There will be some rule changes effective in the upcoming NFL season. Among them, the so-called “catch rule” has been tweaked to eliminate the “going-to-the-ground” element of the previous rule. This should mean you’ll no longer have to endure minutes of watching slow motion replays of your favorite receiver holding the ball while still coming to a stop on the ground during a play. “Is the ball moving in his hands just enough to mean it’s not a catch?” That frustration is over, but players would still have to meet 3 requirements.
Photo by: Getty Images
Here are the details:
The NFL has a new catch rule.
League owners approved modifications to the catch rule for the 2018 season during the Annual League Meeting on Tuesday. The changes passed unanimously on a 32-0 vote, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported.
Earlier in the week, NFL Senior Vice President of Officiating Al Riveron announced the Competition Committee's recommendation for simplifying the language of the catch rule.
The new rules defining a catch include:
1. Control of the ball. 2. Two feet down or another body part. 3. A football move such as: » A third step; » Reaching/extending for the line-to-gain; » Or the ability to perform such an act.
Another rules change could cause issues with quarterback sneaks:
The NFL approved the broadening of the helmet-hit rule that will penalize players who lead with the crown of their helmets to initiate contact against an opponent on any play, NFL Competition Committee Chairman Rich McKay announced Tuesday.
Offending players would be penalized 15 yards and may be disqualified depending on the severity of the hit. McKay said the Competition Committee and the league "felt it was time" to make the change in order to better enhance player safety. Clubs will continue to work on a targeting rule similar to the college football rule in which players would be automatically ejected for hitting with the helmet. Nothing regarding a targeting rule has been finalized by the NFL.
"For us this is a pretty significant change," McKay said during a news conference at the Annual League Meeting in Orlando. "This one technique, we saw so many hits when a player lowered his head and delivered a hit and either hurt himself or the player he was hitting," McKay said. "It was time for a change of this magnitude.
"This has very little requirement to it," McKay continued. "This is simply if you lower your head to initiate contact and you make contact with an opponent it's a foul."