Caught in controversy, thanks to “catch rule”

It’s a catch. Wait, there’s a catch to the catch.

While coaches, players, fans and broadcasters become puzzled or annoyed by the NFL’s “catch rule,” the people in charge of developing and refining it through the years also have struggled. They simply couldn’t find language to simplify it, leading to the inconsistency and controversy seen for seasons. Especially this season. When such NFL personages as Mike Tomlin and Sean Payton, both with strong ties to the powerful competition committee, seek re-examination and possibly changes to rules, it moves the issue front and center, just as much as the call on Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jesse James did last weekend.

“I think we all can acknowledge that all of this needs to be revisited,” said Tomlin, Pittsburgh’s coach. “It’s not just that play. We’re having similar discussions week in and week out, so as a member of the committee, I acknowledge that we have our work cut out for us this offseason regarding a number of those things . ... I’m just done talking about it, to be quite honest with you. You all know what we teach: ‘Catch the football.’ ”

Some players do, yet discover they didn’t. They’re confused by some of the calls. Even worse, they aren’t sure they understand the rules.

It should be simple, right? Receive the ball, hold on to it, get tackled and never have it move when you get to the ground.

Except there are instances when the ball can move as long as control is maintained. It’s just another example of an NFL rule book with so many tangents, it would crush even the heftiest offensive lineman if it fell on top of him.

“Yeah, I don’t even know what the language is at this point,” said Chicago Bears tight end Zach Miller, who lost a TD reception by not “surviving the ground” on a play in which he was injured and sidelined for the rest of the season. “I don’t think a lot of people ... I don’t even know if the rulemakers do at this point know what the language is. But they have it there and it’s in place and they’re trying to follow it as closely as they can. I just don’t know if it’s what it needs to be.”

Even the current head of league officials, Alberto Riveron, and the man he succeeded, Dean Blandino, agree that getting the language right is hard. Many others would add getting the call right is harder.

Two years ago, the league consulted with a group of players that included Hall of Famers Steve Largent and Tim Brown, plus current NFLers.

“And we went over this rule, a lot of the catch and no-catch situations, and at the end of the day — we had them in for two days — they decided the best way to keep the rule is where it is right now,” Riveron said. “But that does not stop us from going over it again and taking suggestions from any of the clubs.”