Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Calvin Johnson's Non-Catch



So, there is a thing called the "process of the catch." I don't know exactly what that means. I suppose there is an interpretation involved at some point. Unfortunately, I have to agree with the ruling that the pass was incomplete. Johnson did not maintain possession all the way through contact with the ground. The same ruling is in play when players jump for a catch, hit the ground and the ball pops out. The ball may be very secure in their possession, but the collision with the ground causes them to bobble it and have it spring out of their hands, resulting in an incomplete pass. Calvin's situation is a little different and much less obvious, but the entire act of him landing on both feet and then falling to the gound, including bringing his hand that controls the ball to the ground, is all part of his "process." So, when the ball comes loose from his control upon his hand's contact with the ground, that's a relevant part of the play and is correctly ruled as incomplete. As if the Lions needed more help losing any more games on the road... What's lost in this is that they still had another play and another chance to score, but Shaun Hill threw a pass that Johnson had little- to no-chance of catching.

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