The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of reason to be upset about a non-catch ruling leading to a New England Patriots win, but Jesse James is taking the high road.
James seemed to catch a touchdown, yet the tight end’s effort to stretch the ball across the goal line resulted in yet another controversial replay review.
By rule, he didn’t complete the process of the catch. However, only the people who benefited from the call disagree that the rule itself is misguided. James isn’t dwelling on it, though, saying he’ll try to leave less doubt next time, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“It’s part of football. You can learn from it. Can’t leave the game in the official’s hands. Make the play more secure than it was.”
We could argue about the ruling for a long time, and hopefully the continued issues lead the NFL to scrap the current rules, start over and use common sense for what is and isn’t a catch.
But it’s not going to change anything right now.
As the rules are written, James and every pass-catcher need to secure the ball for the entirety of a play. It’s far simpler to accomplish on paper when a game isn’t on the line, but every questionable reception is in danger of becoming an incompletion upon review.
Give the official no doubt. That’s the only way to ensure a catch in 2017.