not a touchback.
Both of those were satisfied in the Johnson play.
And then you factor in this part of the rule:
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 after he touches 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.
So that part of the rule is saying that the ball CAN touch the ground, but the player must have had control of it prior to doing so.
I don't see any time during that catch where Johnson didn't have complete control of the ball, from the time he caught it until the time his ass hit the ground. It was only after catching it, having both feet down in bounds, and his ass hitting the ground, that the ball finally touched the ground.
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