Was it a Catch?

[run_to_win]

What's worse, imagine this scenario.

A receiver all alone on the sideline makes a acrobatic catch while falling out of bounds.  He hauls it in, gets two feet down in bounds, and falls and lands on his back out of bounds.  When he hits the ground, the ball moves a bit and then he grabs it and retains possession.  The ball is on his chest the entire time and never touches the ground.

Ruling?

Incomplete.

I agree that would be the ruling.  What bothers me about it is that it would be complete if he landed in bounds - which implies that the catch/bobble isn't the issue, it's the fact that he landed out of bounds.

[NADS]

They made the call because of the rule that states something about keeping control of the ball after going to the ground. It is the same rule that caused Miami to lose a reception by Chambers several years ago. I thought it was a completion myself.

Chambers lost more than a few this way and it wasn't as bad as Holmes--first thing I thought of when I saw it so I said no catch.  Nice look Phish.

[landlocked]

It was a touchdown.The play was over the second the ball broke the plane of the endzone and therefore cannot be an incompletion or a fumble.I saw him catch it,take two steps and then lunge for the goal line.Just one of the many screwed up calls in that game.

[NADS]

Good point about breaking the goal line.  I might have to take another look.

[Phishfan]

I don't think the ball crossed the goal line anyway. His elbow hit the ground before it did from what I saw.

[Brian Fein]

Even if it did, the officials ruled that he never made the catch and, therefore, never had possession of the ball.  Your claim of "touchdown" not only assumes that he made the catch but that the ball crossed the goal line. 

That's why BOTH coaches had challenge flags in their hands on that play.

[Orlando Rays]

I think that if he ran 5 yards, it would've been a fumble.

The rules also say the ground can't cause a fumble.  If he has possession (which he would in the "running five yards" case), then he's down if the ball touches the ground when it's in his possession.  If it doesn't come loose until it touches the ground while in his hands, it's down, not loose.

[Dave Gray]

^^ I meant to say "wouldn't have been".

My bad.